1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Jack Walker Jersey

Born on this date in 1888, John Phillip "Jack" Walker first played for the Port Arthur Bearcats of the New Ontario Hockey League (NOHL) in the 1907-08 season, scoring 3 goals in 6 games. His offensive output continued to rise, as he scored 8 goals in 12 games of the 1908-09 season following by a jump to 20 goals in 12 games during the 1909-10 season.

The 1910-11 season saw Walker set a career high with 30 goals in a 14 game schedule. Port Arthur then challenged the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA) for the Stanley Cup in a one game playoff on March 16, 1911. While Walker did manage to score a goal, Ottawa defended their rights to the cup with a 14-4 win.

Walker returned to Port Arthur for the 1911-12 season and scored his final 17 goals for the Bearcats in 13 games played.

For the 1912-13 season, Walker joined the Moncton Victorias of the Maritime Professional Hockey League where he had a fine season, totaling 21 goals in just 15 games. As a preview of what was to follow, Walker also played one game for the Toronto Blueshirts of the NHA.

Walker would move full time to the Blueshirts for the 1913-14 season and finish second on the team and fifth in the league in scoring with 20 goals in 20 games. Toronto would finish the season in first place with a 13-7 record. The Montreal Canadiens would also post a 13-7 record and the two teams would play a two-game, total goals series to determine not only who would be the league champion, but also take possession of the Stanley Cup, which was previously held by the Quebec Bulldogs of the NHA. While Montreal won the first game 2-0, Toronto stormed back with a 6-0 win in Game 2 to take the series and the rights to the Stanley Cup.

1914 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Blueshirts

Three days later, the Blueshirts were back on the ice defending the cup against the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in a best-of-five series held in Toronto. The Blueshirts took Game 1 by a score of 5-2 played under five man NHA rules with Walker contributing a goal for Toronto. Game 2 was a closer affair, played with the PCHA's six man rules that added the Rover to the mix. The game went to overtime tied at 5-5 before Toronto prevailed after 18 minutes of extra time for a two game lead. Toronto then secured the cup with a 2-1 win to sweep the series in three straight. Walker and the other Blueshirts each received a $297 bonus as their share of the gate receipts.

Walker was back with the Blueshirts for the 1914-15 season, during which he scored 12 goals and was credited with 7 assists for 19 total points in 19 games. The Blueshirts finished mid-pack and were obliged to relinquish their hold on the Stanley Cup.

After playing their first four seasons as a three team league, the PCHA added a fourth team for the 1915-16 season, the Seattle Metropolitans. Needing to stock their roster with players for their inaugural season, the Metropolitans targeted the Blueshirts, and convinced Eddie Carpenter, Hap Holmes, Frank Foyston, Cully Wilson and Walker to all move out west to Seattle.

Walker finished second in team scoring and ninth in the league with 13 goals and 19 points in 18 games during his first PCHA season.

The Metropolitans would finish first in the league with a 16-8 record as Walker was third on the team in scoring, contributing 11 goals and 26 points in 24 games. As the league champions, Seattle faced off against the Montreal Canadiens of the NHA for the Stanley Cup in a best-of-five series held in Seattle.

While the Canadiens stormed to a 8-4 win in Game 1, the next three games were all Metropolitans as goaltender Holmes only allowed Montreal a single goal in each of the next three games, while Seattle scored 6, 4 and then a resounding 9 to win the series 3 games to 1 for the second Stanley Cup of Walker's career.

The 1917 Stanley Cup champion Seattle Metropolitans

The outbreak of World War I interrupted Walker's hockey career and he only played a single game of the 1917-18 season. He was back full time with the Metropolitans for the 1918-19 season, and scored 9 goals and 15 points in 20 games. Seattle came in second to the Vancouver Millionaires during the regular season, but defeated them in the playoffs 7-5 during a two-game, total goal series. The Metropolitans advanced to once again face off against the Canadiens.

After Seattle dominated Game 1 7-0 under PCHA rules, during which Walker played at the Rover position, Montreal evened the series with a 4-2 win in Game 2. Seattle again dominated under PCHA rules 7-2. Game 4 ended in a 0-0 tie after Holmes of Seattle and Georges Vezina were both perfect after 60 minutes of regulation and 20 minutes of overtime. The fifth game went to Montreal 4-3, but the remainder of the series was cancelled when five Montreal players were hospitalized due to contracting influenza, with the Canadiens "Bad" Joe Hall passing away four days later. Montreal manage George Kennedy informed those in charge that the Canadiens were forfeiting the cup to Seattle, but Pete Muldoon, the manager of the Metropolitans refused to accept in under such circumstances. The engraving on the cup for 1919 reads "Series Not Completed".

