The Vancouver Millionaires (later known as the Vancouver Maroons) were a professional
ice hockeyIce 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...
team that competed in the
Pacific Coast Hockey AssociationThe Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
and the
Western Canada Hockey LeagueThe Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
between 1911 and 1926. Based out of
VancouverVancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
,
British ColumbiaBritish Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...
, they played in
Denman ArenaDenman Arena was the main sports arena located in downtown Vancouver, British Columbia. The arena was located on Denman Street in Vancouver's West End, at the northwest corner of West Georgia Street and Denman. It was built at a cost of $300,000 in 1911 and held 10,500 people, making it one of the...
, the first artificial ice surface in Canada and the largest indoor ice rink in the world.
The Millionaires/Maroons succeeded as PCHA champions six times (1915, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1923, 1924) and won the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
once, in
1915, against the
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
of the
NHAThe National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
.
Their jerseys were
maroonMaroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :...
, featuring a
whiteWhite is a color, the perception of which is evoked by light that stimulates all three types of color sensitive cone cells in the human eye in nearly equal amounts and with high brightness compared to the surroundings. A white visual stimulation will be void of hue and grayness.White light can be...
V with "Vancouver" spelled down one side of the V and up the other.
Hall of FamersThe 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...
Fred "Cyclone" TaylorFrederick 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...
,
Mickey MacKayDuncan McMillan "Mickey" MacKay was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, Pittsburgh Pirates, and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League...
and
Didier PitreJoseph 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...
were among the most significant players to don the Millionaires/Maroons uniform in the team's history.
On October 1, 2010, the
Vancouver CanucksThe Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
president and management officially announced that the Vancouver Canucks had purchased the rights to logos, jerseys and trademarks of the Vancouver Millionaires.
History
In 1911, the Patrick brothers Frank and
LesterCurtis Lester "The Silver Fox" Patrick born in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada, was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association , and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League...
, inaugurated their own professional ice hockey league on the west coast, the
Pacific Coast Hockey AssociationThe Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
, giving birth to three teams, one of which was the Vancouver Millionaires. Frank aligned himself with Vancouver, playing for, coaching and managing the team. In order to earn credibility as a league, the PCHA lured players from the
NHAThe National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
, and in 1912, the Millionaires acquired the highly-touted
Cyclone TaylorFrederick 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...
, who would play for and star in Vancouver for the following ten seasons — the remainder of his career. During his tenure in Vancouver, Taylor tallied 263 points in 131 games.
Upon the 1914-1915 season, the NHA and PCHA came to an agreement that each league's respective champion would play for the
Stanley CupThe Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
; in the first year of this agreement, the Millionaires — led by Patrick and Taylor — emerged as league champion and defeated the
Ottawa SenatorsThe Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
to earn their first and only Stanley Cup championship. In a best-of-five series played at Denman Arena, the Millionaires swept Ottawa by scores of 6-2, 8-3, and 12-3; Taylor led the team with 6 goals. At the time, it was the furthest west the Cup had been awarded and is Vancouver's only Stanley Cup champion.
In
1918-See also:* 1917–18 NHL season* 1917–18 PCHA season* List of Stanley Cup champions...
, Vancouver would once again compete for the Stanley Cup, defeating the
Seattle MetropolitansThe Seattle Metropolitans were a professional ice hockey team based in Seattle, Washington which played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association from 1915 to 1924. They won the Stanley Cup in 1917, becoming the first American team to do so...
in a two-game final for the PCHA title, but would be defeated by the
Toronto ArenasThe Toronto Arenas, Toronto Blueshirts or Torontos was a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League . It was operated by the owner of the Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company...
of the NHL (evolved from the NHA) three games to two. Between 1918 and 1924, Vancouver would win the PCHA title in five of seven seasons. However, in 1919, due to a
flu epidemicThe 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
, a Stanley Cup match was not arranged, and in
1921-See also:* 1920–21 NHL season* 1920–21 PCHA season...
and
1922, they were defeated by the Ottawa Senators and Toronto St. Pats in back-to-back Cup Finals, respectively. In 1922, the team changed its name to the Vancouver Maroons and, although league champion in the PCHA's final two seasons, Vancouver would not compete for the Stanley Cup. As a result of the newly-founded
Western Canada Hockey LeagueThe Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
, the PCHA champion would have to defeat the WCHL champion en route to a Cup series against the NHL champion; the Maroons would fall to the
Edmonton EskimosThe Edmonton Eskimos were a Canadian amateur and later professional men's ice hockey team that existed from 1905 to 1927. The Eskimos challenged three times for the Stanley Cup, losing each time; in 1908 versus the Montreal Wanderers, in 1910 versus the Ottawa Senators, and Ottawa again in 1923...
in 1923 and the
Calgary TigersThe Calgary Tigers, often nicknamed the Bengals, were an ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1920 until 1927 as members of the Big Four League, Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers were revived in 1932, playing for a short-lived four years in the...
in 1924.
Following the 1923-1924 season, the Maroons were absorbed by the WCHL upon the PCHA's demise, but would not achieve the same success of the previous years. In 1926, the WCHL suffered the same fate of the PCHA, and after fifteen years, the team subsequently folded, as well.
