During this time of the COVID-19 Pandemic, the state of professional sports can be summed up on a sign posted at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. When the NHL "paused" their season on March 12, 2020, the sign informed the public that, "The Following Leagues Have Temporarily Suspended All Games Until Further Notice: NBA, NHL, NLL."
With each passing day, the prospect of having the NHL regular season brought to a conclusion and some sort of playoffs, fades all the more. There's an abundance of questions and very few answers. The biggest concern is whether or not a Stanley Cup champion will be crowned for 2020.
The last year a Cup winner wasn't determined was in 1919, when the Spanish Influenza brought illness and death across the world. And the hockey world wasn't immune to the devastation.
On March 19, 1919, the Stanley Cup final got underway in Seattle. The Seattle Metropolitans represented the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Montreal Canadiens the NHL. The biggest difference in the regulations being Pacific Coast rules allowed for a seventh player, called the rover, to be implemented. They rotated between contests, with Pacific Coast rules on tap for the opening encounter.
Game one was a blow-out with Seattle pounding Montreal 7-0. A newspaper report on the game noted, "The Flying Frenchmen made heroic efforts to stem the tide, but all to no avail. The winners would not be denied, and with the throttle wide open and a relentless attack, they swept all the opposition aside and made a runaway of the match."
Montreal rebounded in game two on March 22 with a 4-2 victory. The scoring star for the Canadiens was "Newsy" Lalonde. An article two days later observed, "Lalonde gave a great exhibition of skating and scored all four of the Canadiens' points. Lalonde was the star of both teams. The leader of the visitors was a fiend on defence and was impossible to stop when he gained possession of the rubber."
In game three on March 24, the Metropolitans downed Montreal 7-2. Seattle jumped to a 4-0 lead in the first period and didn't relinquish their scoring advantage. The fact Pacific Coast rules were in effect, allowed Seattle to carry the game on offence. "Seattle won tonight because they played a sparkling combination game on the forward line, something they were unable to do under the abbreviated six-man rule," penned a reporter.
With Seattle holding a one game lead in the final, the two teams were back at it for game four on March 26. By all accounts it was one for the ages. In a magnificent battle between Montreal goalie Georges Vezina, and Seattle's Hap Holmes, neither team was able to produce a single tally in a 0-0 final score that included two 10-minute overtime periods. "The crowd taxed the arena to its capacity and they were kept in suspense from beginning to end," wrote a scribe. "When the teams, on the point of exhaustion, left the ice they were cheered impartially. Canadiens made a host of friends by their gallant efforts and will not want for support in the remaining game or games."
In a must-win situation, the Canadiens needed a victory in game five on March 30 to extend the final to a deciding game. It didn't look good for Montreal as they fell behind Seattle by three goals, but they responded to send the game to overtime. The hero for the Canadiens was Jack McDonald, who scored his lone goal in the final. During the regular season he scored 8 goals.
A newspaper story told its readers "Several of the Seattle men are under the care of a doctor as a result of the strenuous game."
No one knew the full extent of what was going on when it came to the physical well being of the players on both clubs.
The devastating news on the status of the Stanley Cup final dropped on April 1, 1919.
In a stunning and unexpected announcement at 2:30 pm, management of the arena in Seattle told reporters that no further games in the Stanley Cup final would be played. Earlier in the day, they began removing the ice.
The reason for shutting down was attributed to five Montreal players falling extremely ill from influenza.
"It will be two or three weeks before the visiting boys will be back on their feet again able to play," said a representative. "Consequently the series has been called off."
"Newsy"Lalonde, Bert Couture, Jack McDonald, Louis Berlinquette, and Joe Hall were identified as the sick. Their temperatures ranged from 101 to 105 degrees. Both McDonald and Hall were taken to the hospital. Also, the Canadiens' manager, George Kennedy, was diagnosed with influenza.
Under these dire conditions, the Seattle team refused to claim the Stanley Cup, a right they possessed due to Montreal not being able to ice a team. It meant the Cup remained with the 1918 champions, the Toronto Arenas. The decision was made by Frank Patrick, the president of the PCHA. Patrick was the brother of the legendary Lester Patrick.
Patrick addressed the situation with the press.
"This has been the most peculiar series in the history of the sport. There never was another series of games like the present one ... but the circumstances were such that it would have been impossible to play the game."
A very tragic turn occurred when Joe Hall died on the afternoon of April 6, 1919, "of pneumonia following a severe attack of influenza." He was just shy from celebrating his 38th birthday.
"Joe Hall was one of the real veterans of hockey," stated Frank Patrick. "He had been playing senior hockey since 1902. Off the ice he was one of the jolliest, best-hearted, most popular men who ever played."
Hall was born on May 3, 1882, in Staffordshire, England. A rugged defenceman, he earned the nickname "Bad Joe" Hall, which came from his reputation to play a physical game. Hall led the NHL in penalty-minutes in both 1918 and 1919.
