Some of the stars of the Tigers at the time included center Goney McGowan, right-winger Bill Louch, and left-winger Blondy Hayhoe. Courtesy of the Hamilton Spectator

Hockey History

Hamilton and the 1931 Allan Cup – Chapter 1
Tigers take the wind out of the Port Colborne Sailors

The Hamilton Tigers were a solid team in the early 1930s, solid enough to take a shot at the Allan Cup for 1931.

In their first step for the Cup, Hamilton was lined up to play a two-game, total-goals series against the Port Colborne Sailors, with the winner taking the OHA Senior title.

And in a game devoid of much offense, the Sailors nipped the Bengals 1-0 during the first game, held in Port Colborne.

“Crippled by illness, but giving strong battle withal, the Bengals were nevertheless well beaten last night,” noted the Hamilton Spectator account of the game, “and it was a tribute to ‘Hawse’ March, in goal, that they were not beaten further off.”

Tiger defenseman Gordon McKay had been battling a bout with the flu, and although he laced up for the game, his play was not usual, and right-winger Harry Kane was not 100 percent during the match.

Jerry Shannon scored for the Sailors, the only goal in the game. He would also have a pivotal part in the second game of the series.

The Sailors were on a roll, previously beating the Toronto Marlboros in the previous series to meet with Hamilton, while the Tigers had eliminated Kitchener from any further play of the season.

Back home in the Barton Street Arena, the Tigers came alive on their home ice, winning the second game 4-2, and the series four goals to three.

Both teams scored in the first, and Kane picked up the only marker in the second, to give the Bengals a 2-1 advantage. But the Sailors opened up the third with a goal, and then Hamilton got down to business, scoring goals from the sticks of McGowan and Louch.

When Walter Horn was sent to the bench with an injury late in the third, Shannon was sent it to help the Sailors. He was penalized after some rough play, and the Tigers took advantage of the situation to win the game.

According to an account of the game, the fans were pleasantly surprised with the outcome:

“Putting everything contained in their physical makeups into the play, every last one of the contesting forces was just about skated off his feet. While there were periods of the contest when things were more or less desultory, for the most part it was a hectic struggle, just as the fans had looked for. If the truth were known, there were few there who expected Tigers to overcome that one-goal lead let alone find them copping the series.”

Not only did the Tigers earn the right to go on, the team was the winner of the John Ross Robertson Trophy, named after the former OHA President and publisher of the Toronto Evening Telegram.

After the Hamilton victory over Port Colborne, Spec Sports Editor Walter McMullen was cautiously optimistic about the Tigers:

“There is another OHA championship in the offing for Hamilton,” wrote McMullen March 5, 1931. “Last night’s victory clinched the Senior A honors, but before the mortgage is wiped off the title, a little reckoning must be done with the Windsor team, Senior B winners.”

The Tigers were to play the Windsor Mic-Macs, the Senior B winners, in another two-game series. If successful, it was then on to meet the team from the Northern Ontario Hockey Association, and then the Ottawa District champs.

Next: The Tigers play catch-up and advance to the next round of the Allan Cup.

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