1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles Tom Hooper Jersey

Born on this date in 1883 in Rat Portage, Ontario, Tom Hooper, known as a formidable checker and clever stickhandler, joined the Rat Portage Thistles of the Manitoba Senior Hockey League at the age of 18. The Thistles won the league championship in 1903, and emboldened by their local success, travelled east to challenge the Ottawa Silver Seven for their grip on the Stanley Cup in March of 1903.

1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles

Their series was a two-game, total-goal contest in which the Silver Seven took a dominant 6-2 win in Game 1, leaving Rat Portage a task they could not overcome. Game 2 also went the way of the Silver Seven 4-2, allowing them to retain their hold on the trophy.

Two seasons later following a 7-1 regular season record in which he scored a career high 9 goals, Hooper and the Thistles, now older and wiser than the teenagers of 1903, once more challenged mighty Ottawa for the rights to the Stanley Cup. This time around, the contest was a best-of-three format and the Thistles broke out on top with a 9-3 win in Game 1, which certainly must have had the Thistles faithful pining for a return to the two-game, total-goals format. The Senators welcomed back center Frank McGee for Game 2, and Ottawa responded with a 4-2 win to even the series. The decisive Game 3 once again went the way of Ottawa in a nail biting 5-4 win for the home Senators, sending the Thistles back to Rat Portage empty handed. Hooper finished the series with a pair of goals this time out.

The MAHA league champions and Stanley Cup
challenging 1904-05 Rat Portage Thistles

In 1905 the town renamed itself Kenora while the hockey club continued to be known as the Thistles. The Thistles won the MAHA title in 1906, but circumstances out east did not allow time for an immediate challenge, so one was scheduled during the following 1906-07 season.

The 1905-06 Kenora Thistles pose with their
impressive Manitoba league championship trophy

In January of 1907, the time arrived for the Thistles challenge for the Stanley Cup and they traveled east once more, this time to face the Montreal Wanderers, who had wrestled away control of the cup from Ottawa during their league playoffs.

The Thistles, with future hall of famers Joe Hall, Tommy Phillips, Art Ross, Billy McGimsie, Roxy Beaudro and Hooper, defeated Montreal 4-2 in Game 1 on January 17 and won the coveted Stanley Cup on four days later with an 8-6 triumph to win the two-game, total goal series 12-8, with Hooper contributing 3 goals in the second game , making Kenora, population 4000, the smallest town to have ever won a major sports championship in North America.

The 1907 Stanley Cup holders the Kenora Thistles

Following the Thistles' Manitoba Professional Hockey League season, they defeated Brandon Wheat City 8-6 and 4-1 to win the league's playoff championship, which also allowed them to retain possession of the Stanley Cup. Five days later, on March 23, the Thistles took to the ice to defend their cup against the Wanderers, this time in Winnipeg but without Hooper who had fractured his collarbone. Montreal took Game 1 by a score of 7-2, and although Kenora won the second game 6-5, it was not enough to overcome Montreal's 5 goal margin from the first game, and the cup was again headed back east, ending tiny Kenora's reign as champions of all of Canada after just two months.

Gutted by player defections to professional clubs, the Thistles folded after just one game of the 1907-08 season and Hooper moved east to play one game with the Pembroke Lumber Kings prior to joining the Wanderers for two regular season games, as well as their defense of the Stanley Cup they had claimed back from Kenora a year earlier. The Wanderers easily fended off the challenge from the Ottawa Victorias 9-3 and 13-1 with Hooper having moved back to a defensive role with the Wanderers.

1908 Stanley Cup holders the Montreal Wanderers

Hooper then joined the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association club for the remaining seven games of the season in which he scored 9 goals and subsequently retired as a player, having played for seven seasons in 65 games and scoring 48 goals as well as winning the Stanley Cup twice. He was later elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

Today's featured jersey is a 1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles Tom Hooper jersey. The Thistles name was selected from a local name the team contest, with the winner, a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore, who not only submitting the name "Thistles", but a drawing for the logo that would adorn the team's sweaters as well.

Most often the Thistles logo would appear centered on the teams sweaters, but as seen in the above team photo from the 1903-04 season, there was some inconsistency in 1902-03 and 1903-04 where some sweaters had what would become the standard centered logo, some had the logo over the left breast and some had no logo whatsoever.

