Seattle Ice Arena (1915-1924)
Introduction
Text-to-speech Audio
Images
Seattle Ice Arena 1915/David Eskenazi Collection
A Seattle Metropolitans sweater/Credit Dave Sandford/Hockey Hall of Fame
1917 Seattle Metropolitans Hockey Team - Stanley Cup Winners
Seattle Metropolitans win the Stanley Cup over opponents, the Montreal Canadiens.
The Seattle Metropolitans Hockey Team - Pacific Coast Hockey League
Backstory and Context
Text-to-speech Audio
In 1912, former hockey players Frank and Lester Patrick formed The Pacific Coast Hockey League in British Columbia with four teams- two from the United States (Seattle and Portland) and two from Canada (Vancouver, Victoria). Financing for the league came from the family's logging business. The brothers were able to attract some of the top hockey players, including several stars from the National Hockey Association.
The Metropolitans of Seattle became the first American hockey team to win a Stanley Cup. At this Seattle ice rink on March 26, 1917 the Mets defeated the Montreal Canadians 9-1 to win the Cup which had only been won by Canadian teams in its twenty-five year history. The defending champions from Montreal were stunned by the lopsided defeat, something that was so unexpected that the team had not bothered to bring the cup to Seattle. A crowd of about 3,500 fans cheered the team on to the one historic win, but the Stanley Cup would never return to Seattle.
The Mets came close to another title win in 1919. In that year, the championship came down to a five-game series between Seattle and Montreal. The two teams were tied at two games each when the flu epidemic that killed millions worldwide led to the decision to cancel the series. That year, no championship was awarded as the flu claimed hundreds of thousands of American lives, including the life of one of the Montreal team members, Joe Hall, one of Canada’s best players. The 1919 series remains the only time the Cup was not presented to a team.
In 1920, the Seattle
Mets had another chance to claim the Cup against the Ottawa Senators. The Senators won the best-of-five series, 3-2. Despite the team's success, the team struggled to balance expenses, especially as the team became less competitive and the smaller fan base in Seattle even smaller. Financial challenges led to the owners' decision to cancel their lease on the building and the Seattle Metropolitans ended the 1923-1924 season with a 14-16 record.
Sources
Gierasimczuk, Tom. “How a Hockey Team in Seattle, of All Places, Changed Hockey Forever.” The New York Times. March 27, 2017. Accessed on July 23, 2018 from https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/sports/hockey/seattle-metropolitans-stanley-cup-seattle-ice-arena.html
Obermeyer, Jeff. “Seattle Metropolitans.” SeattleHockey.net. 2000-2009 Accessed July 23, 2018 from http://www.seattlehockey.net/Seattle_Hockey_Homepage/Metropolitans.html
Encyclopedia. “Ice Hockey.” Encyclopedia.com. 2004. Accessed July 21, 2018 from https://www.encyclopedia.com/humanities/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/ice-hockey
Larry Stone. “100 years ago, Seattle won the Stanley Cup and expanded the reach of pro hockey.” SeattleTimes.com. March 26, 2017. Accessed July 24, 2018 from https://www.seattletimes.com/sports/hockey/100-years-ago-seattle-won-the-stanley-cup-and-expanded-the-reach-of-pro-hockey/
“NHL Playoff Game Scores: 1929-1920.” NHL Hockey.com. Accessed July 22, 2018 from http://www.nhl.com/ice/page.htm?id=31198