NHL and Golden Age of Hockey

1942-1967 Post-war period

In February 1943, league president Frank Calder collapsed during a meeting and died shortly after. Red Dutton agreed to take over as president after receiving assurances from the league that the Brooklyn franchise he ran would resume play after the war. When the team’s other owners reneged on this promise in 1946, Dutton resigned as president of the league. With Dutton’s recommendation, Clarence Campbell was appointed president of the NHL in 1946. He remained in this position until his retirement in 1977. For 21 years of his presidency, it was the same six teams. (located in Boston, Chicago, Detroit, Montreal, New York and Toronto) competed for the Stanley Cup and that period was called the “NHL and Golden Age of Hockey.” The NHL is characterized by increasingly intense contests along with rules innovations that opened the game. The first official All-Star Game signed at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto on 13 October 1947 to raise money from The NHL All-Stars defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-3 and raised C $25,000 to the pension fund.

The “Punch Line”

The Canadians were in the 1940s led by the “punch line” from Elmer Lash, Tu Blake and Morris “Rocket” Richard. In 1944-1945, Lash, Richard and Blake finished first, second and third in the NHL scoring race with 80, 73 and 67 points, respectively. Richard became the focus of media attention and fans while trying to score 50 goals in a 50-game season, It is an achievement that no other player has achieved in the history of the league. Richard scored his 50th goal in Boston at 17: 45 of the third period of Montreal’s last game of the season. On 13 March 1948 Larry Kwong, “China Clipper,” becomes the first non-white player in the NHL, breaking the color barrier. He was suitable for the New York Rangers against the Montreal Canadiens at the Montreal Forum. In March 1955, Richard was suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs, having received a match penalty for reducing the Boston team. Hal Laiko then punched an assistant who tried to intervene. The comment sparked a wave of outrage towards league president Clarence Campbell, who was warned not to attend a scheduled match in Montreal after receiving numerous death threats, mostly from French-Canadians who accused him of bias against France. Campbell refused warnings, attending the March 17 match as planned. Many fans considered his presence in the match a provocation and he was booed and pelted with eggs and fruit. An hour after the game A fan threw a tear gas grenade in the direction of Campbell, and firefighters decided to evacuate the building. Fans came out of the game and a growing crowd of angry protesters rioted outside the Montreal Forum Richard became the first player to score 500 goals on 19 October 1957. Retired in 1960 as eight-time Stanley Cup champion, as well as top scorer in the NHL with 544 goals.

In the fall of 1951, Maple Leafs owner Con Smith watched the special TV broadcast of games in an attempt to determine whether it would be a suitable way to broadcast hockey games. Television already had its critics inside the NHL, especially in Campbell. In 1952, although only 10% of Canadians own a television set, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) began broadcasting TV games. On November 1, 1952 Hockey Night in Canada first aired on television, with Foster Hewitt calling the action between Leafs and Bruins in Maple Leaf Gardens. Broadcasting quickly became the highest-rated show on Canadian television. Campbell feared that televised hockey would cause people to stop attending games in person, but Smith felt the opposite. CBS first broadcast hockey games in the United States in the 1956-57 season as an experiment. Surprised by the initial popularity of streaming operations, a 21-game game package opened the following year. The NHL itself was adapted to be suitable for viewers. In 1949, the association ordered that the ice surface be painted in white to make it easier to see the disk. On January 18, 1958 Willie Urey joined the Bruins as an injury call-up in a game in Montreal. He became the first black player in the NHL and Golden Age of Hockey.

The first players’ association

Clint Benedict was the first goalkeeper to wear a face protector, wearing it in 1930 to protect a broken nose. He quickly abandoned his mask because his design overlapped with his vision. Twenty-nine years later On November 1, 1959, in a match against the New York Rangers Jack Blunt, the goalkeeper’s mask made hockey a constant. The first players’ association was formed on February 12, 1957 by Red Wings player Ted Lindsay who had sat on the board of the NHL Pension Association since 1952. Lindsey and his colleagues were disturbed by the association’s refusal to allow them. The association claimed that it could not contribute more than it did but the players on the pension committee complained otherwise. The idea quickly gained popularity and when the association was publicly announced, almost every NHL player participated. Led by Alan Egelson, the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) was formed in 1967.

The Period of Breeds

The original six times were the period of breeds. The Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup five times between 1944-45 and 1950-51. In the 1951 Stanley Cup Finals, the Maple Leafs beat the Canadiens by four games to one in the only final in NHL history when all games were decided in overtime. Starting in 1948-49, the Red Wings won seven consecutive regular-season titles, an achievement that no other team has achieved. During that time, the Wings won four Stanley Cups. It was during the 1952 Stanley Cup Finals that the Octopus legend was created. Brothers Pete and Jerry Cosimano brought a dead octopus to Detroit Olympia for game four of the finals. They hoped the octopus would inspire Detroit with the eighth win of the game. Detroit continued to defeat Montreal 3-0 and the tradition was born. The Red Wings faced Canadians in the Stanley Cup Finals in three consecutive seasons between 1954 and 1956. Detroit won its first two games But Montreal captured the Stanley Cup in 1956, ending one dynasty and starting another. Canadians won five consecutive championships between 1956 and 1960, an achievement not repeated by any other team. The original Six Times ended with the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals between two-time champions Canadians and Maple Leafs. The Maple Leafs ended the era by winning the Cup four times between 1962 and 1967, and the 1967 Championship is the last Maple Leafs title to date. The Chicago Blackhawks, who won in 1961, are the only other team to win the Stanley Cup during this period.

For more information please visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_National_Hockey_League