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This article is about the 1923-1942 NHL team. For the 1931-1956 soccer team, see New York Americans (soccer). The New York Americans were an American Soccer club founded in 1931

For the 1941 American football team, see New York Americans (AFL). American Football League (1936 or American Football League (1926 --> Origin of league Although the third American Football The New York Yankees of the third American Football League was the third professional American football team competing under that name

New York Americans
New York Americans
Founded 1925
History New York Americans
1925 - 1941
Brooklyn Americans
1941-1942 (franchise canceled 1946)
Home Arena Madison Square Garden
City New York, New York
Colors Red, White, and Blue

The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team, the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play in the United States. The 1925–26 NHL season was the ninth season of the National Hockey League. Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. The City of New York Ice hockey, often referred to simply as hockey, is a team Sport played on Ice. See also Relocation of professional sports teams An expansion team is a term used for a brand new team in a sports league The National Hockey League ( NHL) is a professional Ice hockey league composed of 30 teams in North America The United States of America —commonly referred to as the

Contents

Franchise history

The 1925-26 New York Americans
The 1925-26 New York Americans

In 1923, Thomas Duggan received options on three NHL franchises for the United States. Thomas Joseph Duggan (c1880 &ndash July 23 1930 was a sports promoter with interests in Horse racing, Hockey, Dog racing and arena management After selling one to Boston grocery magnate Charles Adams, Duggan arranged with Tex Rickard to have a team in Madison Square Garden. Charles Francis Adams ( 18 October, 1876 –1947 was the first Owner of the Boston Bruins in the 1924–1925 season and owner of one George Lewis "Tex" Rickard ( January 2, 1870 – January 6, 1929) was an American Boxing Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. Rickard agreed, but play was delayed until the new Garden was built in 1925. In April of that year, Duggan and Bill Dwyer, New York's most-celebrated prohibition bootlegger, were awarded the franchise for New York. William Vincent Dwyer (1883-1946 known as "Big Bill" Dwyer, was an early Prohibition gangster and bootlegger in New York New York ( is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous Somewhat fortuitously given the shortage of players, the Hamilton Tigers, who had finished first the season before, had been suspended from the league after they struck for higher pay. The Hamilton Tigers were a professional Ice hockey team and a member of the National Hockey League (NHL based in Hamilton Ontario that played from 1920 Dwyer duly bought the collective rights to the Tiger players for $75,000 and moved them to the newly built Madison Square Garden. The United States dollar ( sign: $; code: USD) is the unit of Currency of the United States; it has also been Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG, and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four Arenas in New York City. The Tigers franchise was suspended and never returned; the NHL does not consider the Americans to be a continuation of the Tigers.

The New York Americans in 1929.
The New York Americans in 1929.

The New York Americans and Pittsburgh Pirates became the second and third American-based teams in the NHL. The Pittsburgh Pirates were a professional Ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from They followed Adams' Boston Bruins, who began the previous season. The Boston Bruins are a professional Ice hockey team based in Boston Massachusetts. As with the Pirates, the choice of "Americans" as a nickname may have been influenced by a local strong baseball team, specifically the New York Yankees, but Rickard also wanted to market the American character of the team, which was playing a sport acknowledged as Canadian. A nickname is a Name of an entity or thing that is not its Proper name. Baseball is a Bat-and-ball Sport played between two teams of nine players each The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the borough of The Bronx, in New York City, New York.

Success didn't come easily for the Americans. Even though their roster was substantively the same that led the NHL in Hamilton the previous year, in the Americans' first season, 1925-26, they finished 5th overall with a record of 12-22-4. The 1925–26 NHL season was the ninth season of the National Hockey League. However, they did prove a success at the box office; so much so that the following season Garden management landed a team of its own, the New York Rangers, despite promising Dwyer that the Amerks would be the sole hockey team in the Garden. The New York Rangers are a professional Ice hockey team based in New York, New York, United States. The Amerks were forced to support the bid due to a clause in their lease with the Garden.

1925-26 New York Americans game program cover for hockey at Madison Square Garden
1925-26 New York Americans game program cover for hockey at Madison Square Garden

The 1926-27 season saw the Americans continue to struggle, finishing 17-25-2. The 1926–27 NHL season was the tenth season of the National Hockey League. Part of the problem was that they were placed in the Canadian Division, resulting in a large number of train trips to Montreal, Toronto and Ottawa. The Montreal Canadiens (Les Canadiens de Montréal are a professional Ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. "Leafs" and "Maple Leafs" redirect here For the former American Hockey League team see St The Ottawa Senators (officially the Ottawa Hockey Club) were an amateur later professional senior men's Ice hockey team based in Ottawa from 1883 Meanwhile, the Rangers won the American Division title. The next season would see the Americans fall even further from grace by finishing last overall with a record of 11-27-6 and would see the Rangers capture the Stanley Cup in only their second year of existence. The Stanley Cup (La Coupe Stanley is an Ice hockey club championship Trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL playoffs champion

