Introduction ODAY THE REIGNING TWO-TIME MEMORIAL He kept playing while in Windsor, even T Cup champion Windsor Spitfires are the though the level of hockey wasn’t what he was talk of the junior hockey world for their out- accustomed to. standing achievements on the ice. But there was During the 1919-20 season, Liffiton Sr., then a time in Windsor when “out” was the only place 35, played for the Border Cities Stars of the you could play hockey. Detroit Hockey League. A Jan. 12, 1920 game Outdoors, that is. report in the Border Cities Star praised Liffiton’s Until the construction of Windsor Arena, skill as his club humbled West Warren by a 7-1 which opened in 1925, places to play hockey in count. the City of Roses were few and far between. “A feature of the game was the rushing of Many early leagues were contested on outdoor Liffiton, who was holding down right defence ice pads, and the outcomes of seasons were for the Stars. Despite the slushy conditions of the determined by the whims of Mother Nature. ice, he could carry the puck and his work pro- One of the first true hockey stars to ply his vided the fans with a sample of hockey as it is trade in Windsor skated on these outdoor rinks, played in the top divisions in Canada. There is years after skating alongside hockey legends in not a point of the game that he does not know.” the battle for Lord Stanley’s mug. Ernie Liffiton Hockey took a quantum leap forward in was a left-winger with the 1907-08 Stanley Cup Windsor when Windsor Arena, then known as champion Montreal Wanderers, a powerhouse the Border Cities Arena, opened its doors in club with several future Hall of Famers in the 1925. At the time, it was considered an architec- line-up. Riley Hern tended goal, while Ernie tural structure of the highest order. (Moose) Johnson and Art Ross manned defensive “Windsor’s much-mooted artificial ice arena positions. Forwards included Tom Hooper, Ernie is at last a reality – a vast monument of concrete Russell and Bruce Stuart. Dickie Boon, the team’s and steel dedicated to the greatest athletic pas- coach, also earned Hall of Fame enshrinement. time in the captivity of sportdom,” wrote Deane Years later, Liffiton’s other profession Van Luven in the Sept. 5, 1925 Border Cities Star. brought him to Windsor. “My dad worked for a “At Wyandotte Street and McDougall Ave. there consortium of Dominion Bridge and Canadian stands a palace of hockey that would command Bridge in Montreal,” Ernie Liffiton Jr. explained the respect and admiration of expert critics any- in a 2004 interview. “He had a chance to come where in this country. down here with Canadian Bridge Company, so “One year ago today, the Border Cities, as a in 1916, we moved to Windsor.” unit, was as far removed from participation in Ernie Liffiton Sr. did the steel work for both hockey, organized hockey that is, as a grass- the Ambassador Bridge and the Detroit-Windsor hopper from getting a nomination to the city Tunnel. It’s a safe bet that he was the only Stan- council. No longer may the rest of Canada point ley Cup winner on either job. scornfully to the heart of Essex County and refer 13 (Left) The Windsor Bulldogs were a minor-pro team which played in the CanPro and International Leagues from 1927-36. (TTSA) (Right) Detroit Red Wings GM Jack Adams brought NHL sponsorship to the Spitfires in 1947. (MP) to our neighbourhood as a place wherein shinny opened its NHL history there Nov. 18, 1926 with is played on somebody’s backyard.” a 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins. The first ice surface was laid down in the rink Three nights earlier, the Hamilton Tigers had in early November of 1925. “Surely, Santa Claus edged the Windsor Hornets 2-1 in the inaugural has arrived a month ahead of schedule,” noted game of the new Canadian Professional Hockey the Nov. 7, 1925 edition of the The Border Cities League, a minor-pro loop that served as a farm Star. “Windsor and its surrounding municipali- system for NHL teams. Windsor’s club was ties have hoped that one day, an artificial ice sta- renamed the Bulldogs a year later, and in 1930, dium would grace its lands. For years, borderites the league was renamed the International carried their skates to open-air rinks, where at League. Windsor skated in the league until 1936, the pleasure of old man weather, it was possible winning championships in the 1928-29 and at times to skate on hard ice.” 1935-36 seasons. Among the more prominent The National Hockey League’s New York names to don a Windsor sweater during this Americans