International Professional Hockey League
Encyclopedia
The International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack 'Doc' Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Houghton, Michigan
. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
, Calumet, Michigan
and Houghton. The IPHL was instrumental in changing the nature of top-level senior men's ice hockey from amateur to professional.
In the time period around 1900, leagues in Canada fought against the professionalization of athletics. John Ross Robertson was quoted in the newspapers of the day as saying "for self preservation, the stand of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) against the professionalism of Pittsburgh, Houghton, Calumet and the Soo must be uncompromisingly antagonistic ... Any player who figures on any of these teams must be banished from Ontario Hockey."
Leagues in Canada had been accused of paying individual players for several years and, in fact, Gibson played on a team expelled from the Ontario Hockey Association
in 1898 for paying some of its players. However, it wasn't until the Portage Lakes Hockey Club
and the formation of the IPHL in 1904 that any hockey league achieved full-fledged professional status.
(WPHL) representatives in Pittsburgh regarding the establishment of a national hockey association. Houghton's team had played against Pittsburgh's for a de facto United States national championship in ice hockey.
In 1903–04, the professional Houghton team, without a league of its own, played exhibition games against teams from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
and Michigan prompting the OHA to ban both the American Soo Indians and Canadian Sault Hockey Club
from competing against Canadian amateur teams. As a result, the two teams had nowhere to go but to the proposed professional league.
A meeting was held on November 5, 1904 which included prominent business leaders from Pittsburgh, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Northern Michigan. A number of cities were considered for this new professional league including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Duluth. However, the league accepted teams from Houghton, Pittsburgh, the two Soos, and Calumet. The representatives of the Canadian Soo suggested a revenue sharing plan that would divide gate receipts in a 60–40 home-visitor split. This revenue sharing plan would make the long journey to Pittsburgh possible, considering that team played at the 5,000-seat capacity Duquesne Gardens
. The WPHL, which had been paying players to play ice hockey since 1901, put its best professionals into one team, the Pittsburgh Pros, and dissolved.
The Houghton Portage Lakes team played at what was a new facility at the time called the Amphidrome on Portage Lake. The Calumet-Laurium Miners, a nearby rival of the Houghton team, played at the new Palestra (Michigan). By contrast, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan made the Ridge Street Ice-A-Torium, the local curling club, its home rink. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario team or Canadian Soo as it was called also played at its local curling rink.
The International Hockey League (IHL) attracted some of the best players from established Canadian amateur leagues. Every player received a minimum salary of at least $15 to $40 a week, with many also getting lucrative jobs in the community. Ottawa's "Hod" Stuart
, was paid $1,800 by the Calumet Miners to play for the team and manage their rink for the 1904-05 season
. Cyclone Taylor
was enticed into the league with a salary offer of more than $3,000.
With the hockey season only lasting a couple of months a year due to the fact that teams played on natural ice, most of the players went home to their families and regular jobs in Canada at the end of each season. In many cases, this meant that IHL managers would have to organize completely new teams each season.
The Calumet Miners won the first league championship in 1905. In 1906 and 1907, the title went to Houghton-Portage Lakes.
After the 1906-07 season
, Canada finally established individual professional teams and, soon after, leagues were formed drawing back many players to play for their home crowds. In addition, it was apparent that, while the league was talking about expanding to larger centres such as Toronto, Cleveland and Duluth, there were problems among the existing clubs. The Pittsburgh franchise was seeking a league closer to home to play in and the champion Houghton-Portage Lake club wasn't interested in another season.
The other teams were still making plans for another season in 1907-08. Canadian Soo re-signed Ambrose Degray, Hugh Lehman, Newsy Lalonde
, Ed Shaefer and Jack Marks. However on November 4, 1907, Michigan Soo pulled out of the league citing a lack of players and the IPHL folded. The Pittsburgh team would be dissolved and the WPHL was restarted.
:
Houghton, Michigan
Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...
. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...
, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
Sault Ste. Marie is a city in and the county seat of Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is in the north-eastern end of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, on the Canadian border, separated from its twin city of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by the St. Marys River...