The 1919 Stanley Cup engraving

Assuming a more defensive role for the Metropolitans, Walker's offensive numbers reflected the change in his focus, and he was limited to 4 goals and 12 points in 22 games of the 1919-20 season. Seattle won the PCHA regular season and playoff, again coming from a 3-0 deficit after Game 1 to win 6-0 in the second game to return to the Stanley Cup Final after a 6-3 win. Seattle traveled east to play the Senators, with the first three game in Ottawa. The Senators won the first two, 3-2 and 3-0, before the Metropolitans took Game 3 by a score of 3-1. The series was then moved to Toronto in search of better ice conditions. Seattle then tied the series at 2 games each with a 5-2 win to force a Game 5, which went to Ottawa 6-1.

The 1920 PCHA champion Seattle Metropolitans

Over the course of the next four seasons, Seattle would participate in the PCHA playoffs three times, losing to Vancouver each time. Walker only managed 6 goals and 10 points in 1920-21 followed by 8 goals and 12 points in 1921-22, but then he had an offensive resurgence, scoring 13 goals and 23 points in 1922-23 followed by 18 goals and 23 points in 1923-24, which proved to be the final season for both the Metropolitans and the PCHA.

Walker played with the Metropolitans for every one of their nine seasons

While Seattle folded, both the Victoria Cougars and the Vancouver Millionaires, now known as the Maroons, both joined the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and Walker signed on with Victoria for the fourth season of WCHL play and contributed 7 goals and 7 assists in 28 games. While the Cougars finished third in the regular season, they defeated the Saskatoon Crescents 6 goals to 4 in the Semifinals and then defeated the Calgary Tigers 3 goals to 1 to earn the right to face the Canadiens for the Stanley Cup in a best-of-five series.

Walker joined the Victoria Cougars in 1924

Game 1 in Victoria went to the home team 5-2 and they put Montreal on the ropes with a 3-1 win in Vancouver in Game 2. Montreal stayed alive with a 4-2 win in Game 3, again in Victoria before the Cougars became the last team from outside the NHL to win the Stanley Cup, the third of Walker's career, with a decisive 6-1 win in Game 4 to take the series 3 games to 1. During the four games of the Finals, Walker scored 4 goals and 6 points. Adding in the 4 goals he scored during the Cougars 4 WCHL playoff games, Walker had more goals during the 8 postseason games he played, 8, than he did during his WCHL 28 regular season games, 7.

1925 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars

Not only was it Walker's third Stanley Cup, but it was done with his third different team that originated from three different leagues! To this day, Walker remains one of just 11 players to have ever won the Stanley Cup as a member of three different clubs.

The following season of 1925-26 was a virtual repeat, as Walker scored 9 goals and 17 points as Victoria again finished third but won the WCHL playoffs to return to the Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal, only this time it was the Montreal Maroons, not the Canadiens. Montreal had the upper hand however, taking the cup with a 3 games to 1 victory.

The 1925-26 Victoria Cougars

The WCHL, under financial duress, folded at the end of the season. Meanwhile, in the east, the NHL was in the process of expanding further into the United States. For the 1926-27 season, the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings were added to the league to join the New York Americans, Pittsburgh Pirates and Boston Bruins. Detroit's roster was stocked with the roster of the Victoria Cougars, which explains the Detroit franchise using the Cougars name in recognition of the source of their roster. All of this maneuvering led to Walker moving east to become a member of the Detroit club in now his sixth different league.

The inaugural 1926-27 Detroit Cougars

In 37 games, Walker scored 3 goals and 7 points while focusing on his renowned defensive abilities. He remained with the Cougars, who would later change their name to the Falcons and then settle on the Red Wings, for a second season, playing in 43 games scoring 2 goals and 6 points.

Walker obtained his release from Detroit in order to move back west for the 1928-29 season to join the new Seattle Eskimos franchise that would play in a new league, the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which was coached by the same Muldoon, his old coach with the Metropolitans. In 34 games he scored 5 goals and 13 points. He played two more seasons with the Eskimos, 1929-30 and 1930-31 and led the league in assists despite now being in his 40's.

Walker on his return to Seattle with the Eskimos

The Eskimos folded after the 1930-31 season, bringing an end to Walker's playing career. He did continue in hockey as a linseman and referee over the next ten years.

