1 00:00:00,440 --> 00:00:02,160 Speaker 1: This Day in History Class is a production of I 2 00:00:02,240 --> 00:00:14,760 Speaker 1: Heart Radio. Hello and Welcome to This Day in History Class, 3 00:00:15,200 --> 00:00:19,239 Speaker 1: a show that skates through historic moments one day at 4 00:00:19,239 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: a time. I'm Gabe Louzier, and in this episode, we're 5 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,200 Speaker 1: looking back at the inaugural season of the National Hockey League, 6 00:00:28,680 --> 00:00:38,560 Speaker 1: including all the drama that went with it. The day 7 00:00:38,920 --> 00:00:45,360 Speaker 1: was December seventeen. The first four teams of the newly 8 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:49,040 Speaker 1: formed National Hockey League took to the ice for the 9 00:00:49,080 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: first time. The season's opening night included the first two 10 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:59,040 Speaker 1: games in a twenty two game schedule. In its earliest days, 11 00:00:59,360 --> 00:01:05,319 Speaker 1: the National League represented just three cities. Montreal had two teams, 12 00:01:05,640 --> 00:01:10,880 Speaker 1: the Canadians and the Wanderers, while Ottawa and Toronto had 13 00:01:10,920 --> 00:01:15,920 Speaker 1: one team each, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Arenas. 14 00:01:16,959 --> 00:01:21,119 Speaker 1: The Toronto team eventually became the Maple Leafs, but at 15 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:25,120 Speaker 1: the time they were unofficially known as the Arenas after 16 00:01:25,160 --> 00:01:31,000 Speaker 1: the team's original operator, the Toronto Arena Company. The NHL 17 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:35,360 Speaker 1: had announced its formation just a month earlier, on November. 18 00:01:36,959 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: Prior to that, the National Hockey Association or nh A, 19 00:01:42,520 --> 00:01:46,560 Speaker 1: had been the sports leading professional league. The decision to 20 00:01:46,680 --> 00:01:51,400 Speaker 1: dissolve the nh A and established the NHL. Was largely 21 00:01:51,480 --> 00:01:56,480 Speaker 1: motivated by a mutual dislike of one man, Eddie Livingstone, 22 00:01:56,960 --> 00:02:00,320 Speaker 1: the owner of a team called the Toronto sham Rocks. 23 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:05,560 Speaker 1: Livingstone was known for being confrontational and had fought with 24 00:02:05,680 --> 00:02:10,079 Speaker 1: his colleagues for years. The final straw came in nineteen 25 00:02:10,240 --> 00:02:14,639 Speaker 1: fifteen when he purchased a second team in Toronto without 26 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:18,720 Speaker 1: the league's permission. The other owners wanted to kick him 27 00:02:18,760 --> 00:02:21,960 Speaker 1: out of the nh A, but according to league rules 28 00:02:22,320 --> 00:02:25,960 Speaker 1: they couldn't. To get around the problem, they took an 29 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: even more drastic measure. All of the owners except for Livingstone, 30 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: met at the Windsor Hotel in Montreal and voted to 31 00:02:35,280 --> 00:02:41,320 Speaker 1: form a new league, no living Stones allowed. Three weeks later, 32 00:02:41,840 --> 00:02:45,400 Speaker 1: the first game in NHL history was played between the 33 00:02:45,480 --> 00:02:50,639 Speaker 1: Montreal Wanderers and the Toronto Arenas. It's worth noting that 34 00:02:50,840 --> 00:02:54,960 Speaker 1: ice hockey was played a bit differently in nineteen seventeen 35 00:02:55,320 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: than it is today. For example, forward passing was allowed, 36 00:03:01,000 --> 00:03:05,799 Speaker 1: and concepts like icing and line changes hadn't been introduced yet. 37 00:03:06,639 --> 00:03:11,800 Speaker 1: Teams were also smaller, consisting of just fourteen players, including 38 00:03:12,160 --> 00:03:17,040 Speaker 1: only one goalie. For reference, the NHL now requires a 39 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:23,120 Speaker 1: minimum of twenty players, eighteen skaters and two goalies. In 40 00:03:23,320 --> 00:03:28,320 Speaker 1: nine seventeen's less complicated form of the game, teams often 41 00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:32,800 Speaker 1: scored ten or more goals in a single match, whereas 42 00:03:32,919 --> 00:03:37,760 Speaker 1: teams today typically average around three goals per game. And 43 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:42,040 Speaker 1: speaking of goals, the first one in NHL history was 44 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 1: scored by Wanderers defenceman Dave Ritchie. A little later that night, 45 00:03:47,880 --> 00:03:52,680 Speaker 1: his teammate, reserve player Art Ross, was awarded the dubious 46 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:57,480 Speaker 1: honor of the NHL's first penalty. It was a close match, 47 00:03:57,760 --> 00:04:00,400 Speaker 1: but in the end, the Wanderers came out on top, 48 00:04:00,880 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: beating Toronto ten to nine. Only about seven hundred fans 49 00:04:06,080 --> 00:04:10,040 Speaker 1: were there to witness Montreal's win, even though free tickets 50 00:04:10,080 --> 00:04:14,000 Speaker 1: had been offered to military personnel and their families. The 51 00:04:14,160 --> 00:04:18,440 Speaker 1: crowd size was especially disappointing as the game proved to 52 00:04:18,520 --> 00:04:22,560 Speaker 1: be the wanderers one and only win. They lost their 53 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:25,360 Speaker 1: next three games, and then a couple of weeks later, 54 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:32,040 Speaker 1: on January second, the team's Westmont Arena burned to the ground. 