The 1927-28 NHL season saw the New York Americans sign star goaltender Roy Worters from the Pittsburgh Pirates. The 1927–28 NHL season was the eleventh season of the National Hockey League. This article is about the goaltender in Ice hockey. For the similar position in other sports see Goalkeeper. Roy "Shrimp" Worters ( October 19, 1900 in Toronto Ontario, Canada &mdash November 7, 1957 was a Canadian He would lead the team to a 19-13-12 record in the 1928-29 NHL season, good enough for second overall. The 1928–29 NHL season was the twelfth season of the National Hockey League. Worters had an incredible 1. 21 goals against average, becoming the first goaltender to win the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player in the league. The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, the "oldest and most prestigious individual award in hockey" is awarded annually to the Standing on Worters' shoulders, the Americans would make the playoffs for the first time, but would be unable to beat the New York Rangers in a "total goals" series. The Rangers had extreme difficulty scoring against Worters, but the futile Americans were unable to score against the Rangers, too. The Rangers ended up winning the series in the second game one to nothing in overtime. Overtime, in Ice hockey, is a method of determining the winner and loser of ice hockey matches should a game be tied after regulation

The next season saw the Americans go from second best to worst overall. Worters had an atrocious 3. 75 goals against and the team ended up with a 14-25-5 record. Worters would rebound for the next season, with a 1. 68 goals against average. That was good enough to give the Americans a winning record. However, they lost a playoff berth since Montreal Maroons had two more wins; wins are the NHL's first tiebreaker for playoff seeding. The Montreal Maroons were a professional men's Ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL

The following season (1931-32) saw some developments that would change the way the NHL played the game. The 1931–32 NHL season was the fifteenth season of the National Hockey League (NHL In a game against the Bruins, the Americans iced the puck 61 times. Icing in Ice hockey occurs when a player shoots the puck across at least two red lines, the opposing team's goal line being the last At that time, there was no rule against icing. Adams was so angry that he pressured, to no avail, for the NHL to make a rule against icing. So, next time the two teams met, the Bruins iced the puck 87 times in a scoreless game. It wasn't until a few years later that the NHL made a rule prohibiting icing, but those two games were the catalyst for change.

New York Americans logo from 1926-1938.
New York Americans logo from 1926-1938.

Overall, the Americans were struggling on and off the ice. With the end of Prohibition, Dwyer was finding it difficult to make ends meet. Prohibition of alcohol, often referred to simply as prohibition, also known as Noble Experiment, refers to a Sumptuary law which prohibits Alcohol After the 1933-34 NHL season, having missed the playoffs for the fifth straight year, the Americans attempted a merger with the equally strapped Senators, only to be turned down by the NHL Board of Governors. The 1933–34 NHL season was the 17th season of the National Hockey League (NHL During the 1935-36 NHL season, Dwyer finally decided to sell the team. The 1935–36 NHL season was the 19th season of the National Hockey League (NHL As fortunes would have it, the Americans made the playoffs for the first time in six years that season, but would bow out in the second round against Toronto. No buyers were found for the team and Dwyer abandoned it, causing the NHL to assume control for the 1936-37 NHL season. The 1936–37 NHL season was the 20th season of the National Hockey League (NHL Dwyer sued the NHL, saying they had no authority to seize his team. A settlement was reached where Dwyer could resume control provided he could pay off his debts. After the 1936-37 season, Dwyer could not do so, and the NHL took full control of the franchise. The league-controlled team would fare no better than before, finishing last with a record of 15-29-4. The only bright spot was Sweeney Schriner, who led the league in scoring that year. David "Sweeney" Schriner ( November 30, 1911 – July 4, 1990) was a Canadian Professional hockey

With Red Dutton now running the team for the 1937-38 season, the Americans signed veterans Ching Johnson and Hap Day and acquired goalie Earl Robertson. Mervyn "Red" Dutton (July 23 1898–March 15 1987 was a professional Ice hockey player an ice hockey executive and a businessman in construction contracting The 1937–38 NHL season was the 21st season of the National Hockey League (NHL Ivan Wilfred 'Ching' Johnson ( December 7, 1897, - June 16, 1979) was a Canadian professional Ice hockey defenceman Clarence Henry "Happy" Day ( June 1, 1901 – February 17, 1990) later known as Hap Day, was a Canadian Earl Cooper Robertson "Robbie" (born November 24, 1910 in Bengough, Saskatchewan – January 1 1979) was a professional These new acquisitions greatly helped the team as they finished the season with a 19-18-11 record and would make the playoffs. In the playoffs, they would beat the Rangers in three games, but go onto lose against the Chicago Black Hawks in three.