While he only played in two NHL seasons, Walker enjoyed a long and successful career in the formative days of professional hockey, which included winning the Stanley Cup on three different occasions, noteworthy since they came with three different teams in three different leagues. In all, Walker played in 364 games in the top level NHA, PCHA, WCHL and NHL, scoring 135 goals and 104 assists for 239 points.

A year before his passing, Walker was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960.

Today's featured jersey is a 1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Jack Walker jersey. The Metropolitans were the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup. They were founded in 1915 and won five PCHA titles and one Stanley Cup before folding in 1924.

Their distinctive green, white and red barberpole jersey style is a classic from the early days of professional hockey.

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1924-25 Victoria Cougars Jack Walker jersey. The Cougars began life in 1911 original members of the Patrick's PCHL. Two seasons later they adopted the name Aristocrats until 1916. With the outbreak of World War I, their arena was taken over by the Canadian military, which forced a move to Spokane, Washington as the Canaries for a year, after which the club folded.

The franchise was revived in 1918 as the Aristocrats and once again changed their name, this time to the Cougars in 1922 for their final four seasons, during which they became the final team not a member of the NHL to win the Stanley Cup.

Today's video section is a look at the history of hockey in Seattle.

1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Frank Foyston Jersey

Early hockey pioneer Frank Foyston was born on this date in 1891. He played 16 seasons as a professional beginning with the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA) in 1912. He played center, rover and wing and was a renowned goal scorer.

Frank Foyston of the Toronto Blueshirts

In just his first season as a professional, Foyston scored 8 goals in 16 games with the Blueshirts. Now settled in as a Blueshirts regular, he scored 16 goals and 2 assists for 18 points in 19 games. The Blueshirts tied the Montreal Canadiens atop the NHA standings so a two-game, total-goals series was staged to determine the NHA championship.

Montreal won Game 1 with a 2-0 shutout by legendary goaltender Georges Vezina, but the Blueshirts came back to win the vital Game 2 by a score of 6-0 to win not only the O'Brien Cup as NHA champions, but become the holders of the prestigious Stanley Cup.

1914 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Blueshirts

The Blueshirts then defended their newly won Stanley Cup just three days later when challenged by the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in a best-of-five series held in Toronto. Toronto dispatched their western challengers in three straight games to retain the cup.

Foyston played one more season with the Blueshirts, scoring 22 points in 20 games before signing to play with the brand new Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA for the 1915-16 season. Foyston made is presence in the PCHA known with nine goals and 13points in 18 games, but really became a force in the league the following season with 36 goals and 12 assists for 48 points in a 24 game schedule, good for third overall in league scoring. He also amassed 51 minutes in penalties, more than double the second highest total of his entire career.

The Seattle Metropolitans

As PCHA champions, the Metropolitans were paired with the NHA champion Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series. Montreal dominated Game 1 by a score of 8-4 but the host Metropolitans roared back to win three straight in dominating fashion, 6-1, 4-1 and 9-1 to became the first team based in the United States to ever win the Stanley Cup. During the four games of the finals, Foyston contributed 7 goals and 3 assists for 10 points.

The 1917 Stanley Cup finalists, the Seattle Metropolitans and Montreal Canadiens

The Metropolitans repeated as PCHA champions in 1919 and once more were facing the Canadiens when the remainder of the finals were cancelled with the teams tied at two wins each, along with a tie, when an outbreak of Spanish Influenza sidelined the Canadiens and eventually claimed the life of Joe Hall. Prior to the series being suspended, Foyston had done his part for the Metropolitans with nine goals in the five games.

Foyston again topped a goal per game in 1919-20 with 26 goals in 23 games. His 30 total points were the second most in the league. Seattle met their rivals, the Vancouver Millionaires, in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, with the Millionaires prevailing to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the mighty Ottawa Senators of the NHA. Ottawa would eventually out last the Metropolitans three games to two but not before the prolific Foyston scored 6 goals in 5 games.

The 1919 Stanley Cup engraving

For the final four seasons of the PCHA, Foyston remained among the leading scorers in the league, and led Seattle in scoring in 1921, 1923 and 1924 with a best of 26 goals and 30 points in 1920-21, but the Metropolitans failed to solve the Millionaires, later known as the Maroons from 1922-23, in three separate playoff series during that time.

With the demise of both the PCHA and the Metropolitans, Foyston joined the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), later simplified to the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Foyston while with the Victoria Cougars

While Foyston's offensive numbers would never reach the same levels as before, the Cougars were a successful team, defeating both Saskatoon and Calgary in the WCHL playoffs in 1925 to advance to face the Canadiens in a best-of-five final. The Cougars won the third Stanley Cup of Foyston's career by scores of 5-2, 3-1, 2-4 and 6-1. It was the only time since the start of the National Hockey League in 1917 that a team from outside the NHL would win the cup and would make Foyston one of only ten players to ever with the cup with three different teams.