Today's video segment is a look at the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that interview subject Louis McKay played on in 1934.

1907 Kenora Thistles Si Griffis Jersey

Born on this date in 1883, Silas "Si" Griffis began his hockey career with the Rat Portage Thistles of the Manitoba and Northwestern Hockey Association (MNWHA) with a pair of games during the 1901-02 season.

The Thistles in action

Griffis was noted for his speed and played both rover and cover-point (defense) during the seven-man era in the early days of organized hockey. He played 5 games during the 1902-03 season, scoring his first 5 goals as Rat Portage won the league title. They then challenged the Ottawa Hockey Club for the Stanley Cup in March of 1903. Ottawa defeated the Thistles 6-2 and 4-2 to retain the cup 2 games to none.

The 1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles

His offensive game flourished the next two season, as he scored a dozen goals in 12 games, as well as being credited with a pair of assists. For the 1904-05 season, the amateur MNWHA turned professional, and with the move came a new name to the Manitoba Professional Hockey Association. Griffis had the best offensive season of his career, scoring 15 goals in just 8 games as Rat Portage when 7-1 to win the league title, which subsequently gave them the opportunity to challenge Ottawa, now known as the Senators, for the Stanley Cup.

The MAHA league champions and Stanley Cup challenging

1904-05 Rat Portage Thistles

With Senators star Frank McGee out for Game 1, the visiting Thistles cruised to a dominant 9-3 win. McGee returned to the ice for Game 2, won by Ottawa 4-2 and after their 5-4 win in the deciding third game, Ottawa had repelled the Thistles challenge once again.

Over the summer, the Rat Portage was combined with two nearby towns and a new name chosen by combining the first two letters of Keewatin, Norman and Rat Portage for the new municipality of Kenora.

Griffis remained a member of the now Kenora Thistles and scored 9 goals in 9 games of the 1905-06 season. Kenora had finished first in the league with a 7-1 record, with the Winnipeg Hockey Club just behind at 6-1-1. However, Winnipeg's tie with the Brandon Hockey Club was replayed, which allowed Winnipeg to tie Kenora for the league title. This necessitated a playoff, which was won by Kenora, again giving them the right to challenge for the Stanley Cup. However, the challenge was not actually played until the following season!

The 1906 Kenora Thistles pose with their  impressive
Manitoba league championship trophy

The 1906-07 season began and shortly after the calendar flipped to 1907, Kenora finally were able to get their shot at the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup. The format this time was a two-game, total-goals series to be played at the Montreal Arena on January 17th and 21st.

The Thistles loaded their roster with ringers and future Hall of Famers Tom Hooper, Tommy Phillips. "Bad" Joe Hall and Art Ross. Game 1 went to the Thistles 4-2, with Phillips scoring all four goals for Kenora. Game 2 saw both Phillips and Hooper score hat tricks as the Thistles won 8-6 to take the series 12-8 and become the smallest city to ever win the Stanley Cup. Griffis played cover-point during both games.

Kenora finished second in the four team MPHA and won their mid-March playoff against Brandon Wheat City to retain the rights to the Stanley Cup with wins of 8-6 and 4-1.

The 1907 Stanley Cup Champion Kenora Thistles luckily took the time

to pose with their trophy during the brief time they held it with
Griffis front row on the left

Five days later Kenora faced another challenge for the cup, this from the Wanderers, 1907 champions of the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association. The series was played in Winnipeg and Game 1 saw the Wanderers dominate with a 7-2 win to open the two-game, total-goals series. Kenora fought hard and won Game 2 by a score of 6-5, which included a goal by Griffis, but Montreal's 5 goal advantage was too great to overcome, ending Kenora's reign as champions of Canada after two short months.

Griffis then took some extended time away from hockey, not playing for the next two seasons. He played for the Nelson Hockey Club in British Columbia for the 1909-10 season before not playing again in 1910-11.

All that changed when Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick formed the new Pacific Coast Hockey Association for the 1911-12 season and came calling in an effort to help fill the rosters of their three member clubs. Griffis became a member of Frank's Vancouver Millionaires, and in 15 games, contributed 8 goals.

