Renfrew Creamery Kings

Renfrew Creamery Kings
Renfrew Creamery Kings
City	Renfrew, Ontario
League	National Hockey Association
Founded	1909
Folded	1911
Home arena	Renfrew Hockey Arena
Colours	Red and white
Head coach	Alf Smith

Newsy Lalonde, Frank Patrick, and Cyclone Taylor.

The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the Millionaires, was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League. The team was based in the founder Ambrose O'Brien's hometown of Renfrew, Ontario.

History

The team's founder, Ambrose O'Brien had played varsity hockey at the University of Toronto, then continued his interest as a team founder and owner, financed by his father's amassed great wealth during the Cobalt silver rush –mining magnate Senator M. J. O'Brien.^[1]

In 1909, when O'Brien sought to join the new

Haileybury and Montreal

.

With O'Brien Silver Mine money backing the Creamery Kings, Renfrew iced a powerful team during its first season, with players Frank Patrick and Lester Patrick commanding salaries of $3,000 each, and Cyclone Taylor receiving a record-setting $5,250 for a two-month season.

In consequence, the team became widely nicknamed the "Millionaires" for the over the top salaries. O'Brien also secured the services of

Hall of Famer Alf Smith, Renfrew finished in third place in the 1910 season with an 8-3-1 record. The team had been held as a favorite to win the Stanley Cup at the onset of the season, and at the end of the season Ottawa Senators player Bruce Stuart

claimed lack of confidence played a role in the missed opportunity:

"Renfrew should have won the cup this winter. Why they had positively the greatest collection of players that I have ever seen together. Why did they lose? Simply because the team lacked confidence in itself and because it was not-properly handled until Alf Smith took charge. Those men didn't know the extent of their hockey abilities. They became discouraged too easily and again did not appear to take things with sufficient seriousness."

Bruce Stuart on why Renfrew failed to win the Stanley Cup in 1910. Ottawa Citizen, Apr. 1, 1910.^[2]

Its second and final

Don Smith and Odie Cleghorn

being the leading scorers. Renfrew's final major professional game was a 7-6 victory on March 7, 1911, against the Wanderers.

Thereafter, with it being apparent that the small towns such as Renfrew, Cobalt and Haileybury could not support major senior hockey, O'Brien folded the franchise for good.

Renfrew Arena

The team's first arena was their only home and lasted until a fire in the late 1920s destroyed it. A second arena called simply Renfrew Arena or Old Barn was completed in 1929.[3]

Hall of Famers

References

Notes

^ HHOF "Legends of Hockey — Builders", Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 21, 2018.
^ "Confidence main thing in sport – Stuarts' secret of success", Ottawa Citizen. 1910-04-01. Retrieved 2021-03-17.
^ Clark, Peter (Aug 25, 2015). "A night to remember in Renfrew hockey history". InsideOttawaValley.com. Retrieved Jul 25, 2019.

General

Coleman, Charles L. Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol I., NHL, 1966.
Cosentino, Frank. The Renfrew Creamery Kings: The Valley Boys of Winter 1910. Burnstown, Ontario: General Store Publishing House, 1990.

External links

Historical plaque in Renfrew

[1] HHOF "Legends of Hockey — Builders", Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 21, 2018.

[2] "Confidence main thing in sport – Stuarts' secret of success", Ottawa Citizen. 1910-04-01. Retrieved 2021-03-17.

[3] Clark, Peter (Aug 25, 2015). "A night to remember in Renfrew hockey history". InsideOttawaValley.com. Retrieved Jul 25, 2019.

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