The Cobalt Silver Kings of

Cobalt, Ontario Cobalt is a town in Timiskaming District, Ontario, Canada. It had a population of 1,118 at the 2016 Census. In the early 1900s, the area was heavily mined for silver; the silver ore also contained cobalt. By 1910, the community was the fourth ...

, were a professional

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

club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of 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 ...

, the predecessor to 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 ...

. Established to capitalize on the then-current mining boom in northern Ontario, it became clear that the town was too small to support major professional hockey, and the team left the NHA after its inaugural season. The club was owned by

Renfrew, Ontario Renfrew is a town on the Bonnechere River in Renfrew County, Ontario, Canada. Located one hour west of Ottawa in Eastern Ontario, Renfrew is the fourth largest town in the county after Petawawa, Pembroke and Arnprior. The town is a small transpo ...

mine operator

Ambrose O'Brien John Ambrose O'Brien (May 27, 1885 – April 24, 1968) was a Canadian industrialist and sports team owner. He was a founder of the National Hockey Association (NHA), owner of the Renfrew Millionaires and the founding owner of the Montreal Cana ...

History

The club was founded in 1906 in the

Timiskaming Professional Hockey League The Timiskaming Professional Hockey League (TPHL) was a minor professional ice hockey league based in the area of Lake Timiskaming, Canada. Founded in 1906, the league is notable for providing teams and Ambrose O'Brien, a founder of the Natio ...

, an early professional ice hockey league. In 1909, the Cobalt Silver Kings won the O'Brien Cup as champions of the TPHL. In 1909, the club became part of the new

(NHA), along with another TPHL team, the

Haileybury Comets The Haileybury Hockey Club (also known as the ''Haileybury Comets'' or ''Haileybury Miners'') of Haileybury, Ontario, was a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey ...

, the Federal League's

Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the Millionaires, was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League. The team was based in the founder Ambrose O'Brien's ...

and Les Canadiens and Wanderers of Montreal. The league was founded by

to rival the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA), set up at the same time, and to provide a league for his Renfrew team to win the Stanley Cup. The CHA dissolved and two of its teams the Senators of Ottawa, and the Shamrocks of Montreal joined the NHA. After the initial season, the club returned to play in the TPHL and its NHA franchise was taken over by the

Quebec Bulldogs The Quebec Bulldogs (french: Bulldogs de Québec) were a men's senior-level ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club (french: Club de hockey de Québec), and later as the Quebec Athletic Club ...

(formerly of the CHA). The team played in an arena with a capacity for 3,500 spectators.

Head coach

* Tom Hare (1909–1910)

Notable players

Ed Decarie Edmond Julien Decarie (August 8, 1883 – February 1, 1942) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association.Howard McNamara – 1909–10 *

Bruce Ridpath David Bruce Ridpath (January 2, 1884 – June 4, 1925) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and general manager. He was a member of the 1911 Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Senators before an automobile accident ended his playing career. Ri ...

– 1906–07, 1908–09 Hall of Fame *

Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's ...

– 1906–07 *

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 joine ...

– 1906–07 * George McNamara – 1906–07 *

Didier Pitre Joseph George Didier "Cannonball" Pitre (September 1, 1883 – July 29, 1934) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Nicknamed "Cannonball," he was renown for having one of the hardest shots during his playing career. One of the first playe ...

– 1906–07 *

Art Ross Arthur Howe Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puc ...

– 1908–09

References

{{reflist Defunct ice hockey teams in Canada Ice hockey teams in Ontario National Hockey Association teams Ice hockey clubs established in 1906 Sports clubs disestablished in 1911 History of Cobalt, Ontario Sport in Northern Ontario 1906 establishments in Ontario 1911 disestablishments in Ontario

History

Head coach

Notable players

See also

References