Harold Peel was an early professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 player with the Pittsburgh Keystones

Pittsburgh Keystones

The Pittsburgh Keystones may refer to:*Pittsburgh Keystones - Negro National League team of 1922*Pittsburgh Keystones - Western Pennsylvania Hockey League team of the turn of the 20th century...

 of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League

Western Pennsylvania Hockey League

The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League , was a semi-professional ice hockey league from the early 1900s. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league was the pre-eminent ice hockey league at the time in the United States...

. He was a member of the Keystones 1902 WPHL championship team. He was also one of the first openly professional hockey players. In the summer of 1902, one of th Peel disclosed that he was paid $35 a week to play for the Keystones. This was a violation of the team's amateur status. As a result, both Canadian

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

 and U.S.

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 officials disallowed all amateur teams to play against the Keystones and Peel's amateur status was revoked by the Ontario Hockey Association

Ontario Hockey Association

The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

. He issued two appeals that were rejected on December 10, 1903 and again on November 30, 1904.

However, professional hockey expanded and the WPHL embraced its new professional status. As a result the league expanded to four teams by adding the Pittsburgh Victorias

Pittsburgh Victorias

The Pittsburgh Victorias were an ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and were members of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League. The team lasted until 1904, when the WPHL disbanded its teams to form the Pittsburgh Pros. In the 1902 the WPHL became the first professional ice hockey...

, and openly enticed the best talent it could, including future Hockey Hall of Fame

Hockey Hall of Fame

The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

 members Hod

Hod Stuart

William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart was a Canadian professional ice hockey cover-point who played nine seasons for several teams in different leagues. He also played briefly for the Ottawa Rough Riders football team...

 and Bruce Stuart

Bruce Stuart

Bruce Stuart was a Canadian amateur and professional ice hockey forward who played for the Quebec Bulldogs, Ottawa Senators and Montreal Wanderers from 1899 to 1911...

 from the Quebec Bulldogs

Quebec Bulldogs

The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...

, Alf Smith

Alf Smith

Alfred Edward Smith was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, and Kenora Thistles. He had two brothers who played senior-level hockey Harry Smith and Tommy Smith...

 from the Ottawa Hockey Club and Riley Hern

Riley Hern

William Milton "Riley" Hern was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He was the first professional goaltender to play on a Stanley Cup-winning team....

from the Stratford Legionnaires.