Griffis, far left, and the inaugural Vancouver Millionaires

For the 1912-13 season, Griffis just missed out on being in the top ten in league scoring with 10 goals and 3 assists in 14 games. The next two seasons saw him score an identical 2 goals and 5 points. Vancouver, after four tries, finally won the PCHA championship and hosted the Stanley Cup Finals against the Senators, now of the National Hockey Association.

The 1913-14 Vancouver Millionaires

Vancouver took Game 1 6-2 under PCHA rules. Game 2, played under NHA rules, did not slow the Millionaires, who took a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five series with a 8-3 romp. Ottawa could not respond in their must-win Game 3, and Vancouver became the first western team to win the Stanley Cup with an overpowering 12-3 to sweep the series in three straight with Griffis as their team captain, leading a roster which also included future Hall of Famers Cyclone Taylor, Mickey MacKay, Barney Stanley, Frank Nighbor, Frank Patrick and goaltender Hughie Lehman.

The 1915 Stanley Cup champion Vancouver Millionaires

In 1915-16 Griffis raised his previous offensive numbers to 7 goals and 12 points followed by 7 goals and 11 points in 1916-17.

For the 1917-18 season, Griffis had 3 goals and 8 points in 8 games as Vancouver finished in second place. Unlike in the early days of hockey when the first place team would then challenge for the cup, the PCHA now had first place play the second finisher for the league championship. In a tight, closely fought series, the Seattle Metropolitains won the first game 2-1, but when the Millionaires took Game 2 by a 2-0 shutout, they won the series 3 goals to 2, which earned them a trip to Toronto to take on the Toronto Arenas of the first year National Hockey League.

Game 1 went to Toronto playing under the NHL's six man rules 5-3, but with the PCHA's seven man rulebook, Vancouver won 6-4 in Game 2. Toronto moved ahead with a 6-3 lead back under NHL rules, but Vancovuer stayed alive with an 8-1 thrashing of the home team back under the PCHA format. In a nailbiter, Toronto won the Stanley Cup thanks to a 2-1 win in the deciding Game 5.

Griffis had suffered a leg injury back in 1915, which did not heal well, and finally after just two games played in the 1918-19 season, he retired from top level hockey. He did continue to play senior hockey for a number of years and was a competitive bowler and golfer. In July of 1950, Griffis was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame before he passed away later that same month at the age of 66.

Griffis with the Millionaires in 1912-13

Today's featured jersey is a 1907 Kenora Thistles Si Griffis jersey. The Thistles name was chosen in a contest and the winner was a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore, who not only submitted the name in reference to the region's Scottish heritage, but a drawing of a thistle for the team's logo.

This jersey is the style worn by the 1907 Stanley Cup champion Thistles club. These jerseys were reproduced by the CBC in connection with their "Hockey: A People's History" documentary, and are sadly no longer available on demand.

 

Today's video section, a look at the Kenora Thistles and hockey's early days. The original Thistles club disbanded in 1908, but subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistles name, which was the case for the club that Louis McKay played on in 1934.

1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross Jersey

When the Stanley Cup was first offered in 1892 as the prize for the best team in among Canada's amateur ranks, it was called the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup".

The cup was donated, at the urging of his two sons Arthur and Algernon, by Lord Stanley of Preston, then the Governor General of Canada, with the intent of creating a way to recognize which club was the current champion.

There was no single league across the whole of Canada at the time, so the format of awarding the cup was based on a challenge format, where the champion of one of the various amateur senior hockey associations could issue a challenge to the holders of the cup. This meant that challenge games could happen at any time during the season as challenges were approved, or ordered, by the cup's trustees. For example, the Ottawa Hockey Club faced four separate challenges for the cup, defended successfully each time, between January and March of 1904 from the Winnipeg Rowing Club, the Toronto Marlboros, the Montreal Wanderers and Brandon Wheat Cities, the latter two taking place just one week apart.

The challenge system was in effect until 1914, with the challenges varying from single-elimination games to best of three or two games, total goals series throughout the challenge era, when the trustees of the cup agreed that it would now be awarded to the winner of a playoff series each season between the champions of the professional National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) leagues.