A headline following a game against the Ottawa Senators in early January 1919, read, "Joe Hall Gets Major Penalty for an Attack on Nighbor." Frank Nighbor was a scoring ace with the Senators. He finished the 1918-19 season with 19 goals in 18 games. On the play in question, Hall "rushed across the ice and jammed Neighbour into the boards, at the same time slashing him."
As someone noted about Hall, "He was game and would battle them all, anytime, anywhere."
Prior to the formation of the National Hockey League, Hall won two Stanley Cups with the Quebec Bulldogs in 1911-12 and 1912-13. The Bulldogs were part the National Hockey Association. Also, Hall won a Cup in 1907 with the Kenora Thistles, but he didn't see any action. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, as an Honoured Member.
The body of Joe Hall was sent to Vancouver, then to Brandon, Manitoba, to be reunited with his wife and three children.
To determine exactly when, why, and how the five Montreal Canadien players contracted the Spanish Influenza is impossible to establish. Exposure certainly would be a factor since they travelled by train from Canada to Seattle. Did they touch an object along the way that their teammates didn't come into contact him, thus putting them at risk? Also, if they were asymptomatic, participating in a rigorous and physical competition couldn't have been healthy for their condition.
All of this sounds so familiar with the current situation we are facing in 2020, with more questions than answers. But as a society we have clearly learnt by some degree from the past.
The swift actions taken by the professional sports community, has curtailed thousands from being subjected to large crowds and the dreadful affects of the coronavirus.
At this point, it seems meaningless if a Stanley Cup champion isn't crowned. There is always next year.
If only that could've been said for Joe Hall back in 1919.
In a stunning and unexpected announcement at 2:30 pm, management of the arena in Seattle told reporters that no further games in the Stanley Cup final would be played. Earlier in the day, they began removing the ice.
The reason for shutting down was attributed to five Montreal players falling extremely ill from influenza.
"It will be two or three weeks before the visiting boys will be back on their feet again able to play," said a representative. "Consequently the series has been called off."
"Newsy"Lalonde, Bert Couture, Jack McDonald, Louis Berlinquette, and Joe Hall were identified as the sick. Their temperatures ranged from 101 to 105 degrees. Both McDonald and Hall were taken to the hospital. Also, the Canadiens' manager, George Kennedy, was diagnosed with influenza.
Under these dire conditions, the Seattle team refused to claim the Stanley Cup, a right they possessed due to Montreal not being able to ice a team. It meant the Cup remained with the 1918 champions, the Toronto Arenas. The decision was made by Frank Patrick, the president of the PCHA. Patrick was the brother of the legendary Lester Patrick.
Patrick addressed the situation with the press.
"This has been the most peculiar series in the history of the sport. There never was another series of games like the present one ... but the circumstances were such that it would have been impossible to play the game."
A very tragic turn occurred when Joe Hall died on the afternoon of April 6, 1919, "of pneumonia following a severe attack of influenza." He was just shy from celebrating his 38th birthday.
"Joe Hall was one of the real veterans of hockey," stated Frank Patrick. "He had been playing senior hockey since 1902. Off the ice he was one of the jolliest, best-hearted, most popular men who ever played."
Hall was born on May 3, 1882, in Staffordshire, England. A rugged defenceman, he earned the nickname "Bad Joe" Hall, which came from his reputation to play a physical game. Hall led the NHL in penalty-minutes in both 1918 and 1919.
A headline following a game against the Ottawa Senators in early January 1919, read, "Joe Hall Gets Major Penalty for an Attack on Nighbor." Frank Nighbor was a scoring ace with the Senators. He finished the 1918-19 season with 19 goals in 18 games. On the play in question, Hall "rushed across the ice and jammed Neighbour into the boards, at the same time slashing him."
As someone noted about Hall, "He was game and would battle them all, anytime, anywhere."
Prior to the formation of the National Hockey League, Hall won two Stanley Cups with the Quebec Bulldogs in 1911-12 and 1912-13. The Bulldogs were part the National Hockey Association. Also, Hall won a Cup in 1907 with the Kenora Thistles, but he didn't see any action. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961, as an Honoured Member.
The body of Joe Hall was sent to Vancouver, then to Brandon, Manitoba, to be reunited with his wife and three children.
To determine exactly when, why, and how the five Montreal Canadien players contracted the Spanish Influenza is impossible to establish. Exposure certainly would be a factor since they travelled by train from Canada to Seattle. Did they touch an object along the way that their teammates didn't come into contact him, thus putting them at risk? Also, if they were asymptomatic, participating in a rigorous and physical competition couldn't have been healthy for their condition.
All of this sounds so familiar with the current situation we are facing in 2020, with more questions than answers. But as a society we have clearly learnt by some degree from the past.
The swift actions taken by the professional sports community, has curtailed thousands from being subjected to large crowds and the dreadful affects of the coronavirus.
At this point, it seems meaningless if a Stanley Cup champion isn't crowned. There is always next year.
If only that could've been said for Joe Hall back in 1919.
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| Joe Hall: 1882-1919 |
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