Hockey History

From 1919 - Hamilton deserving of larger, more modern hockey arena
New building planned if and when Tigers entered OHA finals

While hockey in Hamilton had a long tradition, the city offered little in state of the art rinks and arenas, even after its teams began to make their mark. An article in the Toronto Globe from 1919 noted that while the city was making a name in the sport, its players and fans were being robbed of a decent facility.

“Hamilton is on the hockey map. The Ambitious City, not heretofore regarded as a stronghold of the game, has compelled recognition. Almost 20 years ago the Hamilton Hockey club had a team in the old Southern Ontario Hockey Association, playing its games in the little Victoria rink, where the players of opposing teams body-checked one another into the brick walls which surrounded the playing surface.”

With the OHA Senior Tigers now a contestant in the Allan Cup, the Globe added that a proper facility was needed.

“Hamilton’s rink is quite inadequate to the demands of the game, which now has become firmly established on the shores of Burlington Bay. Unfortunately, the present rink, with its artificial ice plant, is not constructed as to make enlargement easily possible. It is said that the company which owns the plant contemplates razing the rink and erecting a suitable arena. Hamilton is a keen sporting city, and with judicious management hockey has arrived there to stay.”

Well, after the Tigers defeated the Toronto Dentals in round one of the Allan Cup finals in February of 1919, owners of the arena on Barton Street announced the construction of a new arena before the start of the 1919-20 season.

“Hamilton will have a new arena before another hockey season comes around,” said a report in the Spectator on the same pages as the Hamilton win over Toronto. “Plans were all prepared for a new structure before the way, but conditions were such that is was thought best to delay construction until times became normal again. The directors of the arena announced some time ago that if the Tigers managed to enter the OHA finals and placed Hamilton on the hockey map, the building would be proceeded with next summer so as to be ready for next winter.”

The article went on to state that plans called for a facility such as Toronto’s Mutual Street Arena, with seating for about 4,000. During the Tigers-Dentals match-ups, many fans had been turned away due to lack of seating in the present arena.

But the Tigers and other clubs played their 1920 season in the same building, a building that would become one of the most infamous arenas until its demolition in 1976. The Barton Street arena received a major face-lifting along with more and improved seating, but it basically remained the same for the next 56 years.

BACK

HOME