Hamilton Labour Council calls on NHL to apologize for suspensions made 100 years ago

The Hamilton Labour Council is calling on the National Hockey League to apologize for player suspensions made 100 years ago.

Residents may not know, but once upon a time Hamilton had its own NHL team.

The Tigers played in the city from 1920 to 1925, and during the final year they actually had a shot at the Stanley Cup, but something prevented them from taking part in the series.

“It’s a low impact step for what we’re asking for: the NHL for an apology a hundred years later, for what was a travesty that was put upon this city,” said Anthony Marco, the president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council.

Back in the Roaring Twenties the Hamilton Tigers were one of six teams in the NHL looking to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup for the city.

It looked like Hamilton could do it in the 1924-25 season.

“They went from worst to first in the league,” said Myer Siemiatycki, the Professor Emeritus of politics at Toronto Metropolitan University. “They were the last place team for their early years in the NHL, and then in this particular year – top team.”

That same year, the league expanded its season by six games, but players’ pay was not increased.

Spearheaded by NHL Hall of Famer Wilfred “Shorty” Green, the team went on strike, demanding an extra $200 each or they would not lace up for the NHL playoffs.

$200 dollars at a time when the average yearly wage in Canada was around $1,800.

The then-league president Frank Calder responded by instead sending the Montréal Canadiens to the playoffs.

“The league brushed them off, suspended them, disqualified them and ultimately shipped them out of Hamilton to become the first NHL team in New York – the New York Americans – for the following season,” said Siemiatycki.

That was the end of Hamilton’s Stanley Cup hopes.

“It deprived Hamilton of a major economic, cultural, social institution,” said Siemiatycki.

Now, the Hamilton District Labour Council is demanding an apology from the NHL for what they call “100 year misconduct”, saying an apology isn’t a Stanley Cup, but it is something.

“Especially in light of the fact that they just have a new collective agreement with the NHLPA (Players’ Association), which brings into consideration a lot of the stuff these players were fighting for 100 years ago,” said Marco. “It should be a time where the NHL is willing to say ‘you know what, we agreed with them this year, why couldn’t we agree with them 100 years ago?’.”

“They were willingly sacrificing their shot at a cup, and they probably would have won given they were the best team in the league,” said Siemiatycki,” because they prioritized the fair treatment of players.”

The council has started a petition, and hopes to get thousands of signatures before contacting the NHL for an apology.

READ MORE: Brantford Bulldogs select ‘super-sized’ 17-year-old in CHL draft