The Galt Black Hawks were a

junior ice hockey Junior hockey is a level of competitive ice hockey generally for players between 16 and 21 years of age. Junior hockey leagues in the United States and Canada are considered amateur (with some exceptions) and operate within regions of each cou ...

team based in Galt, Ontario, now a part of the city of

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

. They played in the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

from 1949 to 1955 and were operated as an affiliate of the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. Their home arena was the Galt Arena Gardens. The team had previously been affiliated with the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

as the

Galt Red Wings The Galt Red Wings were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Galt, Ontario, now a part of the city of Cambridge. They played in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1944 to 1947 and were operated as an affiliate of the Detroit Red Wi ...

, and had also been known as the Galt Canadians, and the Galt Rockets. The sponsorship by the Chicago Black Hawks took over in 1949, and lasted until the team folded in 1955. The team's best players were quickly promoted to the NHL, leaving Galt with a dismal won/loss record while sponsored by the Chicago Black Hawks. The Galt Black Hawks had only one stellar season in 1951-52, finishing third place. The best known former Black Hawk is

Bobby Hull Robert Marvin Hull OC (born January 3, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high velo ...

, who played for Galt in 1954-55. He is the only alumnus in the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

as a player. Former alumnus

Murray Costello James Murray Costello (born February 24, 1934) is a Canadian retired ice hockey player, executive and administrator who dedicated a lifetime to the advancement of ice hockey in Canada. He played four seasons in the National Hockey League, and ...

was inducted as a builder as the long-serving president of the

Canadian Amateur Hockey Association The Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA; french: Association canadienne de hockey amateur) was the national governing body of amateur ice hockey in Canada from 1914 until 1994, when it merged with Hockey Canada. Its jurisdiction include ...

, a role he assumed after his retirement. The lone scoring champion form the Black Hawks would be Jim McBurney, who won the

Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy The Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the player scoring the most points in the regular season. The trophy was donated by the Toronto Marlboro Athletic Club in memory of athlete and coach Eddie Power ...

in 1952–53 with 61 goals and 35 assists.

NHL alumni

From the Galt Black Hawks, twenty-one players graduated to play in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

. *

Bob Beckett Robert Owen Beckett (April 8, 1936 – April 9, 2019) was a Canadian ice hockey centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theor ...

Les Binkley Leslie John Binkley (born June 6, 1934) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins and in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Ottawa Nationals and Toro ...

Mike Buchanan Michael or Mike Buchanan may refer to: * Mike Buchanan (ice hockey) (1932–2017), Canadian ice hockey player * Mike Buchanan (politician) (born 1957), British men's rights activist, leader of the Justice for Men and Boys party * Michael Buchanan ...

* Chick Chalmers *

Pete Conacher Charles William "Pete" Conacher, Jr. (born July 29, 1932) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League between 1951 and 1957. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1951 to 1966, was ...

Warren Godfrey Warren Godfrey (March 23, 1931 – April 5, 1997) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings between 1952 and 1968. Playing career Godfrey began his National Hockey ...

Bronco Horvath Bronco Joseph Horvath (March 12, 1930 – December 17, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 434 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1955 and 1968. Early life Horvath was born to an ethnic Hungarian family ...

Hec Lalande Hector Joseph Lalande (November 24, 1934 – August 18, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre. He played in 151 National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings between 1954 and 1958. His most p ...

Jim McBurney James Raymond McBurney (June 3, 1933 – November 12, 2019) was a Canadian ice hockey left winger who played one game in the National Hockey League for the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1952–53 season, on February 7, 1953 against the Toron ...

Hillary Menard Hillary Gilbert "Minnie" Menard (born January 15, 1934) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey left winger who played in one National Hockey League game for the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1953–54 season. The rest of his career, whic ...

Tony Poeta Anthony Joseph Poeta (March 4, 1933 – May 2, 2004) was a professional ice hockey player from 1950 to 1960. Poeta played for teams in the National Hockey League, Ontario Hockey Association, American Hockey League, International Hockey League, ...

* Jack Price *

Matt Ravlich Matthew Joseph Ravlich (born July 12, 1938) is a Canadian retired ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for four teams between and 1962 and 1972. Playing career Ravlich started his National Hockey League career with ...

Len Ronson Leonard Keith Ronson (July 8, 1936 – September 29, 2014) was a professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers and Oakland Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey cl ...

* Don Simmons * John Sleaver * Floyd Smith *

Kenny Wharram Kenneth Malcolm Wharram (July 2, 1933 – January 10, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League, all with the Chicago Black Hawks, wearing number 17. He won a Stanley Cup in 1961. ...

* Bob Wilson

Yearly Results

External links

www.cambridgehockey.com
- ''The History of Cambridge Hockey'' by Todd Jones

- OHL Arena & Travel Guide
Ontario Hockey League
Official web site
Canadian Hockey League
Official web site {{Defunct OHL Sport in Cambridge, Ontario Defunct Ontario Hockey League teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1949 1949 establishments in Ontario 1955 disestablishments in Ontario Chicago Blackhawks minor league affiliates Ice hockey clubs disestablished in 1955