Geographic History of the Major American Sports Leagues

[Gass3268]

1920’s NHL

For the 1920-1921 season the Québec Atheltics moved to Hamilton and were renamed the Tigers. The Ottawa Senators won the Staley Cup 3 games to 2 over the Vancouver Millionaires.



For the 1921-1922 season a new rival league was formed out West. The Western Canadian Hockey League (WCHL) (Green) comprised of the Calgary Tigers, Edmonton Eskimos, Regina Capitols and Saskatoon Sheiks. Toronto St. Patricks won the Stanley Cup 3 games to 2 over the Vancouver Millionaires.    



Before the 1922-1923 season the Saskatoon Sheiks moved to Moose Jaw and a new team was added to Saskatoon called the Crescents, bringing the WCHL to 5 teams. The Ottawa Senators won the Stanley cup 2 games to none over the Edmonton Eskimos.



In the WCHL the Moose Jaw Sheiks folded before the 1923-1924 season started. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 2 games to none over the Calgary Tigers.



1924-1925 season saw many changes to the professional hockey landscape as the Seattle Metropolitans folded and the Vancouver Millionaires and Victoria Cougars joined the WCHL. Also the NHL added two teams, the Montreal Maroons and the Boston Bruins. The Victoria Cougars won the Staley Cup 3 games to 1 over Montreal Canadiens. Victoria would be the last non-NHL team to win the Cup.



The Regina Capitols moved to Portland and renamed themselves the Rosebuds. The WCHL was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL). The NHL added the New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates for the 1925-1926. The Montreal Maroons won the Stanley Cup 3 games to 1 over the Victoria Cougars.



The WHL folded before the 1926-1927 season and the NHL bought the players. The new Chicago Black Hawks got the former Portland Rosebud players and the Detroit Cougars (later renamed the Red Wings) got the former Victoria Cougars players. The New York Rangers were also added to the NHL. The League also was split with a Canadian Division (Red) and an American Division (Blue). In order to keep the league balanced the New York Americans were in the Canadian Division. The Ottawa Senators won the Stanley Cup 2 games to none over the Boston Bruins.



1927-1928 – New York Rangers over Montreal Maroons 3-2
1928-1929 – Boston Bruins over New York Rangers 2-0
1929-1930 – Montreal Canadiens over Boston Bruins 2-0

[Gass3268]

1930’s NHL

The Pittsburgh Pirates moved to Philadelphia and were renamed the Quakers for the 1930-1931 season. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 3 games to 2 over the Chicago Black Hawks.



With the Great Depression really hurting teams, the Philadelphia Quakers folded, the Ottawa Senators took the 1931-1932 season off and the Detroit Falcons went bankrupt. After competition from the American Hockey League fell apart, the Chicago Shamrocks merged with the Detroit Falcons and were renamed the Red Wings. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup 3 games to none over the New York Rangers.



The Ottawa Senators came back for the 1932-1933 season. The New York Rangers won the Stanley Cup 3 games to 1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs.



1933-1934 – Chicago Black Hawks over Detroit Red Wings 3-1

The Ottawa Senators moved to St. Louis and were renamed the Eagles for the 1934-1935 season. The Montreal Maroons won the Stanley Cup 3 games to none over the Toronto Maple Leafs.



The St. Louis Eagles bought back the franchise before the 1935-1936 season and the players were dispersed among the other teams, except Chicago. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup 3 games to 1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs.



1936-1937 – Detroit Red Wings over New York Rangers 3-2
1937-1938 – Chicago Black Hawks over Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1

The Montreal Maroons disbanded before the 1938-1939 season after being denied the ability to move to St. Louis. With seven teams the NHL went back to one division. The Boston Bruins won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs.



1939-1940 – New York Rangers over Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2

[Gass3268]

1940’s NHL

1940-1941 – Boston Bruins over Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1941-1942 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-3

Before the 1942-1943 season the NHL dropped the Brooklyn Americans because too many of their players were serving in World War II. This was the beginning of the “Original Six” era of the NHL, which would last until the 1966-1967 season. The Detroit Red Wings won the Stanley Cup 4 games to none over the Boston Bruins.   



