Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association
| Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association | |
|---|---|
| Sport | Ice hockey |
| Founded | 1905 |
| Inaugural season | 1906 |
| Country(ies) |  Canada |
| Ceased | 1909 |
| Last champion(s) |
Ottawa Hockey Club |
| Most championships | Montreal Wanderers |
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 six clubs: four from the Canadian Amateur Hockey League and two from the Federal Amateur Hockey League(FAHL), to bring together the top teams of both leagues. It was formed to enhance the revenues of a now popular spectator sport and help it cope in Canada with professionalism in the sport. The league would shed its amateur status for the 1908 season, leading to the split between Canadian amateur ice hockey teams playing for the Allan Cup, and the professionals playing for the Stanley Cup. The league would itself dissolve in 1909 over a dispute between team owners over business issues, and the emergence of the Renfrew Millionaires.
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The CAHL held its regular meeting on December 9, 1905. At that meeting it was decided that amalgamation with the FAHL should be attempted. On December 11, it was announced that the amalgamation would form a new league, the ECAHA. The CAHL was discontinued, but the FAHL would continue. The first executive was elected:
- Howard Wilson, Montreal (president)
- G. P. Murphy, Ottawa (1st vice-president)
- Dr. Cameron, Montreal (2nd vice-president)
- James Strachan, Wanderers ( Secretary-treasurer)
However on December 20, the vice-president titles were abolished and the Secretary-treasurer position was given to William Northey of the Montreal Arena Company.
In 1906, the league allowed teams to openly use professional players and in 1908 it was renamed the Eastern Canada Hockey Association. In November 1909, four teams announced that they were leaving the ECHA. Three of them created the Canadian Hockey Association although this lasted only until January 1910, and a merger with the National Hockey Association followed.
A silver championship trophy was donated by the Montreal Arena Company. After the Wanderers won it in 1906 through 1908, they were given the trophy permanently, a condition engraved in the silver of the trophy. The trophy is now on permanent display in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.
| Season | Teams | Champion |
|---|---|---|
| 1906 | Montreal Hockey Club, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Montreal Wanderers†‡, Ottawa Hockey Club†‡, Quebec HC | Ottawa and Wanderers tied (best record) Wanderers won two-game playoff |
| 1907 | Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Montreal Wanderers†, Ottawa HC, Quebec HC | Wanderers (best record) |
| 1907–08 | Montreal HC, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Victorias, Montreal Wanderers†, Ottawa HC, Quebec HC | Wanderers (best record) |
| 1909 | Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa HC†, Quebec HC | Ottawa (best record) |
†Stanley Cup Champions.
‡ Ottawa and Wanderers are both considered 1906 Stanley Cup Champions. [1]
- Coleman, Charles (1966). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, vol. 1, 1893–1926 inc.
- ^ Hockey Hall of Fame. Other years have multiple winners, including 1907 when the Wanderers lost the Cup and won it back. Since Ottawa was already the holder of the Cup, others consider it merely a successful defense of the Cup.
