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 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 ...

league in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by to ...

. It was a fully professional league and consisted of teams from

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

and surrounding communities. The league's annual champion would challenge for the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, but none were successful.

History

Founding

The Ontario Professional Hockey League was organized in November 1907. The Toronto Professionals had been playing exhibition games against teams of the

International Professional Hockey League The International Professional Hockey League (IPHL) was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack "Doc" Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Hought ...

and other teams with attendances of over 1,000 per game. In early November 1907, the International League had folded, reducing the number of opponents for Toronto, who could not play any amateur teams in Ontario. At the annual meeting of the Toronto team on November 7, the first discussions of a possible league were held. A founding meeting was held in

Berlin, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

(now Kitchener) on November 12 where a league was formed with Berlin,

Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County, but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully independ ...

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

, and Toronto. The league's initial name was the "Canadian Hockey League" and the officers were: * J. P. Downey, M.P.P., Guelph, Hon. President, * Alex Miln, Toronto, President * A. B. Burnley, Brantford, Vice-President * N. E. Irving, Guelph, Secretary * Otto Vogelsang, Berlin, Treasurer * J. C. Palmer, Toronto, George Roehmer, Berlin, J. A. Fitzgerald, Guelph and Roy Brown, Brantford (executive) The league was organized at a meeting on November 22 in Guelph where the schedule was set. The rules would be based on 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 ...

and the International League. Representatives of

Galt Galt or GALT may refer to: Biology and biochemistry * Galactose-1-phosphate uridylyltransferase, an enzyme * Gut-associated lymphoid tissue, a subset of mucosa-associated lymphoid tissue People and fictional characters * Galt (surname), a list o ...

had shown interest in being a part of the league but withdrew their application.

Seasons

The Toronto team became league champions in the OPHL's first season and challenged for the

in 1908, losing to the champion

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 ...

from the

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was a men's amateur – later professional – ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with the top clubs from two other leagues: four ...

(ECAHA). In the 1908 off-season, Brantford left the league and was replaced by Galt and

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontari ...

. Galt would win the OPHL championship and Galt challenged for the Stanley Cup in January 1909, losing to

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the c ...

team of the ECAHA. After the 1909 season, Guelph, St. Catharines and Toronto left the league. In 1910 the OPHL added the Waterloo Colts to become a four-team league. Berlin got off to such a strong start in the season, that the league decided to start a new season in later January. In March 1910, Berlin challenged the Wanderers for the Cup and were defeated. The league's final attempt to win the Cup came a year later in March 1911, with Galt again losing to Ottawa, which now played in the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

(NHA) . The league disbanded after the 1911 season. The OPHL teams were raided for players by the NHA after the NHA was itself raided for players by the

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was co ...

(PCHA). Players who left included

Eddie Oatman Edward Cole Oatman (June 10, 1889 – November 5, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years (1907–39) playing professional ice hockey, Oatman was named an all-star fo ...

, Jack McDonald and

Goldie Prodgers Samuel George "Goldie" Prodgers (often misspelled Prodger) (February 18, 1891 – October 25, 1935) was a Canadian ice hockey player. During his career he played for the Waterloo Colts, Quebec Bulldogs, Victoria Aristocrats, Montreal Wanderers, M ...

. The

Moncton Victorias The Moncton Victorias were a professional ice hockey team from Moncton, New Brunswick in Canada. The team played for two seasons in the Maritime Professional Hockey League (MPHL), in 1911–12 and 1912–13. Biography Moncton Victorias won the 1 ...

of the Maritime Professional Hockey League (MPHL) signed nearly all of the champion Galt team's players. The Victorias would win the MPHL championship and challenge NHA champion Quebec. A namesake league would play for one season in 1930–31 with teams in Galt, Guelph, Kitchener, Niagara Falls, Oshawa and Stratford.

Teams

† Guelph and St. Catharines withdrew after six games of the schedule.

References

Notes

{{reflist

External links

League History & Standings
Defunct ice hockey leagues in Ontario Pre–National Hockey League OPHL OPHL OPHL