A Salute to the 1915-16 Portland Rosebuds


rosebuds

During the WHL’s holiday break, we took a look at one of the greatest seasons of hockey Portland had ever seen in the one hundred years the sport has graced our city. But if there is a season that will live in most palpable infamy, it is the one memorialized on the first permanent ring under the Stanley Cup. It reads simply, “Portland Ore./PCHA Champions/1915-16,” and solidifies Portland as the best-kept secret in United States hockey towns.

The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was the primary reason this occurred; when the Patrick family started the league from Victoria, BC, the Stanley Cup was attainable by challenging the current holders at the end of their regular season. In 1914, the trophy became the ultimate prize between the league champions of the PCHA and the Canadian NHA, making it the award for the best hockey team in the world, rather than just Canada.

This was necessary, as the New Westminster Royals had just relocated to Portland to become the first American PCHA team (and therefore the first American team eligible to win the Cup).

[quote align=’right’]A real oddity occurred on February 15, 1916 when a nail-biter game on Portland ice was cancelled…due to fog.[/quote]During the 1915-16 season, PCHA teams only played 18 games in a season that ran from December through February. Within that tiny margin, Portland outclassed the rival teams of the league in Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle with a 13-5 record that included the only two shut-outs of the PCHA season. While it was hard to outshine hockey royalty like Cyclone Taylor and the Patrick brothers, the Rosebuds did feature the league’s top goalie Tom Murray along with Hall-of-Fame inductees Tommy Dunderdale and Moose Johnson. Right winger Charles Tobin was actually third-highest scorer, with 21 goals and 8 assists.

A real oddity occurred on February 15, 1916 when a nail-biter game on Portland ice was cancelled…due to fog. The outdoor game was tied 4-4 against visiting Victoria when it was called for inclement weather. Unfortunately for the Rosebuds, the official tally had them losing 5-2 when the game was replayed the next day.

When Portland travelled to Montreal to challenge the champion Canadiens for Lord Stanley’s silver, the established agreement was that all five games would be played in Montreal and each would alternate between NHA and PCHA rules. This was necessary, as the Patricks had altered the rules of the game drastically for their new league. Many of their changes are now hallmarks of the sport, including the addition of the blue lines, the forward pass, the penalty shot, and crediting assists. Games 1, 3, and 5 were played with NHA rules (as they were considered the home team) while 2 and 4 were with the innovative Patrick rules.

The more seasoned Canadiens took home the Cup off a 3-2 playoff, the first NHA-PCHA meet that went to five games. While Game 1 was a surprise 2-0 shutout for Portland, the real main event was in Game 3. Montreal took the win 6-3, but only after a wicked fight between their Newsy Lalonde and Moose Johnson that required police intervention.

Was this the greatest season of hockey Portland has ever seen? Possibly not, in terms of demonstrated ability, but it is certainly the most historic. For a brief shining moment almost a century ago, Stumptown had a professional-grade hockey team that was considered the highest caliber team in the United States, and a close second for the greatest team in the world. What season could top that? Well, there may be one. Check in with us next week to find out!

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Kyle Martinak
In addition to being a hockey nerd, Kyle is also is an on-camera personality for www.escapistmagazine.com and maintains various podcasts and webcomics revolving around movies, video games, and comics at his personal site, www.chaingangmedia.com.
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