1925 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars

Prior to the 1925-26 season, Foyston retired from hockey only to return in time to play 12 games with the Cougars prior to the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, the third place Cougars repeated their feat from the year before, this time defeating Saskatoon and then Edmonton to win the WHL championship and reach the finals. They fell short this time, losing to the Montreal Maroons three games to one.

The WHL folded after the season and the players from Victoria were purchased for a new NHL club located in Detroit, Michigan, where the club was named the Cougars in honor of the team that supplied their first roster.

Foyston wearing the original sweater of the Detroit Cougars

He played the 1926-27 season with the Cougars in the NHL and then split time between the Cougars and the minor league Detroit Olympics as a player/coach in 1927-28. He remained with the Olympics in 1928-29 and stayed with the team in 1929-30 when they became charter members of the new International Hockey League for the final season of his long and distinguished career.

Foyston was one of the first players to ever score 200 goals, with 242 total career goals, led the PCHA in goal scoring twice and added 37 more playoff goals on his way to three Stanley Cups. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Today's featured jersey is a 1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Frank Foyston jersey. The Metropolitans were the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup. They were founded in 1915 and won five PCHA titles and one Stanley Cup before folding in 1924.

Their distinctive green, white and red barberpole jersey style is a classic from the early days of professional hockey.

Today's video section is a look at the history of hockey in Seattle.

1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Bernie Morris Jersey

The Pacific Coast Hockey League was founded in 1911 by Frank and Lester Patrick. After three seasons the league expanded into the United States for the first time with the addition of the Portland Rosebuds, who were joined the following season by the Seattle Metropolitans.

The Metropolitans finished third in the four team league with a 9-9 record. They were led in scoring by Bernie Morris, who scored 23 goals and 9 assists in the 18 game schedule while Harry "Hap" Holmes held down the goaltending duties.

During the Metropolitans second season, Morris again led the club in scoring with a stellar 37 goals and 17 assists for 54 points in 24 games to lead the league in scoring as Seattle edged the Vancouver Millionaires to the regular season title with a 16-8 record. Additionally, Holmes led all goalkeepers that season with a 3.3o goals against average, well over a goal better than his next closest competition.

Unlike the Eastern National Hockey Association, which held a post season playoff to determine the league champion, Seattle advanced to the Stanley Cup Final simply by virtue of finishing first.

The 1917 Stanley Cup finalists, the Seattle Metropolitans and the Montreal Canadiens

The Metropolitans hosted the defending cup holders, the Montreal Canadiens, in a best of five series at the Seattle Ice Arena. The Canadiens defeated Seattle 8-4 in Game 1 held under PCHA rules as Didier Pitre scored four times for Montreal.

Game 2, held under NHA rules, saw the Metropolitans even the series with a dominant 6-1 win. Alternating back to PCHA rules, Seattle and Holmes again held Montreal to a single goal while Seattle scored 4 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Held on this date in 1917, Game 3 was all Seattle. Morris alone outscored Montreal, and by a wide margin, as he scored 6 of the Metropolitans goals as they won going away by a score of 9-1 to become the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup in it's 24 year history. During the series Morris would account for 14 of Seattle's 23 goals.

The following season the Metropolitans would finish first overall during the regular season with an 11-7 record, but would lose their hold on the Stanley Cup when they were defeated in the newly instituted PCHA playoffs.

They turned the tables in 1918-19 by defeating the Millionaires to advance to the 1919 finals. Tragically, after the series with the Canadiens was tied at 2-2-1, several of the players from Montreal fell ill with the Spanish Influenza, which caused the cancellation of the remainder of the series and would claim the life of Montreal's Joe Hall.

The 1919 Stanley Cup engraving

The 1919-20 PCHA season was extraordinarily tight, with the Metropolitans finishing first with a 12-10 record to the Millionaires 11-11 and the Victoria Aristocrats 10-12. Seattle again won the PCHA playoff and qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in four years, but came up short in five games against the Ottawa Senators.

Seattle finished with a 12-11-1 record in 1920-21 and missed out on a chance to return to the Stanley Cup Finals with a loss in the PCHA playoff. Parity again reigned in 1921-22 as Seattle finished first at 12-11-1 over the Millionaires at 12-12 and Victoria just behind at 11-12-1.

With games against teams from the Western Canada Hockey League counting in the PCHA standings, the Metropolitans finished last in the league despite a .500 record of 15-15.

