The Bitter Birth of the National Hockey League

Part of

collection

Eddie Livingstone was not a popular man. The owner of the Toronto Blueshirts was confrontational, argumentative, and thin-skinned, nearly getting into fistfights with his fellow owners.

By 1917, the other National Hockey Association team owners were so sick of Livingstone they decided to shut down the association. They started a new league: the National Hockey League. “It’s like our old league,” the owner of the Canadiens explained to a reporter, “except that we haven’t invited Eddie Livingstone to be part of it.”

 

A photograph of Eddie Livingstone, owner of the short-lived Chicago Cardinals following his excommunication from the NHL. Image sourced from the City of Toronto Archives.
A photograph of Eddie Livingstone, owner of the short-lived Chicago Cardinals following his excommunication from the NHL. Image sourced from the City of Toronto Archives.

More by Winners and Losers

A Journey in Feminism, Sports and Footwear

Video

• 10:59

Lacrosse Introduction

Video

Winfield Wants Noise

Article

Toronto’s Paralympic Games

Article

Marilyn Bell Crosses the Lake

Video

Cheering for the Red Handers

Article

More by Hockey

Hockey: An Introduction

Video

THE THIRD PERIOD: 1968 to today

Article

THE SECOND PERIOD: 1927 to 1967

Article

THE FIRST PERIOD: 1888 TO 1926

Article

Toronto’s First Stanley Cup

Video

Bloody Rivalries Are Born

Article