Q. Where was home for NHL franchise nicknamed the Tigers?
A. Long before Jim Ballsillie’s attempts to bring an NHL
franchise to Hamilton, Ontario, there existed a team in the Canadian steel city
named the Tigers. The team played from 1920 to 1925. The Tigers were created
from the demise of the Quebec Bulldogs. The Tigers were NHL regular season
champions in the 1924-25 season, their last in Hamilton.
Q. When the Hamilton Tigers left the NHL, Pirates took their
spot. Where did the Pirates play out of?
A. Just like Major League Baseball, the Pirates were a
hockey franchise in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Pirates played from 1925-26
until 1929-30. Thirty-seven years later, NHL hockey returned to Pittsburgh in
the form of the Penguins.
The Pirates played out of the cozy Duquesne Gardens in
Pittsburgh. The arena officially sat just 5,000 for hockey, although
unofficially it could fit 8,000 spectators. The building was constructed as a
Trolley Barn in 1890 and converted to an ice rink in 1895. Duquesne Gardens was
closed and demolished in 1956.
In Pittsburgh’s first year in the NHL, the team finished
third in the seven team league, behind the Ottawa Senators and Montreal
Maroons. The team played in the post season twice but never won a series.
Q. The Pittsburgh Pirates became the Quakers and played out
of what city for just the 1930-31 season?
A. The Philadelphia Quakers were a disaster in the NHL. In
their one season, the team registered just four wins and four ties over the 44
game schedule. In the American Division, the Quakers finished fifth out of five
teams, 27 points behind the fourth place Detroit Falcons and 50 points behind
the first place Boston Bruins. Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Syd Howe played his
second year in the NHL with Philadelphia.
Q. Another one season team was named the Eagles. Where did
this franchise call home during the 1934-35 season?
A. The St. Louis Eagles were the reincarnation of the Ottawa
Senators. The team finished last in the five team league during the 1934-35
season with just eleven wins in 48 games. The Eagles played out of the massive
St. Louis Arena, a new venue at the time, having opening in 1929. At the time,
the capacity of the arena for hockey was 14,200. That seating limit ballooned
to as high as 18,008 when it was home to
the St. Louis Blues before being closed in 1994. The building was demolished in
1999.