The same system was in place for the 1923-24 season, and with the WCHL teams having improved since the previous season, Seattle oddly finished with the first losing record in franchise history at 14-16, yet finished first overall in the PCHA, ahead of Vancouver's 13-16-1 mark.

Seattle lost the two-game, total-goals playoff with Vancouver 4-3, which would turn out to be the final game for the Metropolitans, as the Seattle Ice Arena owners did not renew the team's lease, which led to the club ceasing operations, which in turn brought a close to the PCHA.

During their nine year run, Frank Foyston would lead the club in scoring with 139 goals and 163 points, followed by Morris with 139 points. Holmes would lead the PCHA in goaltending five times in the six years he was a member of the Metropolitans, including four in a row from 1918-19 to 1921-22.

Today's featured jersey is a 1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Bernie Morris jersey as worn when he scored six goals in the Metropolitans Stanley Cup clinching goal on this date in 1917.

The Metropolitans would wear a barberpole style jersey throughout their history with minor variations to their "S" crest until 1921, when the word "Seattle" diagonally across the chest.

Morris first played for a number of senior level teams prior to joining the Victoria Aristocrats of the PCHA in 1914-15. He then joined Seattle for eight years. In 1923-24 he was traded to the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL and played there for a season and a half before moving east to become a member of the brand new Boston Bruins of the NHL for six games. After being released by the Bruins, Morris returned to the WCHL and became a member of the Regina Capitals. He played the final five seasons of his hockey career with a variety of teams in a series of minor leagues.

1924-25 Victoria Cougars Jack Walker Jersey

Born on this date in 1888, Jack Walker grew up and began playing hockey in Port Arthur, Ontario. His first team was the Port Arthur East Greys of the New Ontario Hockey League in 1905-06. After one more season with the East Greys, Walker joined the Port Arthur Lake City club in the same NOHL for the 1907-08 season.

A forward, Walker started slowly with 3 goals in 6 games his first season with Lake City, a total which increased to 8 goals in 12 games the following season before he found his game with 20 goals in 12 games in 1909-10 and added one and a half times that many in 1910-11 with 30 goals in 14 contests while leading the team to their second consecutive league championship. Following the season he got his first taste of Stanley Cup competition when Port Arthur challenged the Ottawa Hockey Club in a single elimination game, which the famed Silver Seven won handily 13-4, with Walker scoring one of the goals for Port Arthur.

Walker played one final season for Lake City with 17 more goals before attracting attention from the growing professional leagues of the east. He began the 1912-13 season with the brand new Toronto Blueshirts (who would eventually become the Maple Leafs in 1927) of the National Hockey Association, but left for the defending league champion Moncton Victorias of the Maritime Professional Hockey League after just a single game in Toronto. With the Victorias, Walker totaled 21 goals in 15 games, which proved to be the final season for Moncton, and Walker rejoined Toronto for the 1913-14 season.

It proved to be a shrewd move, as Toronto tied for first place in the NHA with a 13-7 record and defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6-2 in a two game series to earn the right to challenge for the Stanley Cup, taking on the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in a best-of-five series. Toronto won all three contests to sweep the series and earn Walker his first Stanley Cup as well as a bonus of $297.

1914 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Blueshirts

He returned to the Blueshirts for the 1914-15 season, in which he scored a dozen goals in 19 games. The rivalry between the NHA and PCHL was in full swing at this point, and Frank and Lester Patrick signed all but one of the Blueshirts to stock the roster of the newly created Seattle Metropolitains PCHL franchise, which included Walker.

During his second season with Seattle of 1916-17, the club would win the PCHL title with a 16-8 record which earned them the right to compete for the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadiens of the NHA. Montreal won Game 1 by a score of 8-4 before Seattle's defense dug in, allowing just one goal in each of the three remaining games easily by scores of 6-1, 4-1 and finally a 9-1 blowout to become the first American club to win the Stanley Cup, the second of Walker's career. The Seattle Daily Time wrote "The lexicon of sport does not contain language adequate to describe the fervor of the fans." following the Metropolitans victory.

The 1916-17 Stanley Cup champion Seattle Metropolitans

Two seasons later Walker and the Metropolitains would again advance to the Stanley Cup Finals by defeating the Vancouver Millionaires in the PCHA playoffs. Seattle once again found the same Montreal Canadiens as their opponents, who they demolished 7-0 in Game 1. Montreal rebounded with a 4-2 win in Game 2 but Seattle responded with another strong performance with a 7-2 win in Game 3. Game 4 ended in a scoreless tie and then the Canadiens eked out a 4-3 win at 15:57 of overtime to even the series at 2-2-1 heading into Game 5. Only Game 5 was never played, as several of the Canadiens were admitted to the hospital feeling the effects of the influenza epidemic, which had arrived on Canada's west coast, causing the game to be cancelled and the series permanently suspended. After spending nine days in the hospital, Bad Joe Hall of Montreal died of his illness.

