Pittsburgh Shamrocks

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Pittsburgh Shamrocks
Duquesne Garden
ColorsGreen, White    
Owner(s)Ray Babcock
James McKay
Phil Jacks
General managerRay Babcock (Sep-Dec)
Larry Welch (Dec-Mar)
Head coach
Pittsburgh Press
Franchise history
1935–1936Pittsburgh Shamrocks
Sept. 8 - Oct. 9, 1935Pittsburgh Professional Hockey Club, Inc.

The Pittsburgh Shamrocks were a professional

Duquesne Garden. During their lone season in existence, the Shamrocks finished in fourth place in the West Division behind the Detroit Olympics, Cleveland Falcons, and Windsor Bulldogs. The Shamrocks scored 137 goals and allowed 170. The team folded after one season. It is estimated that the team lost $36,000 during 1935–36 season.[2]

History

Origins

On September 8, 1935, Larry Welch, a longtime hockey promoter at Duquesne Garden, announced that Pittsburgh had secured a team in the International Hockey League, pending league approval. The club operated under the Pittsburgh Professional Hockey Club, Inc. with papers of incorporation being immediately applied for

Eastern Amateur Hockey League.[4]

The team was coached by

1924-25 season.[3]

On October 9, 1935, the team was approved to play in the IHL. Meanwhile, a report in The Pittsburgh Press was the first to reference the team as the “Pittsburgh Shamrocks.”[4][5]

Pre-season

Welch then announced that the Shamrocks would leave for

defenseman Art Lilly.[8] It was believed that Ted Saunders, who played in the NHL with the Ottawa Senators, before playing in the Canadian-American league, would be coming to Pittsburgh.[6] However he spent the 1935-36 with the Springfield Indians.[9]

The Shamrocks then signed several players with NHL experience. They first purchased Joe Starke, a

slap shot.[14]

1935-36 season

hat trick, which included the game-winner, as the Shamrocks defeated Cleveland, 6–5.[4] However, on November 17, 1935, the Cleveland Falcons defeated the Shamrocks in Cleveland, 2-0,[15] and the team began a five-game losing streak.[4] Included in that streak was a 3–0 loss to the Buffalo Bisons which resulted in the Pittsburgh Press describing the Shamrocks as "a very mediocre team".[16] Finally, goaltender Joe Starke ended the streak and earned the first Shamrocks shutout in a 1-0 win over the London Tecumsehs. The team improved slightly with the addition of Red Anderson and Roger Cormier,[17] however they dropped their next four games.[4] The team's record, through just its six weeks of play, did not sit well with its ownership. On December 20, 1935, Larry Welch was fired as the team's general manager. A statement by Phil Jacks, the secretary-treasurer of the Shamrocks, read "We are sick and tired of the way the club has been going. We mean to wreck it from top to bottom if it doesn't start winning. That means several players will be put in their places or sent home." Meanwhile, coach Sprague Cleghorn was placed on a probationary status by the team.[18]

Pittsburgh did win three games during a home stand in late December, in what would be the longest winning streak in the team’s history. The Shamrocks later hosted the Tecumsehs on January 10, 1936, and set a record for the IHL by scoring nine goals in a 9-3 win. Four nights later, Pittsburgh tied Cleveland, 4–4, for its only tie of the season. The week ended with Starke’s second, and final, shutout after a 1-0 victory over Syracuse.[19] Starke would play five more games for Pittsburgh; his last game was on February 5, 1936, against the Buffalo Bisons. During the game, Starke was injured at some point during the game's second period. Starke did not return for the third period and was replaced by Paul Gauthier, a Montreal Canadiens signee on loan to the Shamrocks. Starke was released by the team five days later.[4]

On March 2, 1936, Cleghorn was dismissed by the Shamrocks and was replaced by Albert Hughes, the team's captain, for the team's 11 remaining games. According to media reports, Cleghorn refused to leave with the team for a game in Windsor because he claimed that the team had not been paid three days earlier. However, the Shamrocks' ownership stated that the reason Cleghorn did not accompany the Shamrocks team on their trip, and was relieved of his coaching duties, was because he had to be disciplined for "misconduct covering the past month".[20] On March 14, 1936, Cleghorn filed a lawsuit against the Shamrocks ownership, claiming that he was owed $1,420.50 by the club. The ex-coach claimed that he was owed $420.50 in salary since March 2, and a $1,000 bonus, covered by his contract.[21]

On March 16, 1936, the Shamrocks played their final game at Duquesne Garden. During the game, the Shamrocks were trailing the

the Great St. Patrick's Day Flood.[4] Pittsburgh won their final game, 5–2, against the Syracuse Stars on March 22, 1936.[23] The Shamrocks finished with a record of 18–27–1 and lost over $40,000 in four months of play.[4] A group of fifteen players arrived in Pittsburgh on November 3, 1936, to play for the Shamrocks. The only player, of the group, who played with the Shamrocks the year prior was Bill Huson.[24]
The second season never took place as the team folded.