It was on this date in 1907 that the Kenora Thistles captured the Stanley Cup as they successfully completed a two-game total-goal series against the current cup holders, the Montreal Wanderers, by a score of 12-8.

The Wanderers had held the cup since March of 1906 and had defended the cup once in December of 1906 before the Thistles issued their challenge based on being the champions of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL).

The Kenora Thistles in action

The Thistles won the first game at the Montreal Arena on January 17, 1907 4-2 and captured the cup four days later by outlasting the Wanderers 8-6. Members of the Thistles included future Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Hall, Tom Hooper, captain Tommy Phillips and Art Ross.

Kenora would retain the cup two months later on March 16 and 18, 1907 by winning the MPHL playoffs against the Brandon Wheat Cities club in a best-of-three series 2 games to none by scores of 8-6 and 4-1.

Just five days after defending the cup, Kenora faced another challenge, this time from the same Montreal Wanderers whom they had taken the cup from exactly two months earlier. The Wanderers took game one in the two-game total-goals series by a commanding 7-2 margin. The Thistles preserved some pride by winning Game 2 by a score of 6-5, but it was not enough to overcome the five goal advantage the Wanderers took into the contest, as they regained the rights to the cup by a final margin of 12 goals to 8, ending the Thistles reign as cup holders at a mere 62 days, the shortest reign in Stanley Cup history.

The 1907 Stanley Cup champion Rat Portage Thistles luckily

took time to pose with their trophy during the brief two months they held it

Of note, while each previous cup champion had the right to engrave the name of their club onto the cup, it was the Wanderers who were the first to include the names of each individual player on the championship team, a practice which became an annual tradition in 1924 and set the cup on it's journey from 7 inch bowl to the three foot tall trophy it is today.

Kenora, originally called "Rat Portage", then with a population of just 4,000 holds the record as the smallest city to ever hold the Stanley Cup. It is located 2oo kilometers east of Winnipeg, directly above Minnesota, in far western Ontario.

Rat Portage in 1880

The Rat Portage Thistles were founded in 1896 and unsuccessfully challenged for the cup twice before in 1903 and 1905 when they were turned back by the Ottawa Silver Seven. It was later in the summer of 1905 that Rat Portage changed it's name to Kenora. The Thistles hockey club would fold during the 1907-08 MPHL season.

The 1897 Rat Portage Thistles

Today's featured jersey is a 1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross jersey. The Thistles name was chosen in a contest and the winner was a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore who not only submitted the name in reference to the region's Scottish heritage, but a drawing of a thistle for the team's logo.

This jersey is the style worn by the Stanley Cup champion Thistles club, which included Ross, who would go on to be not only a player, but a general manager and coach in the NHL and have the trophy for the NHL's annual trophy for the league's leading scorer, the Art Ross Trophy, named after him.

These jerseys were reproduced by the CBC in connection with their "Hockey: A People's History" documentary, and are sadly no longer available on demand.

In another one of those amazing youtube moments, here is a video on the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that Louis McKay played on in 1934.

1907 Kenora Thistles Tommy Phillips Jersey

Born in Rat Portage, Ontario, Tommy Phillips played for the local junior team before moving to Montreal to attending McGill University in 1902, where he joined the school's hockey team and was named the team captain. He also found time to play with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association, who were the present holders of the Stanley Cup at the time Phillips joined the club.

The 1900 Rat Portage Thistles

In late January of 1903 the Montreal AAA faced a challenge from the Winnipeg Victorias, which was a best-of-three format. Montreal won Game 1 by a score of 8-1 and Game 2 was declared a tie after 27 minutes of overtime when the clock reached midnight. While Winnipeg won the third game 4-2, Montreal retained the cup with a 4-1 win  in the deciding fourth game as Phillips contributed 3 goals during the series.

The 1903 Montreal Amateur Athletic Association

Phillips moved to Toronto to attend a different school in late 1903, and while there, he joined the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey Association and played as their rover. He scored 5 goals in 4 games as the club won the city and province championships, which earned the Marlboros the right to challenge the Ottawa Hockey Club for the cup in late February of 1904, which Ottawa was able to defend 2 games to none.

