| 1925–26 New York Americans | |
| Division | 5th NHL |
|---|---|
| 1925–26 record | 12–20–4 |
| Goals for | 68 |
| Goals against | 89 |
| Team information | |
| General manager | Tommy Gorman |
| Coach | Tommy Gorman |
| Arena | Madison Square Garden |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Billy Burch (22) |
| Assists | Red Green Shorty Green (4) |
| Points | Billy Burch (25) |
| Penalty minutes | Ken Randall (94) |
| Wins | Jake Forbes (12) |
| Goals against average | Jake Forbes (2.30) |
The 1925–26 New York Americans season was the 1st season of the New York Americans ice hockey team of the National Hockey League. Despite having the roster of the previous season's top club, the Hamilton Tigers, the club finished in 5th place and did not qualify for the playoffs.
Off-season[]
Bill Dwyer became a hockey team owner by purchasing the suspended Hamilton Tigers franchise and the rights to its players for $80,000. Dwyer got Tommy Gorman to be general manager and coach from the Ottawa Senators, where he had been part-owner. Dwyer was convinced to buy the team by Bill MacBeth, an old friend and writer for the New York Herald-Tribune. MacBeth was convinced that the sport was a cinch to be successful in New York.[1]
The negotiations with Percy Thompson for the Hamilton players started in July and broke off in September after it was found out that Mickey Roach had retired and Billy Burch was under contract to coach in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Gorman purchased Joe Simpson, Crutchy Morrison and Roy Rickey for $10,000 from the Edmonton Eskimos. Edmonton offered to sell the remaining players of the Eskimos, including Duke Keats and George Hainsworth for $45,000, but Gorman's counter-offer of $25,000 was rejected. When it became clear that the NHL was going to take back the Hamilton franchise, Thompson settled with Gorman for $75,000 on September 26, at the NHL meetings in New York.[2] Burch would eventually sign with the Americans for the then-huge salary of $25,000 for three seasons.[3]
The players still had to pay their $200 fines before being allowed to play. Calder added the condition that each player had to write a letter of apology. Some of the first letters of apology were not acceptable to Calder and he demanded and got the players to rewrite the letters. $300 of each player's salary was held back until the end of the season to ensure they would play every game.[4]
On December 4, seventeen days before the first home game of the season, Dwyer would be arrested for bootlegging. Dwyer would slip into the background and Thomas Duggan of Montreal was named chairman of the board, John Hammond of the Madison Square Garden was named club president and the club was promoted as "Tex Rickard's Americans", Tex Rickard being the owner of Madison Square Gardens.[1]
Program from 1925-26 season.
Regular Season[]
The former Hamilton players moved to New York and most moved into Bill Dwyer's headquarters, the Forrest Hotel, on 49th street, a half-block from the Gardens. The Hotel was also the home of several gangsters such as Legs Diamond, Dutch Schultz and Owney Madden, and writer Damon Runyan.[5] and the liquor and lifestyle would interfere with the team's on-ice play. Players would miss games due to drunkenness, although publicly the missed games would be attributed to injury.[6] The Americans, although having the roster of the previous season's top team, would finish in last place. The highlight of the season was a four-game winning streak in February, three of the four games played on the road.
Goalie Joe Ironstone played in his first (of two) NHL games, a 6-1 loss to the Pittsburgh Pirates on February 6, 1926 and allowed 3 goals in 40 minutes.
René Boileau, a native of Pointe Claire, Quebec, played his only 7 games in the NHL for the Americans in 1926. Tommy Duggan signed Boileau as a publicity stunt under the pseudonym "Rainy Drinkwater" and announced that the French-Canadian player was instead from the Caughnawaga Indian Reservation, and the first Native American to play in the NHL. John "Crutchy" Morrison and Bob Hall also played their only NHL season for the 1925-26 Americans.
Final Standings[]
| Teams | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | PIM | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ottawa Senators | 36 | 24 | 8 | 4 | 77 | 42 | 341 | 52 |
| Montreal Maroons | 36 | 20 | 11 | 5 | 91 | 73 | 554 | 45 |
| Pittsburgh Pirates | 36 | 19 | 16 | 1 | 82 | 70 | 264 | 39 |
| Boston Bruins | 36 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 92 | 85 | 279 | 38 |
| New York Americans | 36 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 68 | 89 | 361 | 28 |
| Toronto St. Patricks | 36 | 12 | 21 | 3 | 92 | 114 | 325 | 27 |
| Montreal Canadiens | 36 | 11 | 24 | 1 | 79 | 108 | 458 | 23 |
Note: W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.
