Hockey World”: Media Coverage of Early Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges, 1894-1907
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University of Alberta Manhood, Rivalry, and the Creation of a Canadian “Hockey World”: Media Coverage of Early Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges, 1894-1907 by Stacy Lyle Lorenz A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in History Department of History and Classics ©Stacy Lyle Lorenz Fall 2012 Edmonton, Alberta Permission is hereby granted to the University of Alberta Libraries to reproduce single copies of this thesis and to lend or sell such copies for private, scholarly or scientific research purposes only. Where the thesis is converted to, or otherwise made available in digital form, the University of Alberta will advise potential users of the thesis of these terms. The author reserves all other publication and other rights in association with the copyright in the thesis and, except as herein before provided, neither the thesis nor any substantial portion thereof may be printed or otherwise reproduced in any material form whatsoever without the author's prior written permission. For my friend Rod Murray 1972 - 2010 Abstract This study examines media narratives of high-level amateur and professional hockey in Canada during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. In particular, this project analyzes English Canadian newspaper coverage of Stanley Cup “challenge” games and championship series between 1894 and 1907. It assesses local and national newspaper reporting on hockey, as well as the telegraph reconstructions that enabled fans to share a simultaneous experience of distant games. Early Stanley Cup matches are valuable case studies for examining the cultural meanings of hockey in Canada. Media reports and experiences of hockey brought Canadians into local and national communities of interest, while constructing narratives of regional identity, civic boosterism, and community rivalry. Press coverage and telegraph re-enactments of Stanley Cup challenges contributed significantly to the growth of a mediated Canadian “hockey world” – and a broader “world of sport” – during this time period. By 1903, Stanley Cup hockey games had become “national” Canadian events, followed by audiences across the country. Hockey also played an important role in the construction of gender and class identities, and in debates about amateurism, professionalism, and community representation in sport. By examining media descriptions of “brutal” and “strenuous” play, this study explores the connections between violence and manhood in Canadian hockey. Narratives of robust and hard-hitting hockey expressed both ideals of respectable, middle-class masculinity and characteristics of rough, working-class masculinity. In addition, this project analyzes how notions of civic identity changed as hockey clubs evolved from amateur teams represented by players who were “members” of their home community to professional aggregations that included paid imports from outside the town. A growing emphasis on securing the professional athletes that could ensure victory led to praise for a team’s efforts to please its supporters, or “customers.” By investigating key issues related to media, gender, and community identities in early hockey, this research addresses important gaps in the study of sport history and the analysis of sport and Canadian popular culture. More specifically, this thesis answers the need for careful, scholarly examinations of the cultural narratives attached to Canadian hockey – and the development of the Canadian sports media – in a historical context. Acknowledgements Writing a thesis in the field of sport history probably starts with the sports books and magazines I read as a kid; the organized – and unorganized – sports I played while growing up; the newspaper sports sections, radio play-by-play and sports talk, and televised games I read, listened to, and watched; following the Toronto Maple Leafs of the late 1970s and the (much more successful) Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s; and, in particular, the “world of baseball” I was a part of, despite living nowhere near any major league teams – from Baseball Digest and Bill James, to Expos games on TV, biographies of Babe Ruth and Ty Cobb, and summer days spent playing Strat-O-Matic. Mix an interest in history with a realization that sport history was becoming a legitimate academic field (and a fortuitous conversation with Bob Barney at The University of Western Ontario), and I found myself applying to a PhD program where this kind of work was actually encouraged…. More formally, the work for this dissertation began in the Faculty of Physical Education and Recreation at the University of Alberta, under the guidance of Gerald Redmond and Peter Lindsay. It then moved into the Department of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, where I was pleasantly surprised to find this kind of research welcomed by my initial supervisor, Doug Owram; my later supervisor, David Mills; and other professors teaching graduate courses, including Burton Smith and John-Paul Himka. I was also fortunate to