Canadian Amateur Hockey League - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) was an early men's amateur 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...

league

Sports league

League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...

founded in 1898, replacing the organization that was formerly the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada before the 1898–99 season. The league existed for seven seasons, folding in 1905 and was itself replaced by the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association

The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association was a men's amateur, later professional ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with six clubs: four from the Canadian Amateur Hockey League and two from the Federal Amateur Hockey League, to bring...

. Formed because of a dispute between teams of the former league, it further developed the sport in its transition to professional, with a growing focus on revenues. The CAHL itself would fold over a dispute, leading to a new league.

Founding

The annual meeting of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) was held in Montreal on December 10, 1898, and was reported as "a cataclysm in the hockey world."

At the previous year's meeting, the application of the Ottawa Capitals

Ottawa Capitals

The Ottawa Capitals were an early amateur senior men's ice hockey club playing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from the 1890s until 1920. The club would challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1897, but abandon its challenge after one game, after it lost 15–2. It would later precipitate the breakup of the...

to join was declined. In 1898, the Capitals had won the intermediate championship and applied again for AHAC membership. The AHAC executive then voted in favor of admitting the Capitals for league membership. This led to the representatives of the Quebec

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...

, Montreal Victorias

Montreal Victorias

The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating...

and Ottawa clubs opting to withdraw from the association. The representative of the Montreal Hockey Club

Montreal Hockey Club

The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a...

asked the group to reconsider but was declined, after which point Montreal also withdrew.

The withdrawing teams then met at the Windsor Hotel the same day. A representative of the McGill University

McGill University

Mohammed Fathy is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The university bears the name of James McGill, a prominent Montreal merchant from Glasgow, Scotland, whose bequest formed the beginning of the university...

also attended on the possibility that McGill would join. On December 14, the group met again and organized the CAHL, adding also the Montreal Shamrocks

Montreal Shamrocks

The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900...

and not McGill. The new league adopted the existing constitution of the AHAC.

The following executive committee was formed:

H. Wilson, (president)
A. E. Swift, Quebec (1st. vice-president)
E. P. Murphy, (2nd. vice-president)
George Jones, (secretary-treasurer)

Hockey net

Almost lost in the shuffle of the dissolution of AHAC and the founding of the CAHL was the first use of netting for the goals. Proposed by the Quebec team, a rope was used to connect the tops of the existing goal posts. Attached to the rope and the posts was netting in a pocket, to catch any pucks that entered the net. Nets had been in use for the goals in lacrosse and ice polo. The nets became a permanent part of the CAHL rinks after an exhibition series in 1899.

Final season

The league would stay with the same five teams until the 1904 season. During the season, Ottawa withdrew from the league in a dispute with the league. The league continued its schedule with the remaining four teams. The following season, the league admitted the Montreal Le National and Montreal Westmount clubs in place of Ottawa, which joined the Federal Amateur Hockey League

Federal Amateur Hockey League

The Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was formed initially to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival Canadian Amateur Hockey League . One team, the Montreal Le National, was the first...

. It would be the final season of the league, as in the off-season the Montreal Wanderers and Ottawa would form the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association

and absorb the teams of the CAHL.

Teams

Season	Teams	Champion
1899 1899 CAHL season The inaugural 1899 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 7 until March 4. Teams played an eight game schedule The Montreal Shamrocks were the league champion with a record of seven wins and one loss.-Highlights:...	Montreal Hockey Club Montreal Hockey Club The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team is notable for winning the first Stanley Cup in 1893, and in a... , Montreal Shamrocks Montreal Shamrocks The Montreal Shamrocks were an amateur, later professional, men's ice hockey club in existence from 1886, merging with the Montreal Crystals club in 1896. They won the Stanley Cup ice hockey championship in 1899 and 1900... †, Montreal Victorias Montreal Victorias The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. The club played at its own rink, the Victoria Skating... , Ottawa Hockey Club and Quebec HC 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...	Montreal Shamrocks (best record)
1900 1900 CAHL season The 1900 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 6 until March 10. Teams played an eight game schedule. Again, the Montreal Shamrocks were the league champion with a record of seven wins and one loss.-Executive:...	Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks^†, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC	Montreal Shamrocks (best record)
1901 1901 CAHL season The 1901 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 5 until March 5. Teams played an eight game schedule. The Ottawa Hockey Club was the league champion with a record of seven wins, no losses and a draw. The Montreal Shamrocks lost a Stanley Cup challenge during the season, so...	Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC	Ottawa HC (best record)
1902 1902 CAHL season The 1902 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 5 until March 1. Teams played an eight game schedule. The Montreal HC were the league champion with a record of six wins and two losses.-Executive:...	Montreal HC†, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC and Quebec HC	Montreal HC (best record)
1903 1903 CAHL season The 1903 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 3 until February 28. Teams played an eight game schedule. Ottawa and Montreal Victorias tied for the league championship with records of six wins and two losses.-Executive:...	Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC^† and Quebec HC	Ottawa HC (best record)
1904 1904 CAHL season The 1904 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 2 until February 24. Teams played an eight game schedule. This was a tumultuous year as Ottawa resigned in February and defaulted four games....	Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Ottawa HC^†‡ and Quebec HC	Quebec HC (best record)
1905 1905 CAHL season The 1905 Canadian Amateur Hockey League season lasted from January 2 until March 11. Teams played a ten game schedule. This year saw the addition of two teams, Montreal Westmount and Montreal Nationals. Montreal Nationals had previously been in the FAHL. Montreal Victorias won the league...	Montreal HC, Montreal Le National, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Montreal Westmount and Quebec HC	Montreal Victorias (best record)

† Stanley Cup winner
‡ Ottawa resigned February 8, 1904.

Founding

Hockey net

Final season

Teams

See also