, Calumet, Michigan
Calumet, Michigan
Calumet is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the Calumet Downtown Historic District, listed on the National...
and Houghton. The IPHL was instrumental in changing the nature of top-level senior men's ice hockey from amateur to professional.
In the time period around 1900, leagues in Canada fought against the professionalization of athletics. John Ross Robertson was quoted in the newspapers of the day as saying "for self preservation, the stand of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) against the professionalism of Pittsburgh, Houghton, Calumet and the Soo must be uncompromisingly antagonistic ... Any player who figures on any of these teams must be banished from Ontario Hockey."
Leagues in Canada had been accused of paying individual players for several years and, in fact, Gibson played on a team expelled from 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...
in 1898 for paying some of its players. However, it wasn't until the Portage Lakes Hockey Club
Portage Lakes Hockey Club
The Portage Lakes Hockey Club was one of the first professional ice hockey clubs. Based in Houghton, Michigan, the club played at the Amphidrome from 1904 until 1906...
and the formation of the IPHL in 1904 that any hockey league achieved full-fledged professional status.
League History
In the early 1900s, the mining industry was making huge investments in Northern Michigan. In the fall of 1903, James R. Dee of Houghton started discussions with Western Pennsylvania Hockey LeagueWestern 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...
(WPHL) representatives in Pittsburgh regarding the establishment of a national hockey association. Houghton's team had played against Pittsburgh's for a de facto United States national championship in ice hockey.
In 1903–04, the professional Houghton team, without a league of its own, played exhibition games against teams from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
Sault Ste. Marie is a city on the St. Marys River in Algoma District, Ontario, Canada. It is the third largest city in Northern Ontario, after Sudbury and Thunder Bay, with a population of 74,948. The community was founded as a French religious mission: Sault either means "jump" or "rapids" in...
and Michigan prompting the OHA to ban both the American Soo Indians and Canadian Sault Hockey Club
Canadian Sault Hockey Club
The Sault Ste. Marie Marlboros, also known as the Canadian Soo and Soo Algonquins, was a professional ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada...
from competing against Canadian amateur teams. As a result, the two teams had nowhere to go but to the proposed professional league.
A meeting was held on November 5, 1904 which included prominent business leaders from Pittsburgh, Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and Northern Michigan. A number of cities were considered for this new professional league including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Duluth. However, the league accepted teams from Houghton, Pittsburgh, the two Soos, and Calumet. The representatives of the Canadian Soo suggested a revenue sharing plan that would divide gate receipts in a 60–40 home-visitor split. This revenue sharing plan would make the long journey to Pittsburgh possible, considering that team played at the 5,000-seat capacity Duquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens
Duquesne Gardens was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA during the first half of the 20th century. It opened 3 years after a fire destroyed the city's prior sports arena, the Schenley Park Casino, in 1896. The arena was the first hockey rink to use glass above the dasher...
. The WPHL, which had been paying players to play ice hockey since 1901, put its best professionals into one team, the Pittsburgh Pros, and dissolved.
The Houghton Portage Lakes team played at what was a new facility at the time called the Amphidrome on Portage Lake. The Calumet-Laurium Miners, a nearby rival of the Houghton team, played at the new Palestra (Michigan). By contrast, Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan made the Ridge Street Ice-A-Torium, the local curling club, its home rink. The Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario team or Canadian Soo as it was called also played at its local curling rink.
The International Hockey League (IHL) attracted some of the best players from established Canadian amateur leagues. Every player received a minimum salary of at least $15 to $40 a week, with many also getting lucrative jobs in the community. Ottawa's "Hod" Stuart
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...
, was paid $1,800 by the Calumet Miners to play for the team and manage their rink for the 1904-05 season
1904–05 IPHL season
The 1904-05 WPHL season was played by teams of the International Professional Hockey League.-Final standings:-References:* Compiled by Ernie Fitzsimmons...
. Cyclone Taylor
Cyclone Taylor
Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires from 1905 to 1923...
was enticed into the league with a salary offer of more than $3,000.