He returned to Rat Portage to be with his ailing father later in 1904 and took a job with a lumber company as well as a bonus to play hockey for the Rat Portage Thistles. During his first season with the team he finished second in the league with 26 goals in 8 games.

The Thistles won the Manitoba Hockey League title with a 7-1 record and subsequently challenged the Ottawa Senators for the rights to the Stanley Cup in March of 1905, a series won by Ottawa 2 games to 1. The Thistles won the first game 9-3, with Phillips finding the net no less than five times. While Ottawa took the third game by a score of 5-4, Phillips had a hat trick in the losing effort.

The founding fathers of Rat Portage saw fit to merge with the towns of Keewatin and Norman, and taking the first two letters from each, renamed the newly formed municipality Kenora in 1905. While the town's name may have changed, the hockey team kept the name Thistles.

For the 1905-06 season, the Kenora Thistles repeated their 7-1 record to win the league title once more,  with Phillips scoring 24 goals in 9 games. However, a warm spring left the teams without suitable ice for a cup challenge until the following winter!

The 1906 Kenora Thistles

Phillips led the league in 1906-07 with 18 goals in 6 games for Kenora, who then got their long-awaited Stanley Cup challenge against the Montreal Wanderers in January of 1907. The Thistles roster was stacked with four future Hockey Hall of Famers, including "Bad" Joe Hall, Tom Hooper and Art Ross. The format of the series was a two-game, total-goals series. Phillips, the Kenora team captain, led the way in Game 1, scoring all four Thistles goals for a 4-2 win, giving Kenora a 2 goal cushion entering Game 2.

Both Phillips and Hooper recorded hat tricks in Game 2 as Kenora won the game 8-6, taking the series 12-8 and claiming the Stanley Cup for tiny Kenora, the smallest town to ever hold the cup.

After their challenge in January, Kenora returned home with the cup to finish their league schedule, which ran through March. The Thistles won the MPHL league playoff title to retain the cup and were then immediately challenged by the Wanderers in late March. The Thistles had lost three players to injuries and skillfully replaced them all with future Hall of Famers, Alf Smith, Harry "Rat" Westwick and Fred Whitcroft. There was some controversy over Kenora's use of their replacements, but in the end Montreal won back the cup 12 goals to 8 after the series was moved to Winnipeg in search of better playing conditions. Phillips recorded a goal in each of the two games of the challenge.

The 1907 Stanley Cup Champion Kenora Thistles

Phillips was lured east thanks to the rise in professional hockey, as up until 1906 he played in amateur leagues. Despite an potentially higher offer from the Wanderers, Phillips signed to play with Ottawa and finished third in the league with 26 goals.

Tommy Phillips while with the Ottawa Senators

His stay in Ottawa was brief, as he signed to play for the Edmonton Hockey Club for the 1908-09 season. His first assignment for Edmonton was to participate in their cup challenge against the Wanderers in Montreal. Game 1 was a 7-3 loss for Edmonton, who also lost Phillips for the upcoming season when he broke his ankle during the contest.

He continued to travel west, as he signed for the Nelson Hockey Club in British Columbia for the 1909-10 season before playing the 1911-12 season for the Vancouver Millionaires of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, where he scored 17 goals in 17 games to bring his career to an end at the age of 29.

Phillips final club, the 1911-12 Vancouver Millionaires

Phillips played a total of 67 league and cup games, scoring 141 goals, a career average of over 2 goals per game, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as part of it's inaugural class in 1945.

Today's featured jersey is a 1907 Kenora Thistles Tommy Phillips jersey. The Thistles name was chosen in a contest and the winner was a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore who not only submitted the name in reference to the region's Scottish heritage, but a drawing of a thistle for the team's logo.

This jersey is the style worn by the 1907 Stanley Cup champion Thistles club. These jerseys were reproduced by the CBC in connection with their "Hockey: A People's History" documentary, and are sadly no longer available on demand.

In another one of those amazing youtube moments, here is a video on the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that Louis McKay played on in 1934.

1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross Jersey

When the Stanley Cup was first offered in 1892 as the prize for the best team in among Canada's amateur ranks, it was called the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup".