In 1999, local rock star and bodybuilder
Jon Mikl ThorJon Mikl Thor , is a bodybuilding champion, actor, songwriter, screenwriter, historian, vocalist and musician....
started VM Sports, a company to market a line of Millionaires apparel. Since there were no genuine Millionaires sweaters extant since a fire destroyed Denman Arena in 1936, Thor trademarked the Vancouver Millionaires name and the "Victory V" logo. On May 1, 2008, the BC Sports Hall Of Fame was donated one such Millionaires sweater from VM Sports, which is now featured in the Hall's Cyclone Taylor display. On October 1, 2010 the Vancouver Canucks parent company, Canucks Sports & Entertainment, acquired the Vancouver Millionaires trademark from Thor.
In honour of the Millionaires as the city's only Stanley Cup-winning team, the
Vancouver GiantsThe Vancouver Giants are a major junior ice hockey team playing in the Western Hockey League . Inaugurated in 2001–02, the Giants have won one President's Cup in 2006 and one Memorial Cup in 2007 in their ten-season history...
, a major junior
Western Hockey LeagueThe Western Hockey League is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League as the highest level of junior hockey in Canada...
(WHL) team, wore Millionaires jerseys during their November 21, 2008 game against the
Kamloops BlazersThe Kamloops Blazers are a junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League based out of Kamloops, British Columbia. They play their home games at Interior Savings Centre.-History:...
on the team's "Stanley Cup Legends Night". That same month, the Canucks unveiled their new third jerseys, including a new shoulder logo that pays tribute to the Millionaires by including a "V".
Season-by-season record
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF= Goals For, GA = Goals Against
| Season |
Name |
League |
GP |
W |
L |
T |
GF |
GA |
Finish |
Playoffs |
| 1912 The 1912 PCHA season was the first season of the now defunct men's professional ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league, which was founded on December 7, 1911. Season play ran from January 2, 1912 until March 19. Teams were to play a 16 game schedule, but one game was cancelled. The New...
|
Millionaires |
PCHA |
15 |
7 |
8 |
0 |
102 |
94 |
2nd |
- |
| 1912–13 The 1912–13 PCHA season was the second season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 10, 1912 until March 18, 1913. Like the previous season, teams were to play a 16 game schedule, but one game was cancelled. The Victoria...
|
16 |
7 |
9 |
0 |
84 |
89 |
2nd |
- |
| 1913–14 The 1913–14 PCHA season was the third season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 5, 1913 until February 24, 1914. Like the previous two seasons, teams were to play a 16 game schedule, but one game was cancelled. The Victoria...
|
15 |
6 |
9 |
0 |
76 |
83 |
3rd |
- |
| 1914–15 The 1914–15 PCHA season was the fourth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 8, 1914 until March 9, 1915. The schedule was made for each team to play 18 games, but like the previous three seasons, one game was cancelled....
|
17 |
13 |
4 |
0 |
115 |
71 |
1st |
Won Stanley Cup |
| 1915–16 The 1915–16 PCHA season was the fifth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 7, 1915 until February 25, 1916. Each team would play 18 games. The Portland Rosebuds club would be PCHA champions. After the season the club...
|
18 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
75 |
69 |
2nd |
- |
| 1916–17 The 1916–17 PCHA season was the sixth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 1, 1916 until March 2, 1917. The season was expanded to 24 games per team, except that the final game was cancelled. The Seattle Metropolitans...
|
24 |
14 |
9 |
0 |
71 |
124 |
2nd |
- |
| 1917–18 The 1917–18 PCHA season was the seventh season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 28, 1917 until March 8, 1918. The season was reduced to 18 games per team. The Seattle Metropolitans club would be regular-season PCHA...
|
18 |
9 |
9 |
0 |
70 |
60 |
2nd |
Lost in Cup final |
| 1918–19 |
20 |
12 |
8 |
0 |
72 |
55 |
1st |
Lost league playoff |
| 1919–20 The 1919–20 PCHA season was the ninth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 26, 1919 until March 10, 1920. The season was enlarged to 22 games per team...
|
22 |
11 |
11 |
0 |
75 |
65 |
2nd |
- |
| 1920–21 |
24 |
13 |
11 |
0 |
86 |
79 |
1st |
Lost in Cup final |
| 1921–22 The 1921–22 PCHA season was the 11th season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 26, 1919 until March 10, 1920. The season was enlarged to 24 games per team...
|
24 |
12 |
12 |
0 |
77 |
68 |
2nd |
Lost in Cup final |
| 1922–23 The 1922–23 PCHA season was the twelfth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from November 13, 1922 until March 2, 1923...
|
Maroons |
30 |
17 |
12 |
1 |
116 |
88 |
1st |
Lost in Cup Semi-final |
| 1923–24 The 1923–24 PCHA season was the thirteenth and last season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from November 26, 1923 until February 25, 1924. Each team played 30 games, including eight games against Western Canada Hockey League teams...
|
30 |
13 |
16 |
1 |
87 |
80 |
2nd |
Lost in Cup semi-final |
| 1924–25 |
WCHL |
28 |
12 |
16 |
0 |
91 |
102 |
5th |
- |
| 1925–26 |
WHL |
30 |
10 |
18 |
2 |
64 |
90 |
6th |
- |
See also