The next two seasons (1938-39 and 1939-40) saw the Americans make the playoffs for the second and third straight times. The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL The 1939–40 NHL season was the 23rd season for the National Hockey League. These times, though, they would not make it past the first round. The following season, 1940-41, they missed the playoffs with a horrible record of 8-29-11. The 1940–41 NHL season was the 24th season of the National Hockey League (NHL Canada had entered World War II in September, 1939, and many of the team's Canadian players left for military service. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including While the league's other teams were similarly hard-hit, Dutton was still bogged down by lingering debt from the Dwyer era. This debt, combined with the depletion of talent and wartime travel restrictions, forced Dutton to sell off his best players for cash. The Amerks were clearly living on borrowed time; it was only a matter of when, not if, they would fold.


At wit's end, Dutton changed the team's name for the 1941-42 NHL season to the Brooklyn Americans. The 1941–42 NHL season was the 25th season of the National Hockey League. He had every intent on moving the team to Brooklyn, but due to a lack of a decent arena, the Brooklyn Americans continued to play their home games in Manhattan at Madison Square Garden while practicing in Brooklyn. Brooklyn (named after the Dutch town Breukelen) is one of the five boroughs of New York City. Manhattan Island, in New York Harbor, is much the largest part of the Borough of Manhattan, one of the Five Boroughs which form the City of New York They barely survived the season, finishing with a record of 16-29-3. After the season, the Amerks suspended operations for the war's duration. However, in 1946, the NHL reneged on promises to reinstate the Amerks and canceled the franchise. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Although Dutton had every intention of returning the Amerks to the ice after World War II, NHL records list the Amerks as having "retired" from the league in 1942.

The NHL would not expand beyond its remaining six teams until the 1967-68 season. The 1967–68 NHL season was the 51st season of the National Hockey League. Dutton, however, blamed the owners of Madison Square Garden (who also owned the Rangers) for pressuring the NHL to not reinstate the Americans. Dutton was so bitter that he purportedly swore the Rangers would never win a Stanley Cup again in his lifetime. This "curse" became reality as for more than fifty years, the Rangers went without a Cup. The Curse of 1940 was a superstitious explanation for why the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL did not win the league's championship trophy the The Rangers wouldn't win another Cup until 1994, seven years after Dutton's death. The 1993–94 NHL season was the 77th regular season of the National Hockey League.

The last active New York Americans player was Pat Egan, who retired in 1951. Martin "Pat" Egan ( April 26, 1918 &ndash June 3, 2008) was a Canadian Ice hockey defenceman, most Year 1951 ( MCMLI) was a Common year starting on Monday. Events of 1951 January The last active Brooklyn Americans player was Ken Mosdell, who retired in 1959. Ken Mosdell (born July 13, 1922 in Montreal Quebec Canada - Died January 5, 2006) was a Canadian Ice hockey The year 1959 ( MCMLIX) was a Common year starting on Thursday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1925-26 36 12 20 4 28 68 89 361 5th, NHL Out of Playoffs
1926-27 44 17 25 2 36 82 91 349 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1927-28 44 11 27 6 28 63 128 563 5th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1928-29 44 19 13 12 50 53 53 486 2nd, Canadian Lost Quarterfinals (NY Rangers)
1929-30 44 14 25 5 33 113 161 372 5th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1930-31 44 18 16 10 46 76 74 495 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1931-32 48 16 24 8 40 95 142 596 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1932-33 48 15 22 11 41 91 118 460 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1933-34 48 15 23 10 40 104 132 365 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1934-35 48 12 27 9 33 100 142 250 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1935-36 48 16 25 7 39 109 122 392 3rd, Canadian Won Quarterfinals (Chicago)
Lost Semifinals (Toronto)
1936-37 48 15 29 4 34 122 161 481 4th, Canadian Out of Playoffs
1937-38 48 19 18 11 49 110 111 327 2nd, Canadian Won Quarterfinals (NY Rangers)
Lost Semifinals (Chicago)
1938-39 48 17 21 10 44 119 157 276 4th, NHL Lost Quarterfinals (Toronto)
1939-40 48 15 29 4 34 106 140 236 6th, NHL Lost Quarterfinals (Detroit)
1940-41 48 8 29 11 27 99 186 231 7th, NHL Out of Playoffs
1941-42 48 16 29 3 35 133 175 425 7th, NHL Out of Playoffs
Totals 784 255 402 127 637 1643 2182 6665

Notable players

Hall of Famers

Team captains

Coaches

Head Coaches for the New York Americans:


See also

References


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