The cup was donated, at the urging of his two sons Arthur and Algernon, by Lord Stanley of Preston, then the Governor General of Canada, with the intent of creating a way to recognize which club was the current champion.

There was no single league across the whole of Canada at the time, so the format of awarding the cup was based on a challenge format, where the champion of one of the various amateur senior hockey associations could issue a challenge to the holders of the cup. This meant that challenge games could happen at any time during the season as challenges were approved, or ordered, by the cup's trustees. For example, the Ottawa Hockey Club faced four separate challenges for the cup, defended successfully each time, between January and March of 1904 from the Winnipeg Rowing Club, the Toronto Marlboros, the Montreal Wanderers and Brandon Wheat Cities, the latter two taking place just one week apart.

The challenge system was in effect until 1914, with the challenges varying from single-elimination games to best of three or two games, total goals series throughout the challenge era, when the trustees of the cup agreed that it would now be awarded to the winner of a playoff series each season between the champions of the professional National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) leagues.

It was on this date in 1907 that the Kenora Thistles captured the Stanley Cup as they successfully completed a two-game total-goal series against the current cup holders, the Montreal Wanderers, by a score of 12-8.

The Wanderers had held the cup since March of 1906 and had defended the cup once in December of 1906 before the Thistles issued their challenge based on being the champions of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL).

The Kenora Thistles in action

The Thistles won the first game at the Montreal Arena on January 17, 1907 4-2 and captured the cup four days later by outlasting the Wanderers 8-6. Members of the Thistles included future Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Hall, Tom Hooper, captain Tommy Phillips and Art Ross.

Kenora would retain the cup two months later on March 16 and 18, 1907 by winning the MPHL playoffs against the Brandon Wheat Cities club in a best-of-three series 2 games to none by scores of 8-6 and 4-1.

Just five days after defending the cup, Kenora faced another challenge, this time from the same Montreal Wanderers whom they had taken the cup from exactly two months earlier. The Wanderers took game one in the two-game total-goals series by a commanding 7-2 margin. The Thistles preserved some pride by winning Game 2 by a score of 6-5, but it was not enough to overcome the five goal advantage the Wanderers took into the contest, as they regained the rights to the cup by a final margin of 12 goals to 8, ending the Thistles reign as cup holders at a mere 62 days, the shortest reign in Stanley Cup history.

The 1907 Stanley Cup champion Rat Portage Thistles luckily

took time to pose with their trophy during the brief two months they held it

Of note, while each previous cup champion had the right to engrave the name of their club onto the cup, it was the Wanderers who were the first to include the names of each individual player on the championship team, a practice which became an annual tradition in 1924 and set the cup on it's journey from 7 inch bowl to the three foot tall trophy it is today.

Kenora, originally called "Rat Portage", then with a population of just 4,000 holds the record as the smallest city to ever hold the Stanley Cup. It is located 2oo kilometers east of Winnipeg, directly above Minnesota, in far western Ontario.

Rat Portage in 1880

The Rat Portage Thistles were founded in 1896 and unsuccessfully challenged for the cup twice before in 1903 and 1905 when they were turned back by the Ottawa Silver Seven. It was later in the summer of 1905 that Rat Portage changed it's name to Kenora. The Thistles hockey club would fold during the 1907-08 MPHL season.

The 1897 Rat Portage Thistles

Today's featured jersey is a 1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross jersey. The Thistles name was chosen in a contest and the winner was a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore who not only submitted the name in reference to the region's Scottish heritage, but a drawing of a thistle for the team's logo.

This jersey is the style worn by the Stanley Cup champion Thistles club, which included Ross, who would go on to be not only a player, but a general manager and coach in the NHL and have the trophy for the NHL's annual trophy for the league's leading scorer, the Art Ross Trophy, named after him.

These jerseys were reproduced by the CBC in connection with their "Hockey: A People's History" documentary, and are sadly no longer available on demand.

In another one of those amazing youtube moments, here is a video on the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that Louis McKay played on in 1934.

1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles Tom Hooper Jersey

Born on this date in 1883 in Rat Portage, Ontario, Tom Hooper, known as a formidable checker and clever stickhandler, joined the Rat Portage Thistles of the Manitoba Senior Hockey League at the age of 18. The Thistles won the league championship in 1903, and emboldened by their local success, travelled east to challenge the Ottawa Silver Seven for their grip on the Stanley Cup in March of 1903.