The Stanley Cup engraving for 1919 reads "Series not Completed"

Seattle won the PCHA regular season and playoffs again in 1919-20 to make the Metropolitains third Stanley Cup appearance. This time they traveled east to face the Ottawa Senators, where they lost the first two games of the best-of-five series before winning Game 3 on the slushy ice in Ottawa, where the arena did not have the capability to make artificial ice. The series moved to Toronto where the Metropolitans forced a deciding Game 5 with a 5-2 win to even the series at 2 games each. The Senators denied Walker another cup with a 6-1 victory to close out the series.

In all, Walker would play all nine seasons of the Metropolitans seasons from 1915-16 to 1923-24, which included five first place finishes and three league playoff championships and one Stanley Cup. While with Seattle, Walker would play in 186 games and score 82 goals with a high of 18 in his final season with the club on his way to leading them in scoring with 23 total points. He would finish as the third leading scorer in Metropolitans history despite being better known for his aggressive defensive play.

With the Metropolitans, as well as the PCHA, no longer in business, Walker signed with the Victoria Cougars, who had moved from the PCHA to the Western Canada Hockey League. While the Cougars had a moderately successful regular season, finishing third with a 16-12 record, they defeated Saskatoon on the league semifinals before defeating the Calgary Tigers 3 goals to 1 in the finals. Their playoff run continued as they now faced the Canadiens, who by now had joined the new National Hockey League. Games 1 and 2 went to Victoria 5-2 and 3-1 before Montreal stayed alive in their best-of-five with a 4-2 win in Game 3. Victoria then became the final team outside of the NHL to win the Stanley Cup when they dominated Game 4 by a score of 6-1 to earn Walker his third Stanley Cup with his third different team as a member of three different leagues, still one of only ten men to ever with the cup with three different clubs, along with teammate and goaltender Hap Holmes who was with him for all three.

The 1924-25 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars

Walker would play one more season with the Cougars in Victoria for the 1925-26 season before the roster was sold to interests in Detroit who were starting up a new NHL franchise for the 1926-27 season. In honor of their roster coming from the Victoria Cougars, the new Detroit ownership named their new club the Detroit Cougars. After enjoying nine years of stability with the Metropolitans, Walker was now playing for his third different club in his third different league in four seasons.

He played two seasons in Detroit and then returned to Seattle, where a new club, the Seattle Eskimos of the brand new Pacific Coast Hockey League was just beginning. The team and league lasted three seasons, with Walker competing in all three and earning the league's MVP trophy.

He spent two more seasons coaching and occasionally playing in a league in California to wind down his career, which spanned over 25 years and saw hockey grow from it's amateur days, to the beginnings of professionalism, the expansion to the west and formation of the NHL and it's expansion into the United States., While Walker only played 80 games in the NHL, his career was a long and successful one, which saw him win three Stanley Cups and gain induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960.

Today's featured jersey is a 1924-25 Victoria Cougars Jack Walker jersey. The Cougars began life in 1911 original members of the Patrick's PCHL. Two seasons later they adopted the name Aristocrats until 1916. With the outbreak of World War I, their arena was taken over by the Canadian military, which forced a move to Spokane, Washington as the Canaries for a year, after which the club folded.

The franchise was revived in 1918 as the Aristocrats and once again changed their name, this time to the Cougars in 1922 for their final four seasons, during which they became the final team not a member of the NHL to win the Stanley Cup.

1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Bernie Morris Jersey

The Pacific Coast Hockey League was founded in 1911 by Frank and Lester Patrick. After three seasons the league expanded into the United States for the first time with the addition of the Portland Rosebuds, who were joined the following season by the Seattle Metropolitans.

The Metropolitans finished third in the four team league with a 9-9 record. They were led in scoring by Bernie Morris, who scored 23 goals and 9 assists in the 18 game schedule while Harry "Hap" Holmes held down the goaltending duties.

During the Metropolitans second season, Morris again led the club in scoring with a stellar 37 goals and 17 assists for 54 points in 24 games to lead the league in scoring as Seattle edged the Vancouver Millionaires to the regular season title with a 16-8 record. Additionally, Holmes led all goalkeepers that season with a 3.3o goals against average, well over a goal better than his next closest competition.