Legacy

Contrary to popular belief, the Shamrocks did not evolve into the

Bill "Red" Anderson and Bill Hudson were the only two players from the Shamrocks to be on the Hornets roster at the start of the 1936–37 season.[4]

1935-36 team statistics

# Nat Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM Birthplace
8 Canada Bill "Ace" Hudson
C
 46 20 23 43 16
Calgary, Alberta
9 Canada Nick Wasnie
RW
 35 14 22 36 58
Winnipeg, Manitoba
10 Canada Scott "Flash" Martin
LW
 46 2 19 39 33
Brantford, Ontario
4 United States Dick Benson
C
 41 14 20 34 12 Buffalo, New York
44 Canada Stan McCabe
LW
 7 17 24 15 - Ottawa, Ontario
- Canada Earl Roche
LW
 28 12 11 23 30 Prescott, Ontario
18 Canada Harold Darragh
RW
 41 7 14 21 4 Ottawa, Ontario
2 United States Eddie Owens
RW
 43 5 13 18 64 Duluth, Minnesota
5,6 Canada Melville "Sparky" Vail
D
 45 5 12 17 52 Saskatchewan
- Canada Desmond Roche
RW
 25 7 7 14 26
Kemptville, Ontario
16 Canada Jean-Louis Bourcier
LW
 18 8 5 13 4 Montreal, Quebec
12 Canada Henri Goulet
LW
 - 7 5 12 22
Trois Rivieres, Quebec
14 Canada Phil Piche
C
 - 1 6 7 0 Portneuf Quebec
- Canada Gord Fraser
D
 15 4 2 6' 14 Pembroke, Ontario
19 Canada Albert "Rusty" Hughes (C)
C
 32 1 5 6 64
Guelph, Ontario
2,3 Canada Bill Holmes
C
 21 1 4 5 8
Portage la Prairie, Manitoba
- Canada
Bill "Red" Anderson
D
 15 2 1 3 13
Tillsonburg, Ontario
15 Canada Conrad Bourcier
C
 9 2 2 4 2 Montreal, Quebec
- Norm Walker
RW
 8 0 1 1 2
- Canada Ludger Desmarais
D
 4 0 0 0 2
Sudbury, Ontario
- United States Art "Leroy" Lilly
D
 5 0 0 0 2 Minnesota
- Canada Wilford Ranger
LW
 4 0 0 0 0 Peterborough, Ontario
- Canada Roger Cormier
RW
 3 0 0 0 0 Montreal, Quebec
- Canada Len LeBlanc
D
 3 0 0 0 0 Montreal, Quebec
# Nat Goalie GP W L T Min GA GAA SO Birthplace
1 Canada Paul Gauthier 16 7 9 0 990 56 3.39 0
Winnipeg, Manitoba
1 Canada Joe Starke 30 11 18 1 1850 114 3.69 2 Toronto, Ontario

References

  1. ^ Bouchette, Ed (May 2, 1999). "Ice Age". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  2. ^ Trietley, Greg (November 1, 2011). "Oakland once the hockey center of Pittsburgh". Pitt News.
  3. ^
    Pittsburgh Press
    . September 9, 1935. p. 24.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "1935-36 Pittsburgh Shamrocks". Pittsburgh Hockey.net. Retrieved May 5, 2012.
  5. Pittsburgh Press
    . October 10, 1935. p. 27.
  6. ^
    Pittsburgh Press
    . p. 54.
  7. ^ "First Time Local Sextet Trains Abroad". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. October 17, 1935. p. 20.
  8. Pittsburgh Press
    . October 17, 1935. p. 37.
  9. ^ "Ted Clarence Saunders". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  10. Montreal Gazette
    . Vol. CLXIV, no. 250. October 18, 1935. p. 12.
  11. Montreal Gazette
    . Vol. CLXIV, no. 250. October 18, 1935. p. 12.
  12. ^ "French-Canadians Make Debut Tonight With Shamrocks". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 31, 1936. p. 19.
  13. ^ "Pittsburgh Shamrock players". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  14. ^ "Nick Wasnie". Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on March 11, 2012. Retrieved May 9, 2012.
  15. Montreal Gazette
    . Vol. CLXIV, no. 276. November 18, 1935. p. 14.
  16. Pittsburgh Press
    . p. 28.
  17. Pittsburgh Press
    . December 12, 1935. p. 37.
  18. Saskatoon Star-Phoenix
    . December 21, 1935. p. 11.
  19. ^ "Pittsburgh 'Rocks Shutout Syracuse". Calgary Herald. January 17, 1936. p. 7.
  20. Pittsburgh Press
    . March 3, 1936. p. 27.
  21. Pittsburgh Press
    . March 14, 1936. p. 8.
  22. ^ "Bulldogs Clinch Playoff Berth By Beating Shamrocks". Windsor Star. March 17, 1936.
  23. ^ "Markle Scoreless as Sahromrocks Trip Stars, Falcons Beat Herd". Windsor Daily Star. March 23, 1936.
  24. Montreal Gazette
    . Vol. CLXV, no. 265. November 4, 1936. p. 20.
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