1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles

Their series was a two-game, total-goal contest in which the Silver Seven took a dominant 6-2 win in Game 1, leaving Rat Portage a task they could not overcome. Game 2 also went the way of the Silver Seven 4-2, allowing them to retain their hold on the trophy.

Two seasons later following a 7-1 regular season record in which he scored a career high 9 goals, Hooper and the Thistles, now older and wiser than the teenagers of 1903, once more challenged mighty Ottawa for the rights to the Stanley Cup. This time around, the contest was a best-of-three format and the Thistles broke out on top with a 9-3 win in Game 1, which certainly must have had the Thistles faithful pining for a return to the two-game, total-goals format. The Senators welcomed back center Frank McGee for Game 2, and Ottawa responded with a 4-2 win to even the series. The decisive Game 3 once again went the way of Ottawa in a nail biting 5-4 win for the home Senators, sending the Thistles back to Rat Portage empty handed. Hooper finished the series with a pair of goals this time out.

The MAHA league champions and Stanley Cup challenging 1904-05 Rat Portage Thistles

In 1905 the town renamed itself Kenora while the hockey club continued to be known as the Thistles. The Thistles won the MAHA title in 1906, but circumstances out east did not allow time for an immediate challenge, so one was scheduled during the following 1906-07 season.

The 1905-06 Kenora Thistles pose with their Manitoba league championship trophy

In January of 1907, the time arrived for the Thistles challenge for the Stanley Cup and they traveled east once more, this time to face the Montreal Wanderers, who had wrestled away control of the cup from Ottawa during their league playoffs.

The Thistles, with future hall of famers Joe Hall, Tommy Phillips, Art Ross, Billy McGimsie, Roxy Beaudro and Hooper, defeated Montreal 4-2 in Game 1 on January 17 and won the coveted Stanley Cup on four days later with an 8-6 triumph to win the two-game, total goal series 12-8, with Hooper contributing 3 goals in the second game , making Kenora, population 4000, the smallest town to have ever won a major sports championship in North America.

The 1907 Stanley Cup holders the Kenora Thistles

Following the Thistles' Manitoba Professional Hockey League season, they defeated Brandon Wheat City 8-6 and 4-1 to win the league's playoff championship, which also allowed them to retain possession of the Stanley Cup. Five days later, on March 23, the Thistles took to the ice to defend their cup against the Wanderers, this time in Winnipeg but without Hooper who had fractured his collarbone. Montreal took Game 1 by a score of 7-2, and although Kenora won the second game 6-5, it was not enough to overcome Montreal's 5 goal margin from the first game, and the cup was again headed back east, ending tiny Kenora's reign as champions of all of Canada after just two months.

Gutted by player defections to professional clubs, the Thistles folded after just one game of the 1907-08 season and Hooper moved east to play one game with the Pembroke Lumber Kings prior to joining the Wanderers for two regular season games, as well as their defense of the Stanley Cup they had claimed back from Kenora a year earlier. The Wanderers easily fended off the challenge from the Ottawa Victorias 9-3 and 13-1 with Hooper having moved back to a defensive role with the Wanderers.

1908 Stanley Cup holders the Montreal Wanderers

Hooper then joined the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association club for the remaining seven games of the season in which he scored 9 goals and subsequently retired as a player, having played for seven seasons in 65 games and scoring 48 goals as well as winning the Stanley Cup twice. He was later elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

Today's featured jersey is a 1902-03 Rat Portage Thistles Tom Hooper jersey. The Thistles name was selected from a local name the team contest, with the winner, a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore, who not only submitting the name "Thistles", but a drawing for the logo that would adorn the team's sweaters as well.

Most often the Thistles logo would appear centered on the teams sweaters, but as seen in the above team photo from the 1903-04 season, there was some inconsistency in 1902-03 and 1903-04 where some sweaters had what would become the standard centered logo, some had the logo over the left breast and some had no logo whatsoever.

Today's video segment is a look at the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that interview subject Louis McKay played on in 1934.

