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The American Hockey Association was a minor professional hockey league that operated between 1926 and 1942. It had previously operated as the Central Amateur Hockey League (1925-1926), and before that as part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association. The founding president was Alvin Warren, who also owned the St. Paul Saints.

Other founding owners included William Grant, league secretary and owner of the Duluth Hornets (and Warren's successor as president in 1930), Paul Loudon of the Minneapolis Millers, and William Holmes, owner of the league's only Canadian franchise, the Winnipeg Maroons, and also owner of the Winnipeg Auditorium.

Eddie Livingstone, banished by National Hockey League team owners in 1917, owned the Chicago Cardinals. Eager to sign a new interleague agreement with the NHL in 1927, the AHA revoked Livingstone's franchise after one season when NHL president Frank Calder threatened that no deal would be signed with the league as long as it was associated with Livingstone.

By 1930, some AHA owners, led by Walter Whiteside of the Tulsa Oilers, were questioning the league's relationship with the NHL. They approved the creation of a new Chicago franchise, the Chicago Shamrocks, owned by James E. Norris, bringing the league into an NHL market. Renaming the league the American Hockey League, they also established a franchise in Buffalo, New York, an IHL city, which would have been prohibited under the previous agreement with the NHL. In October 1930, Calder declared the AHL to be an outlaw league and threatened never to allow any AHL players into the NHL. The NHL carried out its threat and denied the applications of former AHL players to join NHL teams for the 1931-32 season. In the fall of 1931, the AHL applied to the Stanley Cup trustees to challenge for the trophy, but was unsuccessful in its attempts to force the NHL into a series.

The AHL struggled through two seasons in opposition to the NHL. The Buffalo Majors folded half-way through the 1931-32 season, leaving 12 players who unsuccessfully tried to sue team owners to recover $12,000 in unpaid salaries. By the summer of 1932, the AHL was willing to sign another affiliation agreement with the NHL and officially return to minor league status. The NHL insisted that the AHL leave Chicago, and the Shamrocks were shut down, despite having won the league championship. Norris was told that he would be welcomed into the NHL and acquired the Detroit franchise in 1933. The AHL went back to being known as the American Hockey Association.

The AHA, led by acting president Lyle Wright of the Omaha Knights, voted to shut the league down in the fall of 1942. It returned after World War II as the United States Hockey League, starting with the 1945-46 season.

Teams[]

Team Location Arena Tenure Notes
Chicago Cardinals Chicago, Illinois Chicago Coliseum 1926-1927 also known as Chicago Americans folded
Detroit Greyhounds Detroit, Michigan None-Road team only 1926-1927 Played road games only as no arena available in Detroit until 1927
Duluth Hornets Duluth, Minnesota Duluth Amphitheater 1926-1933 became Wichita Blue Jays mid-season
Minneapolis Millers (AHA) Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis Arena 1926-1931 rejoined Central Hockey League (1931–1935)
St. Paul Saints St. Paul, Minnesota St. Paul Hippodrome 1926-1930 joined Central Hockey League (1931–1935)
Winnipeg Maroons Winnipeg, Manitoba Shea's Amphitheatre 1926-1928 withdrew
Kansas City Pla-Mors Kansas City, Missouri Pla-Mor Ice Palace 1927-1933 renamed Kansas City Greyhounds
St. Louis Flyers St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis Coliseum (1928-29), St. Louis Arena (1929-1942) 1928-1942 suspend operations with league; join American Hockey League for 1944-45 season
Tulsa Oilers Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Coliseum 1928-1932 moved to St. Paul, Minnesota
Buffalo Majors Buffalo, New York Buffalo Broadway Auditorium 1930-1932 Folded February 2, 1932
Chicago Shamrocks Chicago, Illinois Chicago Coliseum 1930-1932 Folded when owner purchases NHL's Detroit Falcons
St. Paul Saints St. Paul, Minnesota St. Paul Auditorium 1932-1933
Tulsa Oilers Tulsa, Oklahoma Tulsa Coliseum 1932-1942 Suspend operations with league; join USHL for 1945-46 season
Wichita Blue Jays Wichita, Kansas Wichita Forum 1932-1933 folded
Oklahoma City Warriors Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Stockyards Coliseum 1933-1936 relocated to Minneapolis, Minnesota mid-season
Kansas City Greyhounds Kansas City, Missouri Pla-Mor Ice Palace 1933-1940 renamed Kansas City Americans when sold
Wichita Vikings Wichita, Kansas Wichita Forum 1933-1934 disband after 3 games; record removed from standings
Minneapolis Warriors Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis Arena 1935-1935 fold at end of season
St. Paul Saints St. Paul, Minnesota St. Paul Auditorium 1935-1942 Suspend operations with league; join USHL for 1945-46 season
Wichita Skyhawks Wichita, Kansas Alaskan Ice Palace 1935-1940 folded
Minneapolis Millers (AHA) Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis Arena 1936-1942 Suspend operations with league; join USHL for 1945-46 season
Omaha Knights Omaha, Nebraska Ak-Sar-Ben Coliseum 1936-1942 Suspend operations with league; join USHL for 1945-46 season
Kansas City Americans Kansas City, Missouri Pla-Mor Ice Palace 1940-1942 folded
Fort Worth Rangers Fort Worth, Texas Will Rogers Memorial Center 1941-1942 Suspend operations with league; join USHL for 1945-46 season

Champions[]

The Harry F. Sinclair Trophy was awarded to the league champions.

  • 1926-27 — Duluth Hornets
  • 1927-28 — Minneapolis Millers
  • 1928-29 — Tulsa Oilers
  • 1929-30 — Kansas City Pla-Mors
  • 1930-31 — Tulsa Oilers
  • 1931-32 — Chicago Shamrocks
  • 1932-33 — Kansas City Greyhounds
  • 1933-34 — Kansas City Greyhounds
  • 1934-35 — St. Louis Flyers
  • 1935-36 — St. Louis Flyers
  • 1936-37 — Minneapolis Millers
  • 1937-38 — St. Louis Flyers
  • 1938-39 — St. Louis Flyers
  • 1939-40 — Omaha Knights
  • 1940-41 — St. Louis Flyers
  • 1941-42 — Omaha Knights



Seasons of the American Hockey Association
1926-271927-281928-291929-301930-311931-321932-331933-341934-351935-361936-371937-381938-391939-401940-411941-42

External links[]


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American Hockey LeagueAmerican Hockey AssociationCentral Hockey LeagueColonial Hockey LeagueECHLEastern Professional Hockey LeagueInternational Hockey League (1945-2001)International Hockey League (2007-)Pacific Coast Hockey League (1933-1941)Quebec Hockey LeagueSouth East Hockey LeagueSouthern Hockey League (1995-1996)Southern Professional Hockey LeagueSunshine Hockey LeagueTropical Hockey LeagueWest Coast Hockey LeagueWestern Hockey League (minor pro)Edinburgh TrophyEastern Hockey League



Seasons of the American Hockey Association
1926-271927-281928-291929-301930-311931-321932-331933-341934-351935-361936-371937-381938-391939-401940-411941-42
This page uses content from Wikipedia. The original article was at American Hockey Association. The list of authors can be seen in the page history. As with Ice Hockey Wiki, the text of Wikipedia is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike License 3.0 (Unported) (CC-BY-SA).


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