Unlike the Eastern National Hockey Association, which held a post season playoff to determine the league champion, Seattle advanced to the Stanley Cup Final simply by virtue of finishing first.

The 1917 Stanley Cup finalists, the Seattle Metropolitans and the Montreal Canadiens

The Metropolitans hosted the defending cup holders, the Montreal Canadiens, in a best of five series at the Seattle Ice Arena. The Canadiens defeated Seattle 8-4 in Game 1 held under PCHA rules as Didier Pitre scored four times for Montreal.

Game 2, held under NHA rules, saw the Metropolitans even the series with a dominant 6-1 win. Alternating back to PCHA rules, Seattle and Holmes again held Montreal to a single goal while Seattle scored 4 to take a 2-1 series lead.

Held on this date in 1917, Game 3 was all Seattle. Morris alone outscored Montreal, and by a wide margin, as he scored 6 of the Metropolitans goals as they won going away by a score of 9-1 to become the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup in it's 24 year history. During the series Morris would account for 14 of Seattle's 23 goals.

The following season the Metropolitans would finish first overall during the regular season with an 11-7 record, but would lose their hold on the Stanley Cup when they were defeated in the newly instituted PCHA playoffs.

They turned the tables in 1918-19 by defeating the Millionaires to advance to the 1919 finals. Tragically, after the series with the Canadiens was tied at 2-2-1, several of the players from Montreal fell ill with the Spanish Influenza, which caused the cancellation of the remainder of the series and would claim the life of Montreal's Joe Hall.

The 1919 Stanley Cup engraving

The 1919-20 PCHA season was extraordinarily tight, with the Metropolitans finishing first with a 12-10 record to the Millionaires 11-11 and the Victoria Aristocrats 10-12. Seattle again won the PCHA playoff and qualified for the Stanley Cup Finals for the third time in four years, but came up short in five games against the Ottawa Senators.

Seattle finished with a 12-11-1 record in 1920-21 and missed out on a chance to return to the Stanley Cup Finals with a loss in the PCHA playoff. Parity again reigned in 1921-22 as Seattle finished first at 12-11-1 over the Millionaires at 12-12 and Victoria just behind at 11-12-1.

With games against teams from the Western Canada Hockey League counting in the PCHA standings, the Metropolitans finished last in the league despite a .500 record of 15-15.

The same system was in place for the 1923-24 season, and with the WCHL teams having improved since the previous season, Seattle oddly finished with the first losing record in franchise history at 14-16, yet finished first overall in the PCHA, ahead of Vancouver's 13-16-1 mark.

Seattle lost the two-game, total-goals playoff with Vancouver 4-3, which would turn out to be the final game for the Metropolitans, as the Seattle Ice Arena owners did not renew the team's lease, which led to the club ceasing operations, which in turn brought a close to the PCHA.

During their nine year run, Frank Foyston would lead the club in scoring with 139 goals and 163 points, followed by Morris with 139 points. Holmes would lead the PCHA in goaltending five times in the six years he was a member of the Metropolitans, including four in a row from 1918-19 to 1921-22.

Today's featured jersey is a 1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Bernie Morris jersey as worn when he scored six goals in the Metropolitans Stanley Cup clinching goal on this date in 1917.

The Metropolitans would wear a barberpole style jersey throughout their history with minor variations to their "S" crest until 1921, when the word "Seattle" diagonally across the chest.

Morris first played for a number of senior level teams prior to joining the Victoria Aristocrats of the PCHA in 1914-15. He then joined Seattle for eight years. In 1923-24 he was traded to the Calgary Tigers of the WCHL and played there for a season and a half before moving east to become a member of the brand new Boston Bruins of the NHL for six games. After being released by the Bruins, Morris returned to the WCHL and became a member of the Regina Capitals. He played the final five seasons of his hockey career with a variety of teams in a series of minor leagues.

1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Frank Foyston Jersey

Early hockey pioneer Frank Foyston was born on this date in 1891. He played 16 seasons as a professional beginning with the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA) in 1912. He played center, rover and wing and was a renowned goal scorer.

Frank Foyston of the Toronto Blueshirts

In just his first season as a professional, Foyston scored 8 goals in 16 games with the Blueshirts. Now settled in as a Blueshirts regular, he scored 16 goals and 2 assists for 18 points in 19 games. The Blueshirts tied the Montreal Canadiens atop the NHA standings so a two-game, total-goals series was staged to determine the NHA championship.