1943-1944 – Montreal Canadiens over Chicago Black Hawks 4-0
1944-1945 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-3
1945-1946 – Montreal Canadiens over Boston Bruins 4-1
1946-1947 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Montreal Canadiens 4-2
1947-1948 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1948-1949 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-0
1949-1950 – Detroit Red Wings over New York Rangers 4-3

[Gass3268]

1950’s NHL

1950-1951 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Montreal Canadiens 4-1
1951-1952 – Detroit Red Wings over Montreal Canadiens 4-0
1952-1953 – Montreal Canadiens over Boston Bruins 4-1
1953-1954 – Detroit Red Wings over Montreal Canadiens 4-3
1954-1955 – Detroit Red Wings over Montreal Canadiens 4-3
1955-1956 – Montreal Canadiens over Detroit Red Wings 4-1
1956-1957 – Montreal Canadiens over Boston Bruins 4-1
1957-1958 – Montreal Canadiens over Boston Bruins 4-2
1958-1959 – Montreal Canadiens over Toronto Maple Leafs 4-1
1959-1960 – Montreal Canadiens over Toronto Maple Leafs 4-0

[Gass3268]

1960’s NHL

1960-1961 – Chicago Black Hawks over Detroit Red Wings 4-2
1961-1962 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Chicago Black Hawks 4-2
1962-1963 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-1
1963-1964 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Detroit Red Wings 4-3
1964-1965 – Montreal Canadiens over Chicago Black Hawks 4-3
1965-1966 – Montreal Canadiens over Detroit Red Wings 4-2
1966-1967 – Toronto Maple Leafs over Montreal Canadiens 4-2

The 1967-1968 season saw big changes as the NHL doubled in size. The “Original Six” teams would be in the Eastern Division (Red) while the 6 new expansion teams would be in the Western Division (Blue). The new teams included: Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Oakland Seals and St. Louis Blues. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 4 games to none over the St. Louis Blues.



1968-1969 – Montreal Canadiens over St. Louis Blues 4-0
1969-1970 – Boston Bruins over St. Louis Blue 4-0     

[Gass3268]

1970’s NHL

Before the 1970-1971 season the Buffalo Sabres and the Vancouver Canucks were added to the Eastern Division, while the Chicago Black Hawks were flipped over to the Western Division in order to provide some competitive balance between the two division. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 3 over the Chicago Black Hawks.



1971-1972 – Boston Bruins over New York Rangers 4-2

The 1972-1973 season saw the first time since the WHL folded in 1926 that the NHL faced major competition. The World Hockey Association (WHA) had their inaugural season with 12 teams in two divisions and they would not challenge the NHL for the Stanley Cup. The Eastern Division (Green) had the Cleveland Crusaders, New England Whalers, New York Raiders, Ottawa Nationals, Philadelphia Blazers and Quebec Nordiques and the Western Division (Orange) Alberta (Edmonton) Oilers, Chicago Cougars, Houston Aeros, Los Angeles Sharks, Minnesota Fighting Saints and Winnipeg Jets. In response the NHL added the Atlanta Flames to the Western Division and New York Islanders to the Eastern Division in order to block the WHA from these markets. The New England Whalers won the WHA championship 4 games to 1 and the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2 over the Chicago Black Hawks.     



For the 1973-1974 WHA season the Philadelphia Blazers moved to Vancouver and the Western Division, while the Chicago Cougars moved to the Eastern Division. Also the New York Raiders were renamed Golden Blades before moving to New Jersey midway through the season and becoming the New Jersey Knights. The Ottawa Nationals also moved to Toronto and were renamed the Toros. The Houston Aeros won the WHA 4 games to none over the Chicago Cougars and the Philadelphia Flyers were the first expansion team to win the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2 over the Boston Bruins.