downed the reigning Stanley Cup time period were Hall of Fame goaltender Clint champion Victoria Cougars of the Western Benedict, Leighton (Hap) Emms, Normie Smith, Hockey League 1-0 in the opening game at and Dave Kerr. Windsor Arena. The Windsor Hornets joined the In 1945, the end of World War II brought nor- Ontario Hockey Association’s senior circuit that malcy back to the lives of people across North season, including future NHLers Fred Brown America and the local hockey ranks were swell- and Marvin (Cy) Wentworth in their lineup. ing with players as soldiers steadily returned The following fall, big-time pro hockey from overseas. The Michigan-Ontario League, a graced Windsor for the first time. The Detroit prominent senior loop prior to the outbreak of Cougars – today the Red Wings – joined the the war, had faded away with much more signif- NHL in 1926, but absent an NHL-calibre rink of icant battles needing to be fought, but now, area their own, played their home games during the hockey people were putting the pieces together 1926-27 campaign at Windsor Arena. Detroit to bring the league back to life. 14 A Dec. 5, 1945 meeting at Windsor’s Norton A year later, Windsor was accepted again into Palmer Hotel was attended by Jack Adams, the OHA Junior A ranks. The Spitfires joined the coach-GM of the Detroit Red Wings, Fred Huber, OHA Junior A Series, forerunner to the Ontario the Wings director of public relations, and sev- Hockey League, as an expansion franchise in eral local hockey dignitaries including Lloyd 1975. Doug Johnston was Windsor’s first coach, Pollock and Len Loree. It was announced that but was replaced by Maxner before season’s end. the league would return, with four franchises – Maxner guided Windsor to the league finals in Windsor Spitfires, Windsor Gotfredsons, Detroit 1979-80. In 1980-81, Windsor centre Ernie Auto Club and Detroit Bright’s Goodyears – and Godden set a league record that still stands when with a new name, the International Amateur he scored 87 goals. Hockey League, later shortened to the Interna- Peter Karmanos purchased the franchise in tional Hockey League when it became a pro 1984, renaming the team the Compuware Spit- organization. fires, and in 1988, under the tutelage of coach That first season began Dec. 21, 1945, and Tom Webster and led by captain Adam Graves, consisted of 15 games, with Friday double- the Spitfires won their first OHL title and headers at Windsor Arena and Monday twinbills reached the Memorial Cup final before falling at the Olympia in Detroit. The Spits and 7-6 to the Medicine Hat Tigers. Gotfredsons tied 4-4 opening night at Windsor A group headed by Steve Riolo acquired the Arena, while the Auto Club, eventual champions Spitfires in 1989, and in 2001-02, reached the con- of that inaugural campaign, outscored Bright’s ference finals for the first time since that 1988 12-9. Windsor teams took two IHL titles, one by championship season. In 1994, defenceman Ed the Spitfires in 1946-47 and one by the Hettche Jovanovski became the first Spitfire to go first Spitfires in 1948-49. overall in the NHL entry draft when he was Windsor made its first foray into junior A selected by the Florida Panthers. Riolo eventu- hockey in 1946, when the original Spitfires were ally acquired controlling interest in the franchise born. They skated in the OHA Junior A series and in 2006, sold the team to current owners Bob through the 1952-53 season, reaching the league Boughner, Warren Rychel and Peter Dobrich. finals in 1947-48 and 1949-50. The Spitfires Under their leadership, the Spitfires have served as a sponsored club of the Red Wings produced talent such as NHL first-round draft and in 1950-51, goaltender Glenn Hall won the picks Greg Nemisz, Josh Bailey, Ryan Ellis, Cam Red Tilson Memorial Trophy as MVP of the Fowler, and Taylor Hall, who in 2010 joined league. Jovanovski as the only Spitfires to top the NHL The Bulldogs returned to prominence in 1953, draft when he was taken first overall by the when Windsor joined the OHA Senior A series. Edmonton Oilers. Former Spitfires such as Bobby Brown, Gord Playing out of the 6,500-seat WFCU Centre, Haidy and Irwin Gross were all stars for the Bull- which opened in 2008, Windsor has grown into dogs, who brought an Allan Cup to the city the envy of major junior franchises, winning when they beat the Winnipeg Maroons in Memorial Cup titles in 2008-09, and 2009-10, 1962-63. The Bulldogs also took Windsor to the just the seventh team to capture successive world, touring Russia the following season.