55 00:04:33,120 --> 00:04:36,920 Speaker 1: With nowhere to practice or host a game, the Wanderers 56 00:04:37,000 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: wound up forfeiting their next match. As a result, the 57 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,880 Speaker 1: team's charter was revoked for being unable to play, and 58 00:04:45,000 --> 00:04:48,720 Speaker 1: to add insult to injury, they were also fined five 59 00:04:48,800 --> 00:04:53,840 Speaker 1: hundred dollars. The second game of December nine had issues 60 00:04:53,920 --> 00:04:58,720 Speaker 1: of its own, including an overcrowded arena and a contract dispute. 61 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:03,240 Speaker 1: The mat match saw the Montreal Canadians facing off against 62 00:05:03,279 --> 00:05:06,320 Speaker 1: the Ottawa Senators in front of a packed house in 63 00:05:06,440 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: Ottawa's Day Arena. The venue seating capacity was fort hundred, 64 00:05:12,040 --> 00:05:16,320 Speaker 1: but on opening night, an estimated six thousand fans had 65 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:20,920 Speaker 1: piled inside. All that extra body heat reportedly made the 66 00:05:21,000 --> 00:05:25,480 Speaker 1: ice sticky and kind of mushy, which slowed down the players. 67 00:05:26,480 --> 00:05:30,640 Speaker 1: Despite the impediment, future Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Malone 68 00:05:31,040 --> 00:05:35,160 Speaker 1: scored five of the canadians seven goals. It was a 69 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:38,680 Speaker 1: strong start to what would be an impressive season for Malone, 70 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,080 Speaker 1: with him going on to score forty four goals in 71 00:05:42,200 --> 00:05:46,320 Speaker 1: twenty games. While Malone was cleaning up on the ice 72 00:05:46,440 --> 00:05:50,000 Speaker 1: in the first period, two players for the Senators were 73 00:05:50,080 --> 00:05:53,960 Speaker 1: refusing to play at all until their contracts were reworked. 74 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,760 Speaker 1: Right wingman Jack darr and defenceman Handy Shore had only 75 00:05:59,839 --> 00:06:03,120 Speaker 1: agreed to a twenty game season with the nh A, 76 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: but the NHL had added a few extra games to 77 00:06:07,160 --> 00:06:11,600 Speaker 1: the schedule. The league quickly adjusted the players contracts to 78 00:06:11,680 --> 00:06:14,760 Speaker 1: account for the longer season, and both men joined the 79 00:06:14,839 --> 00:06:18,120 Speaker 1: game during the second period, but by that point the 80 00:06:18,279 --> 00:06:22,520 Speaker 1: damage had already been done. The Canadians beat the Senators 81 00:06:22,800 --> 00:06:27,120 Speaker 1: seven to four, leading the Toronto son to suggest that quote, 82 00:06:27,520 --> 00:06:31,280 Speaker 1: had the Ottawa's started out with their regular team, they 83 00:06:31,400 --> 00:06:35,880 Speaker 1: might have landed the match. Despite these growing pains, the 84 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:40,040 Speaker 1: NHL managed to finish its first season, even though the 85 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:44,680 Speaker 1: Wanderer's departure had left them with just three teams. The 86 00:06:44,800 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: dwindling roster led the Toronto Globe to declare that quote, 87 00:06:49,680 --> 00:06:54,640 Speaker 1: pro hockey is on its last legs. That prediction didn't 88 00:06:54,680 --> 00:06:58,360 Speaker 1: pan out, as over a century later, the NHL is 89 00:06:58,480 --> 00:07:02,200 Speaker 1: still going strong, with more than thirty teams now spread 90 00:07:02,240 --> 00:07:07,480 Speaker 1: across North America. The rules may have changed since nineteen seventeen, 91 00:07:08,000 --> 00:07:11,480 Speaker 1: but the sport remains just as captivating for both those 92 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:15,440 Speaker 1: on the ice and off, and of course, the goal 93 00:07:15,560 --> 00:07:19,520 Speaker 1: of the game remains the same score a hole in one. 94 00:07:20,760 --> 00:07:26,040 Speaker 1: Just kidding. I'm Gabe Lucier and hopefully you now know 95 00:07:26,160 --> 00:07:29,800 Speaker 1: a little more about history today than you did yesterday. 96 00:07:30,720 --> 00:07:34,800 Speaker 1: If you enjoyed the show, consider following us on Twitter, Facebook, 97 00:07:34,840 --> 00:07:39,240 Speaker 1: and Instagram at t d i HC Show, and if 98 00:07:39,280 --> 00:07:42,400 Speaker 1: you have any comments or suggestions, you can always send 99 00:07:42,440 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 1: them my way at this Day at i heart media 100 00:07:45,880 --> 00:07:49,640 Speaker 1: dot com. Thanks to Chandler Mays for producing the show, 101 00:07:49,960 --> 00:07:52,440 Speaker 1: and thank you for listening. I'll see you back here 102 00:07:52,480 --> 00:08:03,160 Speaker 1: again tomorrow for another day in history class Ye. 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