With three teams remaining, the Edmonton Oilers’ quest for Canada’s first Stanley Cup since 1993 is the dominant story in NHL playoff reporting. When Lord Stanley donated the Cup in 1893, no one could have foreseen the rich history and competitive legacy the Cup would carve out over the following decades. A challenge cup for amateur teams in the early years, it became emblematic of hockey excellence in the National Hockey League (NHL) upon its formation in 1917, but it was still open for challenges.
Several stories highlight the early years of the cup’s existence, but one that has received little attention and should be told coincides with the 100th anniversary of the team’s victory. Based in British Columbia, the Victoria Cougars became the last non-NHL team to win the Cup. While teams could technically mount challenges for the Cup from outside the NHL until 1947, after 1925, the Cup winners would de facto come from the NHL. The Cougars’ victory occurred near the end of the team’s existence but proved that strong hockey teams and leagues operated across North America during this era.
The Cougars played in the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) from 1911 to 1924 under several nicknames. Following a series of location changes, Victoria became the Cougars in 1922 under the leadership of Hockey Hall of Fame member Lester Patrick. The Cougars’ regular season ended with them in third place behind the Calgary Tigers and Saskatoon Sheiks of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The Cougars defeated the Sheiks in round one and overcame the Tigers 3-1 in the next round. Hoping to win B.C.’s second Stanley Cup (the Vancouver Millionaires won B.C.’s only other Cup in 1915), the Cougars would have to defeat the Montreal Canadiens. British Columbia hosted all the games, including three in Victoria and one in Vancouver, at the old Denman Arena (the only building to host a Vancouver Stanley Cup champion) and the home of many exciting events in the 1920s and 1930s. The Cougars won the first two games before Montreal took game three and looked to force a game five. On home ice, March 30, 1925, the Cougars won the Cup decisively.
Their victory over the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-five series ended with a 6-1 thumping. Writing for CBC News, Joseph Aprizi, grandson of the legendary Patrick, noted that a 1995 article about the team reported that the players had drunk champagne ordered from the Empress Hotel and placed the Cup in an “unguarded display at a jewelry store in downtown Victoria.” The series stars were goalie “Hap” Holmes, with a 2.00 goals-against average, Jack Walker with four goals, and Frank Frederickson with three.
A photo of the club, proclaiming them “World Pro Champions 1924-25,” places Patrick in the middle and identifies him as the team’s manager. The rest of the players are unknown to modern hockey fans and included, “Jocko” Anderson, “Happy” Holmes, Jack Walker, Frank Frederickson, Frank Foyston, “Slim” Halderson, Gordon Fraser, Harold Meeking, Harold Hart, Clem Loughlin, and Wally Elmer. The photograph displayed the two cups the Cougars won that season in opposite corners: the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL) Cup and the famed Stanley Cup. Despite another attempt in 1926, the Cougars lost to the Montreal Maroons (another long-departed NHL franchise).
Following the 1926 loss, the WCHL league folded, and a new NHL franchise in Detroit, named after the Cougars, bought several Cougars players. One of them was goalie “Happy” Holmes, who the Hockey Hall of Fame posthumously elected in 1972. In 1930, the Detroit Cougars changed their name to the Falcons, then to the Red Wings in 1932. Since then, they have won 11 Stanley Cup championships, making them the most successful American team in NHL history.
Interestingly, the Victoria Cougars would return as a new hockey entity. In 1949, a resurrected Cougars franchise became part of the Western Hockey League, a twenty-team circuit that played games in the western United States and Canada. The team played in the Memorial Arena and won a championship in 1951. Billy Reay, who would later coach the Toronto Maple Leafs (1957-1959) and the Chicago Black Hawks (1963-1977), piloted the Cougars from 1953 to 1955. The British Columbia Junior Hockey League hosted a different version of the Cougars (a Canadian Junior A team from Victoria, BC) from 1967 to 1971. The Victoria Cougars were a Major Junior hockey team based in Victoria, BC, playing in the Western Hockey League from 1971 to 1994. Both teams played at the Memorial Arena, including Stanley Cup champion alumni such as Grant Fuhr and Garry Howatt.
Celebrations marked the occasion in Victoria. On Sunday afternoon, 100 years after the Cougars’ 1925 victory, the Oak Bay Recreation Centre showcased the Stanley Cup. Bob Miles, whose grand-uncle, Harry “Hap” Holmes, goaltended four teams to Stanley Cup championships, was in attendance. He recalled his uncle’s outdated equipment that the goalie made himself out of “some canvas, a few maple splints, a couple of straps, and a bit of felt.” He had no mask or helmet, but according to the Hockey News, he donned a cap to cover his bald scalp “because lore has it that his shiny head made for an easy target for fans who wanted to spit tobacco juice on him.”
As fans prepare for a likely Oilers and Panthers rematch, it would be helpful to remember the pro game’s origins. Played in small arenas across a large continent, with primitive equipment, enthusiastic fans, and little coverage beyond the local press. Millions will tune in, and Canada’s rabid fans will hope that, 100 years after the Victoria Cougars claimed Lord Stanley’s Cup, a Canadian team will reign again as hockey champions.
Dave Redekop is a retired elementary resource teacher who now works part-time at the St. Catharines Courthouse as a Registrar. He has worked on political campaigns since high school and attended university in South Carolina for five years, where he earned a Master’s in American History with a specialization in Civil Rights. Dave loves reading biographies.