Game Log[]
| Regular Season Results | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | December 2, 1925 | 2–1 OT | @ Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | L | December 5, 1925 | 3–5 | @ Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 1–1–0 |
| 3 | W | December 8, 1925 | 6–2 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 2–1–0 |
| 4 | L | December 10, 1925 | 0–3 | @ Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 2–2–0 |
| 5 | L | December 15, 1925 | 1–3 | Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 2–3–0 |
| 6 | L | December 18, 1925 | 2–3 | @ Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 2–4–0 |
| 7 | L | December 19, 1925 | 1–4 | Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 2–5–0 |
| 8 | W | December 22, 1925 | 3–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 3–5–0 |
| 9 | W | December 26, 1925 | 3–1 | Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 4–5–0 |
| 10 | W | December 30, 1925 | 2–1 OT | Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 5–5–0 |
| 11 | L | January 2, 1926 | 2–3 OT | @ Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 5–6–0 |
| 12 | T | January 7, 1926 | 2–2 OT | Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 5–6–1 |
| 13 | W | January 9, 1926 | 2–1 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 6–6–1 |
| 14 | L | January 11, 1926 | 0–1 OT | Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 6–7–1 |
| 15 | L | January 13, 1926 | 1–2 | Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 6–8–1 |
| 16 | L | January 15, 1926 | 3–4 | @ Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 6–9–1 |
| 17 | L | January 19, 1926 | 0–4 | Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 6–10–1 |
| 18 | L | January 21, 1926 | 2–3 | @ Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 6–11–1 |
| 19 | T | January 23, 1926 | 2–2 OT | Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 6–11–2 |
| 20 | T | January 25, 1926 | 1–1 OT | Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 6–11–3 |
| 21 | L | January 30, 1926 | 0–1 | Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 6–12–3 |
| 22 | T | February 3, 1926 | 1–1 OT | Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 6–12–4 |
| 23 | L | February 6, 1926 | 1–6 | Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 6–13–4 |
| 24 | L | February 9, 1926 | 0–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 6–14–4 |
| 25 | L | February 13, 1926 | 1–2 | @ Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 6–15–4 |
| 26 | L | February 16, 1926 | 2–3 | Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 6–16–4 |
| 27 | L | February 18, 1926 | 3–7 | Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 6–17–4 |
| 28 | W | February 19, 1926 | 3–2 | @ Pittsburgh Pirates (1925–26) | 7–17–4 |
| 29 | W | February 24, 1926 | 6–1 | Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 8–17–4 |
| 30 | W | February 27, 1926 | 1–0 | @ Montreal Canadiens (1925–26) | 9–17–4 |
| 31 | W | March 2, 1926 | 3–1 | @ Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 10–17–4 |
| 32 | L | March 4, 1926 | 0–1 | Ottawa Senators (1925–26) | 10–18–4 |
| 33 | L | March 6, 1926 | 2–4 | @ Toronto St. Patricks (1925–26) | 10–19–4 |
| 34 | W | March 9, 1926 | 1–0 | @ Boston Bruins (1925–26) | 11–19–4 |
| 35 | L | March 11, 1926 | 1–5 | @ Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 11–20–4 |
| 36 | W | March 17, 1926 | 5–3 | Montreal Maroons (1925–26) | 12–20–4 |
Playoffs[]
- The Americans did not qualify for the post season.
Player Stats[]
Regular Season[]
- Scoring
| # | Player | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 | Billy Burch | 36 | 22 | 3 | 25 | 33 |
| 8 | Red Green | 35 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 42 |
| 3 | Charlie Langlois | 36 | 9 | 1 | 10 | 76 |
| 6 | Shorty Green | 32 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 40 |
| 7 | Alex McKinnon | 35 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 34 |
| 2 | Ken Randall | 34 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 94 |
| 10 | Edmond Bouchard | 30 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 |
| 4 | Joe Simpson | 32 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 9 | Mickey Roach | 25 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 |
| 12 | Earl Campbell | 29 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 |
| 11 | René Boileau | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 15 | Bob Hall | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 11 | John "Crutchy" Morrison | 18 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 14 | Billy Cameron | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 12 | Joe Ironstone | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | Jake Forbes | 36 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
- Goaltending
| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SA | SV | SV% | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jake Forbes | 2240 | 36 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 86 | 2.30 | 2 | |||
| Joe Ironstone | 40 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4.50 | 0 | |||
| Team: | 2280 | 36 | 12 | 20 | 4 | 89 | 2.34 | 2 |
Awards and Records[]
- The Americans did not win any awards this season.
Transactions[]
- Loan Jesse Spring to the Pittsburgh Pirates for Joe Miller on November 25, 1925.
- Trade Odie Cleghorn to Pittsburgh for the rights to Joe Miller on January 23, 1926.
Trivia[]
- No Americans recorded a hat trick this season.
Gallery[]
Video[]
Video of a Montreal Canadiens practice from early November 1925 which segues into the Habs playing the Americans in the first game at Madison Square Garden on December 15, 1925.
See Also[]
References[]
- Frayne, Trent (1974). The Mad Men of Hockey. New York, New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. ISBN 0-396-07060-4.
- 1925-26 New York Americans Games. hockey-reference.com.
| Quebec Bulldogs - Hamilton Tigers - New York Americans NHL seasons | |
|---|---|
| Quebec: | 1919–20 |
| Hamilton: | 1920–21 • 1921–22 • 1922–23 • 1923–24 • 1924–25 |
| New York: | 1925–26 • 1926–27 • 1927–28 • 1928–29 • 1929–30 • 1930–31 • 1931–32 • 1932–33 • 1933–34 • 1934–35 • 1935–36 • 1936–37 • 1937–38 • 1938–39 • 1939–40 • 1940–41 • 1941–42 |
| Quebec Bulldogs - Hamilton Tigers - New York Americans | |
|---|---|
| Franchise | Quebec Bulldogs (1887-1920) • Hamilton Tigers (1921-1925) • New York Americans (1926-1942) |
| Arenas | Quebec Skating Rink • Quebec Arena • Barton Street Arena • Madison Square Garden |
| 1925–26 NHL season by team | |
|---|---|
| NHL | Boston • Mtl Canadiens • Mtl Maroons • NY Americans • Ottawa • Pittsburgh • Toronto |
| See also | Stanley Cup Playoffs |
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