With the hockey season only lasting a couple of months a year due to the fact that teams played on natural ice, most of the players went home to their families and regular jobs in Canada at the end of each season. In many cases, this meant that IHL managers would have to organize completely new teams each season.
The Calumet Miners won the first league championship in 1905. In 1906 and 1907, the title went to Houghton-Portage Lakes.
After the 1906-07 season
1906–07 IPHL season
The 1906–07 WPHL season was played by teams of the International Professional Hockey League.-Final standings:-References:* Compiled by Ernie Fitzsimmons...
, Canada finally established individual professional teams and, soon after, leagues were formed drawing back many players to play for their home crowds. In addition, it was apparent that, while the league was talking about expanding to larger centres such as Toronto, Cleveland and Duluth, there were problems among the existing clubs. The Pittsburgh franchise was seeking a league closer to home to play in and the champion Houghton-Portage Lake club wasn't interested in another season.
The other teams were still making plans for another season in 1907-08. Canadian Soo re-signed Ambrose Degray, Hugh Lehman, Newsy Lalonde
Newsy Lalonde
Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters...
, Ed Shaefer and Jack Marks. However on November 4, 1907, Michigan Soo pulled out of the league citing a lack of players and the IPHL folded. The Pittsburgh team would be dissolved and the WPHL was restarted.
Teams
| Season | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1904–05 1904–05 IPHL season The 1904-05 WPHL season was played by teams of the International Professional Hockey League.-Final standings:-References:* Compiled by Ernie Fitzsimmons... |
Calumet-Larium Miners, Canadian Soo Canadian Sault Hockey Club The Sault Ste. Marie Marlboros, also known as the Canadian Soo and Soo Algonquins, was a professional ice hockey team from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada... , Houghton-Portage Lakes Portage Lakes Hockey Club The Portage Lakes Hockey Club was one of the first professional ice hockey clubs. Based in Houghton, Michigan, the club played at the Amphidrome from 1904 until 1906... , Michigan Soo Indians, Pittsburgh Pro HC |
Calumet-Larium Miners |
| 1905–06 1905–06 IPHL season The 1905–06 WPHL season was played by teams of the International Professional Hockey League.-Final standings:-References:* Compiled by Ernie Fitzsimmons... |
Calumet Miners, Canadian Soo, Houghton-Portage Lakes, Michigan Soo Indians, Pittsburgh Pro HC | Houghton-Portage Lakes |
| 1906–07 1906–07 IPHL season The 1906–07 WPHL season was played by teams of the International Professional Hockey League.-Final standings:-References:* Compiled by Ernie Fitzsimmons... |
Calumet Miners, Canadian Soo, Houghton-Portage Lakes, Michigan Soo Indians, Pittsburgh Pro HC | Houghton-Portage Lakes |
Prominent Players
The following players are members of the Hockey Hall of FameHockey 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...
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Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League and a professional lacrosse player, regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters... Jack Laviolette Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and was their first Captain, Coach, and General Manager.... George McNamara George Andrew McNamara was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.When George was a youngster, his family moved to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario and it was in the Soo that he first learned the game of hockey. McNamara made his professional hockey debut playing with The Sault Ste... Didier Pitre Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward. He was nicked named "Cannonball". One of the first players to join the Montreal Canadiens, Pitre's French-Canadian heritage helped give his line-mates the nickname the Flying Frenchmen, brought upon by his... |
Oliver Seibert Oliver Levi Seibert was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward.Oliver was one of the first players from Kitchener to turn professional in 1902. He is the father of Earl Seibert. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.-External links:... 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... 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... Cyclone Taylor Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor, OBE, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. Taylor was one of the earliest professional players. He played professionally for the Portage Lakes Hockey Club, the Ottawa Hockey Club and the Vancouver Millionaires from 1905 to 1923... Marty Walsh Martin J. Walsh was a Canadian amateur, later professional, ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, winning three Stanley Cups in 1909, 1910 and 1911 and is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame... |