For the 1974-1975 season the NHL added the Kansas City Scouts and the Washington Capitols. The league also saw realignment as there would now be the Prince of Wales Conference with the Adams Division (Red) of Boston, Buffalo, Golden State and Toronto and the Norris Divisions (Pink) of Detroit, Los Angeles, Montreal, Pittsburgh and Washington. While the Clarence Campbell Conference had  the Patrick Division (Dark Blue) of Atlanta, both New Yorks and Philadelphia and the Smythe Division (Light Blue) of Chicago, Kansas City, Minnesota, St. Louis and Vancouver. WHA added the Indianapolis Racers and the Phoenix Roadrunners, the New York Knights moved to San Diego and were renamed the Mariners, Los Angeles sharks moved to Detroit and were renamed the Michigan Stages before then moving to Baltimore that same season and being renamed the Blades. Also the Whalers moved to Hartford from Boston. The league also divided into three divisions with the Canadian Division (Green) of Edmonton, Quebec, Toronto, Vancouver and Winnipeg, the Eastern Division (Purple) with Chicago, Cleveland, Indianapolis and New England and the Western Division (Orange) of Houston, Michigan/Baltimore, Minnesota, Phoenix and San Diego. The Houston Aeros won the WHA 4 games to none over the Quebec Nordiques and the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 2 over the Buffalo Sabres.   



In 1975-1976 WHA season saw the Baltimore Blades and Chicago Cougars fold. To keep the league at 14 teams the Cincinnati Stingers were added to the Eastern Division and the Denver Spurs were added to the Western Division. Denver would move to Ottawa during the middle of the season and were renamed the Civics while the Vancouver Blazers moved to Calgary and were renamed the Cowboys. The Winnipeg Jets won the WHA 4 games to none over the Houston Aeros and the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 4 games to none over the Philadelphia Flyers.



Before the 1976-1977 NHL season the California Golden Seals moved to Cleveland and were renamed the Barons and the Kansas City Scouts moved to Denver and were renamed the Colorado Rockies. In The WHA the Minnesota Fighting Saints and the Ottawa Civics folded the prior season, the Toronto Toros moved to Birmingham and were renamed the Bulls and the Cleveland Crusaders tried to move to South Florida before going to Minnesota to become the second version of the Fighting Saints. The league also realigned as Birmingham, Cincinnati, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England and Quebec were in the Eastern Division while Calgary, Edmonton, Houston, Phoenix, San Diego and Winnipeg were in the Western Division. The Quebec Nordiques won the WHA 4 games to 3 over the Winnipeg Jets while the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup 4 games to 0 over the Boston Bruins.

 
 
Before the 1977-1978 WHA season the Calgary Cowboys, Minnesota Fighting Saints, Phoenix Roadrunners and San Diego Mariners folded. The WHA went to one 8 team division. The Winnipeg Jets won the WHA 4 games to none over the New England Whalers and the Montreal Canadiens 4 games to 2.



For the 1978-1979 NHL season the Cleveland Barons and the Minnesota North Stars merged. The Minnesota North Stars remained and they took Cleveland’s spot in the Adams Division. In the WHA the Indianapolis Racers folded during the middle of the season. The Winnipeg Jets won the WHA 4 games to 2 over the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup over the New York Rangers 4 games to 1.



The 1979-1980 season saw the merger of the NHL and WHA. The Edmonton Oilers joined the Smythe Division, Hartford Whalers joined the Norris Division, Quebec Nordiques joined the Adams Division and Winnipeg Jets joined the Smythe Division. Houston Aeros folded before the merger agreement was made and the Birmingham Bulls and Cincinnati Stingers were paid to fold. The Washington Capitols also moved to the Patrick Division   

[Hatman 🍁]

Yay! Finally, a league that matters. Although, I am pretty familiar with the geographic history of the NHL. It would have been neat if you had gone back to 1893 showing all the early amateur leagues that competed for the cup.

[Smid]

Yay! Finally, a league that matters. Although, I am pretty familiar with the geographic history of the NHL. It would have been neat if you had gone back to 1893 showing all the early amateur leagues that competed for the cup.

Seconded (without agreeing to the statement "I am pretty familiar with..." as I'm not).

[Lief 🗽]

Are you going to do one for soccer? It's a lot more disjointed than all the other leagues, but the United States has had soccer leagues in various incarnations since at least the 1920s.