Sir Edward Morris Trophy

The Sir Edward Morris Trophy was a competition held between teams from St. John's, Newfoundland and Truro, Nova Scotia in 1901 and 1902.

Background
Newfoundland had been pretty much well isolated until the banks crashed on the island in 1894. This lead to the relocation of many men to run banks on the island. Most of these people came from Nova Scotia. This introduced hockey to the Avalon Peninsula. The main reason for the crash had been the attempt by the government of Newfoundland trying to build a trans-island railway system. The need for the railway to be completed lead to railroad construction workers coming onto the island, many of the workers were from the Montreal area. The Reid Company was responsible for building the railway. The Prince's Rink named after the then Prince of Wales and future King Edward VII was opened in 1899 was built on land owned by The Reid Company in the Fort William area near the new train station and the Hotel Newfoundland. This lead to the formation of the St. John's Senior Hockey League also in 1899. Hockey was not yet very popular with the local population and games were scheduled at meal time as not to take away from the public demand for an ice skating facility. The great majority of the league was made up of players from the banks and the Reid Company. By 1901 locals started to play and learn the game; with many of them playing quite well.

Sir Edward Morris donated a trophy for a competition between teams from Newfoundland and Truro.

1901 Competition
The first competition was held in 1901 with the games being played in St. John's

Game 1: Truro 6, St. John's 2

Game 2: Truro 1, St. John's 0

Game 3: Tie 3-3

1902 Competition
The second and final competition was held in 1902 also in St. John's

Game 1: Truro 2, St. John's 1

Game 2: Truro 3, St. John's 1

Later Competitions
After 1902 the competition was discontinued but:

in 1911, a similar series was held between St. John's and Windsor, Nova Scotia

Game 1: St John's 5, Windsor 4

Game 2: Windsor 4, St. John's 3

Game 3: Tie 2-2

In 1914 a series was held between the St. John's All-Stars and the Halifax Progressives (no results given)

source: Newfoundland and Labrador Hockey Hall of Fame website