For those of you interested in the Kenora Thistles, please check out the nice shirts and hoodies available from Team on Top Retro Sports.

1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross Jersey

When the Stanley Cup was first offered in 1892 as the prize for the best team in among Canada's amateur ranks, it was called the "Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup".

The cup was donated, at the urging of his two sons Arthur and Algernon, by Lord Stanley of Preston, then the Governor General of Canada, with the intent of creating a way to recognize which club was the current champion.

There was no single league across the whole of Canada at the time, so the format of awarding the cup was based on a challenge format, where the champion of one of the various amateur senior hockey associations could issue a challenge to the holders of the cup. This meant that challenge games could happen at any time during the season as challenges were approved or ordered by the cup's trustees. For example, the Ottawa Hockey Club faced four separate challenges for the cup, defended successfully each time, between January and March of 1904 from the Winnipeg Rowing Club, the Toronto Marlboros, the Montreal Wanderers and Brandon Wheat Cities, the latter two taking place just one week apart.

The challenge system was in effect until 1912 when the trustees of the cup agreed that it would now be awarded to the winner of a playoff series each season between the champions of the professional National Hockey Association (NHA) and the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) leagues.

It was on this date in 1907 that the Kenora Thistles captured the Stanley Cup as they successfully completed a two-game total-goal series against the current cup holders, the Montreal Wanderers, by a score of 12-8.

The Wanderers had held the cup since March of 1906 and had defended the cup once in December of 1906 before the Thistles issued their challenge based on being the champions of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL).

The Thistles won the first game at the Montreal Arena on January 17, 1907 4-2 and captured the cup four days later by outlasting the Wanderers 8-6. Members of the Thistles included future Hockey Hall of Famers Joe Hall, Tom Hooper, Tommy Phillips and Art Ross.

Kenora would retain the cup two months later on March 16 and 18, 1907 by winning the MPHL playoffs against the Brandon Wheat Cities club in a best-of-three series 2 games to none by scores of 8-6 and 4-1.

Just five days after defending the cup, Kenora faced another challenge, this time from the same Montreal Wanderers whom they had taken the cup from previously. The Wanderers took game one in the two-game total-goals series by a commanding 7-2 margin. The Thistles preserved some pride by winning Game 2 by a score of 6-5, but it was not enough to overcome the five goal advantage the Wanderers took into the contest, as they won the rights to the cup by a final margin of 12 goals to 8, ending the Thistles reign as cup holders at a mere 62 days, the shortest reign in Stanley Cup history.

Of note, while each previous cup champion had the right to engrave the name of their club onto the cup, it was the Wanderers who were the first to include the names of each individual player on the championship team, a practice which became an annual tradition in 1924 and set the cup on it's journey from 7 inch bowl to the three foot tall trophy it is today.

Kenora, originally called "Rat Portage", then with a population of just 4,000 holds the record as the smallest city to ever hold the Stanley Cup. It is located 2oo kilometers east of Winnipeg, directly above Minnesota, in far western Ontario.

The Rat Portage Thistles were founded in 1896 and unsuccessfully challenged for the cup twice before in 1903 and 1905 when they were turned back by the Ottawa Silver Seven. It was later in the summer of 1905 that Rat Portage changed it's name to Kenora. The Thistles hockey club would fold during the 1907-08 MPHL season.

Today's featured jersey is a 1907 Kenora Thistles Art Ross jersey. The Thistles name was chosen in a contest and the winner was a local Scottish carpenter named Bill Dunsmore who not only submitted the name in reference to the region's Scottish heritage, but a drawing of a thistle for the team's logo.

This jersey is the style worn by the Stanley Cup champion Thistles club, which included Art Ross, who would go on to be not only a player, but a general manager and coach in the NHL and have the trophy for the NHL's annual trophy for the league's leading scorer, the Art Ross Trophy, named after him.

These jerseys were reproduced by the CBC in connection with their "Hockey: A People's History" documentary, and are sadly no longer available.

In another one of those amazing youtube moments, here is a video on the Kenora Thistles. While the original Thistle club disbanded in 1908, subsequent clubs in Kenora have adopted the Thistle name, which was the case for the club that Louis McKay played on in 1934.