The American Amateur Hockey League was an amateur ice hockey league in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The league was founded in 1896, and was based in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, until 1914, when the Boston AA joined the league. In the 1900–01 season a team from

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

, the Quaker City Hockey Club, also played in the AAHL. The league ceased operations after the 1916–17 season.

Players

Hobey Baker Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker (January 15, 1892 – December 21, 1918) was an American amateur athlete of the early twentieth century. Considered the first American star in ice hockey by the Hockey Hall of Fame, he was also an accomplished Am ...

, famous American athlete and inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () 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) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1945, played two seasons in the league for the St. Nicholas Hockey Club between 1914 and 1916.

Sprague Cleghorn Henry William Sprague "Peg" Cleghorn (March 11, 1890 – July 12, 1956), also known as "The Big Train", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player from Westmount, Quebec who played 17 professional seasons between 1911 and 1929 for the Renfrew ...

, another Hockey Hall of Fame member, spent the 1909–10 season with the

New York Wanderers The New York Wanderers were an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan, New York City. The New York Wanderers played seven seasons in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1903 and 1914 and won the championship title in 1903–04. 1896 Stan ...

, as did his brother

Odie Cleghorn James Albert Ogilvie "Odie" Cleghorn (September 19, 1891 – July 13, 1956) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, linesman and referee. His brother Sprague Cleghorn also played professional ice hockey and the two played several sea ...

. During St. Nicholas Hockey Club's inaugural season in the league, in 1896–97, the team was represented by several notable American tennis players, among them

William Larned William Augustus Larned (December 30, 1872 – December 16, 1926) was an American tennis player who was active at the beginning of the 20th century. He won seven singles titles at the U.S. National Championships. Biography Larned was born ...

Henry Slocum Henry Warner Slocum Sr. (September 24, 1827 – April 14, 1894), was a Union general during the American Civil War and later served in the United States House of Representatives from New York. During the war, he was one of the youngest major ge ...

Malcolm Chace Malcolm Greene Chace (March 12, 1875 – July 16, 1955) was an American financier and textile industrialist who was instrumental in bringing electric power to New England. He was a pioneer of the sport of ice hockey in the United States, and was ...

and

Robert Wrenn Robert “Bob” Duffield Wrenn (September 20, 1873 – November 12, 1925) was an American left-handed tennis player, four-time U.S. singles championship winner, and one of the first inductees in the International Tennis Hall of Fame. Early ...

. Canadian middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist

George Orton George Washington F. Orton (January 10, 1873 – June 24, 1958) was a Canadian middle and long-distance runner. In 1900, he became the first Canadian to win a medal at an Olympic Games. He won a bronze in the 400 metre hurdles, and then, f ...

played for the Quaker City Hockey Club in 1900–01, as did 1906 US Open tennis champion

William Clothier William Clothier may refer to: *William Clothier (tennis) William 'Bill' Jackson Clothier (September 27, 1881 – September 4, 1962) was an American list of male tennis players, tennis player. Biography William J. Clothier was a top American t ...

. A great bulk of the players in the AAHL came from different

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

schools such as

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

, Columbia and

Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...

. Among them were United States Senator

Leverett Saltonstall Leverett Atholville Saltonstall (September 1, 1892June 17, 1979) was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. He served three two-year terms as the List of Governors of Massachusetts, 55th Governor of Massachusetts, and for more th ...

and prominent businessman

Harold Stanley Harold Stanley (October 2, 1885 – May 14, 1963) was an American businessman and one of the founders of Morgan Stanley in 1935. For 20 years, he ran Morgan Stanley until he left the firm in 1955. Early life Stanley was born in Great Barring ...

. The league also had many Canadian players on its teams, among them Tom "Attie" Howard,

, Bob Wall, Bill Dobby, Artie Liffiton and Riley Casselman.

Teams

Crescent Athletic Club The Crescent Athletic Club was an athletic club in Brooklyn. Founded by a group of Yale University alumni in 1884 as an American football club, it later expanded to include other sports, including baseball, lacrosse, ice hockey and basketball. Th ...

, "Brooklyn Crescents", 1896–97, 1899–1917 *

Brooklyn Skating Club The Brooklyn Skating Club was an amateur ice hockey team from Brooklyn in New York City. The Brooklyn Skating Club played in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1896 and 1906 and won the championship title in 1898–99. History The ice ho ...

, 1896–1906 *

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a Gentlemen's club, private social club and athletic club in New York (state), New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Pa ...

, "Winged Footers" or "Mercury Footers", 1896–1912 *

New York Hockey Club The New York Hockey Club, also known as the Hockey Club of New York, was an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan in New York City. The New York Hockey Club played in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1897 and 1917 and won one championshi ...

, 1897–1917 *

, 1903–1905, 1907–1910, 1911–12, 1913–14 * St. Nicholas Hockey Club, 1896–1903, 1905–1917 * Montclair Athletic Club, New Jersey, 1897–1899 *New York Naval Reserves, 1899–1900 * Quaker City Hockey Club, Philadelphia, 1900–01 * New York Irish-Americans, 1912–1915, 1916–17 *

Boston Athletic Association The Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) is a non-profit dedicated to organized sports, with a focus on running, in the Greater Boston area. The B.A.A. hosts such events as the Boston Marathon, the B.A.A. 5K, the B.A.A. 10K, the B.A.A. Half Mar ...

, 1914–1917 *Harvard Club, Boston, 1915–16 * Boston Arena Hockey Club, 1916–17 *Boston Hockey Club, 1916–17

Champions

*1896–97:

*1897–98: New York Athletic Club *1898–99:

*1899–1900:

Brooklyn Crescents The Brooklyn Crescents, affiliated with the Crescent Athletic Club, were an American amateur ice hockey team from Brooklyn in New York City. History The Brooklyn Crescents played in the American Amateur Hockey League in 1896–97 (the inaugural ...

*1900–01: Brooklyn Crescents *1901–02: Brooklyn Crescents *1902–03: Brooklyn Crescents *1903–04:

*1904–05: Brooklyn Crescents *1905–06: Brooklyn Crescents *1906–07: St. Nicholas Hockey Club *1907–08: Brooklyn Crescents *1908–09: New York Athletic Club *1909–10: New York Athletic Club *1910–11: Brooklyn Crescents *1911–12: Brooklyn Crescents *1912–13:

*1913–14: St. Nicholas Hockey Club *1914–15: St. Nicholas Hockey Club *1915–16:

*1916–17: Boston Athletic Association Source:Spalding's official ice hockey guide 1918
at archive.org

References

*''Society for International Hockey Research'' at sihrhockey.org

Notes

{{Authority control Defunct ice hockey leagues in the United States American Amateur Hockey League