sit in on a sport and Canadian popular culture course taught by Dave Whitson, who pointed me in a number of different directions that significantly influenced this project. While moving from instructor to co-supervisor to sole supervisor, David Mills helped me to survive the various stages of my lengthy PhD program, from course work and comprehensive exams to the research and writing of this dissertation. His critiques, advice, and guidance have been very much appreciated. I would also like to thank Dave Whitson, Paul Voisey, and Dan Mason – the core of my supervisory committee since the early stages of this project – for their extraordinary patience and assistance along the way. In addition, I would like to express my appreciation to Colin Howell for agreeing to make the trip to the west and serve as external examiner. Earlier in my academic career, Richard Vaudry, Rani Palo, Petr Mirejovsky, and Vincent Eriksson introduced me to the study of history at Augustana University College. During my M.A. program at The University of Western Ontario, Ian Steele taught me a great deal about historical research and asking the right questions. And my colleagues in the North American Society for Sport History have provided regular support, feedback, and encouragement since my first NASSH conference in 1994. More specific thanks go to John Wong for sharing key pages of the Rat Portage Miner and News and Kenora Miner and News, as well as Jeff Vastenhout for sacrificing his personal health and well-being while hunched over an old microfilm reader tracking down newspaper coverage of early Stanley Cup series. Staff members at the Augustana Library, Rutherford Library, and the U of A’s Book and Record Depository (BARD) were also extremely helpful in assisting me with primary and secondary source material. Through the efforts of Yvonne Becker, David Dahle, Jeremy Mouat, and Roger Epp, I received support from Augustana University College and the Augustana Campus of the University of Alberta in a number of important ways. My coaching and teaching colleagues in Physical Education and Athletics at Augustana offered needed encouragement and diversion over the years, especially Morten Asfeldt, Gary Snydmiller, Yvonne Becker, and Dave Drabiuk. Geraint Osborne collaborated on the first stages of the research that shaped the way I think about hockey violence. And co-teaching courses on hockey, culture, media, and social memory with Bill Foster influenced my thinking about a number of issues related to this thesis. Finally, thank you to my parents, Lyle and Rosemary Lorenz, and my sisters, Trish, Kristi, and Trudi, for their love and support going back to a time long before this thesis was written. And the biggest thanks of all to Kim, Bradi, Griffin, and Sawyer, who had to deal with all of the challenges of dad-as-student. I am sorry it took so long…. Table of Contents 1. Introduction: Media, Culture, and the Meanings of Hockey ………..…. 1 2. “Our Victorias Victorious”: Media, Rivalry, and the 1896 Winnipeg-Montreal Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges ………….. 29 3. National Media Coverage and the Creation of a Canadian “Hockey World”: The Winnipeg-Montreal Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges, 1899-1903 ………………………………………. 93 4. Hockey, Violence, and Masculinity: Newspaper Coverage of the Ottawa “Butchers,” 1903-1906 ……………………………….. 167 5. “The Product of the Town Itself”: Community Representation and the Stanley Cup Hockey Challenges of the Kenora Thistles, 1903-1907 …………………………………………..……………….. 246 6. Conclusion: Constructing a Cultural History of Canadian Hockey …………………………………………….……… 322 Bibliography …………………………………………………………. 336 Chapter One Introduction: Media, Culture, and the Meanings of Early Hockey Newspaper readers were exposed to a number of different perspectives on the cultural meanings of hockey during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Media coverage of Canadian hockey offered fans and spectators a variety of interpretive possibilities and identities. For instance, when the Kenora Thistles travelled east in January 1907 to play the Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup – the trophy that symbolized the national championship of Canada – the Montreal Gazette praised the western champions’ manly character and style of play. “They are in Montreal representing a fine type of manhood; what is more, the finest type of hockey, fast and clean, looking for the puck, not the man; aiming at the goal, and not with vicious intent to hurt or maim,” commented the Page | 1 Introduction Gazette.1 The two Kenora-Wanderer Stanley Cup games were described in Montreal newspapers with such phrases as “speedy and clean”; “a ripping fast match”; “brilliant, not at all rough”; and “exceptionally clean,” with “plenty of smart, snappy hockey.” Nevertheless, while there appeared to be “no foul play of a serious nature,” press reports acknowledged that the contests included hard collisions, some “rough work,” and a great deal of “stiff” checking.2 Similarly, when the Wanderers journeyed to Winnipeg in March 1907 to try to reclaim the Stanley Cup from Kenora, the Montreal Star noted the tension between “clean” and “rough” hockey.