Montreal won Game 1 with a 2-0 shutout by legendary goaltender Georges Vezina, but the Blueshirts came back to win the vital Game 2 by a score of 6-0 to win not only the O'Brien Cup as NHA champions, but become the holders of the prestigious Stanley Cup.

1914 Stanley Cup champion Toronto Blueshirts

The Blueshirts then defended their newly won Stanley Cup just three days later when challenged by the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in a best-of-five series held in Toronto. Toronto dispatched their western challengers in three straight games to retain the cup.

Foyston played one more season with the Blueshirts, scoring 22 points in 20 games before signing to play with the brand new Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA for the 1915-16 season. Foyston made is presence in the PCHA known with nine goals and 13points in 18 games, but really became a force in the league the following season with 36 goals and 12 assists for 48 points in a 24 game schedule, good for third overall in league scoring. He also amassed 51 minutes in penalties, more than double the second highest total of his entire career.

The Seattle Metropolitans

As PCHA champions, the Metropolitans were paired with the NHA champion Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series. Montreal dominated Game 1 by a score of 8-4 but the host Metropolitans roared back to win three straight in dominating fashion, 6-1, 4-1 and 9-1 to became the first team based in the United States to ever win the Stanley Cup. During the four games of the finals, Foyston contributed 7 goals and 3 assists for 10 points.

The 1917 Stanley Cup finalists, the Seattle Metropolitans and Montreal Canadiens

The Metropolitans repeated as PCHA champions in 1919 and once more were facing the Canadiens when the remainder of the finals were cancelled with the teams tied at two wins each, along with a tie, when an outbreak of Spanish Influenza sidelined the Canadiens and eventually claimed the life of Joe Hall. Prior to the series being suspended, Foyston had done his part for the Metropolitans with nine goals in the five games.

Foyston again topped a goal per game in 1919-20 with 26 goals in 23 games. His 30 total points were the second most in the league. Seattle met their rivals, the Vancouver Millionaires, in the playoffs for the third consecutive season, with the Millionaires prevailing to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals against the mighty Ottawa Senators of the NHA. Ottawa would eventually out last the Metropolitans three games to two but not before the prolific Foyston scored 6 goals in 5 games.

The 1919 Stanley Cup engraving

For the final four seasons of the PCHA, Foyston remained among the leading scorers in the league, and led Seattle in scoring in 1921, 1923 and 1924 with a best of 26 goals and 30 points in 1920-21, but the Metropolitans failed to solve the Millionaires, later known as the Maroons from 1922-23, in three separate playoff series during that time.

With the demise of both the PCHA and the Metropolitans, Foyston joined the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), later simplified to the Western Hockey League (WHL).

Foyston while with the Victoria Cougars

While Foyston's offensive numbers would never reach the same levels as before, the Cougars were a successful team, defeating both Saskatoon and Calgary in the WCHL playoffs in 1925 to advance to face the Canadiens in a best-of-five final. The Cougars won the third Stanley Cup of Foyston's career by scores of 5-2, 3-1, 2-4 and 6-1. It was the only time since the start of the National Hockey League in 1917 that a team from outside the NHL would win the cup and would make Foyston one of only ten players to ever with the cup with three different teams.

1925 Stanley Cup champion Victoria Cougars

Prior to the 1925-26 season, Foyston retired from hockey only to return in time to play 12 games with the Cougars prior to the playoffs. Once in the playoffs, the third place Cougars repeated their feat from the year before, this time defeating Saskatoon and then Edmonton to win the WHL championship and reach the finals. They fell short this time, losing to the Montreal Maroons three games to one.

The WHL folded after the season and the players from Victoria were purchased for a new NHL club located in Detroit, Michigan, where the club was named the Cougars in honor of the team that supplied their first roster.

Foyston wearing the original sweater of the Detroit Cougars

He played the 1926-27 season with the Cougars in the NHL and then split time between the Cougars and the minor league Detroit Olympics as a player/coach in 1927-28. He remained with the Olympics in 1928-29 and stayed with the team in 1929-30 when they became charter members of the new International Hockey League for the final season of his long and distinguished career.

Foyston was one of the first players to ever score 200 goals, with 242 total career goals, led the PCHA in goal scoring twice and added 37 more playoff goals on his way to three Stanley Cups. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Today's featured jersey is a 1916-17 Seattle Metropolitans Frank Foyston jersey. The Metropolitans were the first team based in the United States to win the Stanley Cup. They were founded in 1915 and won five PCHA titles and one Stanley Cup before folding in 1924.

Their distinctive green, white and red barberpole jersey style is a classic from the early days of professional hockey.