The Berlin Dutchmen were an early professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

team operating out of Berlin, Ontario, (renamed Kitchener in 1916) from 1907 in the

Ontario Professional Hockey League The Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL), sometimes referred to as the Trolley League, and also known as the Canadian Hockey League in its time, was a professional ice hockey league in Canada. It was a fully professional league and consisted ...

(OPHL). The Berlin team is notable for challenging for the Stanley Cup in 1910 versus the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

. The dormant team was revived in 1926 as the Kitchener Dutchmen of the Canadian Professional Hockey League. The dormant name was revived in 1947 as the senior Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, notable for winning Canada a bronze medal at the

1956 Olympics 1956 Olympics refers to both: *The 1956 Winter Olympics, which were held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy *The 1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport eve ...

and a silver medal at the

1960 Olympics The 1960 Olympics may refer to: *The 1960 Winter Olympics, which were held in Squaw Valley, United States *The 1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olymp ...

. The minor junior Kitchener Dutchmen continue the name today.

Etymology

"Dutchman" is a misnomer for a Germanic person, from ''Deutsch'' (German). This is even more so for Waterloo County, Ontario, as many of the earliest settlers were so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch".

History

The Dutchmen were one of the founding teams of the OPHL in 1907. Starting play in January 1908, the club would be a member of the OPHL until 1911. The club would win the OPHL championship once, in 1910, giving the team the chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup, then the Canadian professional championship trophy. Berlin played in Montreal against the Wanderers and were defeated 7–3. The OPHL would only survive for only one more year before folding.

Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

The name was revived in 1927 as the Kitchener Dutchmen, a professional team in the Canadian Professional Hockey League (which became the International Hockey League). In 1929, the franchise was moved to Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

and eventually the Cleveland Barons of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

. The name was revived again in 1947 as the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, a senior amateur ice hockey team which represented Canada at the

1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...

and 1960 Winter Olympics. The K-W Dutchmen played in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior Division from 1947 until 1963. The Senior Division Dutchmen won the

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

in 1955 and 1957, the national senior amateur men's ice hockey championship. These Dutchmen were the last self-contained club (compared to the later purpose built

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

) to represent Canada in the Olympic hockey tournament—they were also the only club team to represent Canada at two Olympics ( 1956 bronze medal, 1960 silver medal).

Notable players

Hugh Lehman Frederick Hugh "Old Eagle Eyes" Lehman (October 27, 1885 – April 12, 1961) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He started his ice hockey career playing for the Pembroke Lumber Kings and the Berlin Dutchmen. In 1911, Lehman joined ...

- in the Hockey Hall of Fame * Jack McKenzie

References

{{end Ice hockey teams in Ontario Sport in Kitchener, Ontario 1907 establishments in Ontario Ice hockey teams representing Canada internationally

Etymology

History

Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

Notable players

See also

References