Quebec Bulldogs

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Quebec Bulldogs
Played	1888 to 1920
Home ice
Based in	Quebec City, Quebec
Colours	Blue and White
Leagues	AHA, CAHL, ECAHA, CHA, NHA, NHL

The Quebec Bulldogs were officially called Quebec Athletics. The team's roots go back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association in 1888 and as far forward as the Brooklyn Americans of the National Hockey League in 1942. The name Bulldog was a name given by the media and was so popular with the fans that a Bulldog mascot was created. The name though, was never officially changed from the Athletics until the team moved to Hamilton, Ontario in 1920 and became the Hamilton Tigers.

Founded: 1888

Arena: Colisee de Quebec

Uniform colours: Blue and white

Logo design: A blue capital Q with a white outline.

Stanley Cup wins: 2; 1912, 1913

Stanley Cup finals appearances: 2; 1912, 1913

Contents 1 Franchise history 2 Notable players 2.1 Hall of Famers 2.2 Team captains 3 See also 4 References

[edit] Franchise history

The Quebec Bulldogs arrived on the hockey scene in 1888 as part of the Amateur Hockey Association (AHA). The Bulldogs also played in the CAHL and ECAHA before becoming a founding member of the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) in 1909. The CHA, however, would only last one month before being absorbed into the much more powerful National Hockey Association (NHA). Unsure if they wanted to join the NHA, the Bulldogs sat out the NHA's inagural 1909-10 season. The following NHA season, 1910-11, the Bulldogs joined the NHA -- taking over the defunct Cobalt Silver Kings franchise -- but had a rough initiation into the new league as they finished dead last with 4 wins and 12 losses in a 16 game season. On a positive note, and a sign of things to come, Jack McDonald scored 14 goals and Tommy Dunderdale scored 13.

The following season, 1911-12, saw the Bulldogs go from worst to first with Joe Malone having a spectacular season. The Dogs' record improved to 10 wins and 8 losses in 18 games while Malone scored 21 goals and Jack McDonald scored 18. In the Stanley Cup finals, they easily crushed the Moncton Victorias in 2 games by scores of 9-3 and 8-0.

In their third season (1912-13) Quebec would again finish first overall with a record of 16 wins and 4 losses in 20 games. Joe Malone won the scoring race with an unprecedented 43 goals. His teammate, Tommy Smith, was a close second with 39. The Quebec Bulldogs went onto the Stanley Cup finals again and easily beat the Sydney Millionaires in two games by a combined score of 20 to 5 to give them their second straight Stanley Cup. But since, at that time, the Stanley Cup was a challenge cup, almost any team could challenge the champions for it. The Victoria Aristocrats of the PCHA did just that. The powerhouse Bulldogs expected to bowl over the Aristocrats, but were shocked after splitting the first two games and then losing 6-1 in the decisive third game. Fortunately for Quebec, and unfortunately for Victoria, the Stanley Cup Board of trustees did not recognise the challenge by the Aristocrats as being official and the Bulldogs were able to keep the Cup.

The following seasons would see the Bulldogs drop from the top of the league. They would finish third overall in each of the next three seasons and in the last NHA season (1916-17) they would finish second overall. After their two Stanley Cup wins, they would never again reach the Cup finals.

With the end of the National Hockey Association and the start of the National Hockey League, the Quebec Bulldogs were invited to become a founding member of the NHL. Unfortunately, Quebec was unable to garner the required funds and were unable to merge with a top amateur team, and suspended operations for two seasons. While the team was suspended, their star player Joe Malone played for the Montreal Canadiens. When the Bulldogs resumed play for the 1919-20 season, Malone also resumed play for them. Malone would win the scoring championship that year with 39 goals. Despite the scoring prowess of Malone and the presence of players like Harry Mummery, the Bulldogs had a dismal season, finishing last overall with four wins and twenty losses in 24 games. After that disastrous season, it was decided to move the team to Hamilton, Ontario and rename it the Hamilton Tigers.

The team played as the Hamilton Tigers in the NHL from 1920 to 1925. Due in large part to a players' strike in the 1925 Stanley Cup finals, the franchise was revoked in the summer of 1925 and the players bought out by the expansion New York Americans franchise. The Americans would play in the NHL from 1925 to 1942.

The last active Bulldogs player was Dave Ritchie, who retired in 1926.

[edit] Notable players

[edit] Hall of Famers

• Rusty Crawford
• Thomas Dunderdale
• Joe Hall
• Joe Malone
• Paddy Moran
• Tommy Smith
• Bruce Stuart
• Hod Stuart

[edit] Team captains

• Joe Malone (1910-11 to 1916-17, 1919-20)

[edit] See also

• List of defunct NHL teams
• List of Quebec Bulldogs players
• Head Coaches of the Quebec Bulldogs
• List of NHL players
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• Hamilton Tigers
• New York Americans
• Quebec Nordiques
• List of NHL seasons
• List of pre-NHL seasons

[edit] References

• http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nhl/quebecnha/bulldogs.html