The Stampeders—Alberta’s First Allan Cup

Today, when a team from Hamilton sporting the "Tigers" name (or a variation thereof) and a Calgary team named the "Stampeders" square off, it is on the gridiron. But, in 1946, two hockey teams bearing those famous names squared off for the Allan Cup, Canada’ amateur hockey championship.

The nation was jubilant with the end of the Second World War. After a one-year hiatus, competition for the men’s senior amateur championship, the Allan Cup, would begin again.

The Calgary Stampeders were champions of the Western Canadian Senior Hockey League. The Stampeders would meet the Hamilton Tigers, named for the defunct National Hockey League franchise, in the Allan Cup final. The Tigers beat the Saint John Beavers in the final of the eastern playdowns, but there were worries that the Hamilton players may forego the Allan Cup because the $6 a day the team paid them was not enough to justify the vacation time needed from their jobs.

Meanwhile, the Stamps were a powerhouse, a club that finished the 1945-46 Western Canada Senior Hockey League season averaging over six goals a game. Dunc Grant led the way with 45 goals, and during the season had wowed Stampeders fans by scoring five times in a single period. After disposing of the rival Edmonton Flyers, the Stamps overcame the Winnipeg Orioles and the famous Trail Smoke Eaters team that had won gold at the 1939 World Championships. The Smoke Eaters were considered Canada’s elite senior amateur team of the era, so the Stamps had already earned a major confidence-booster going into the final against the Tigers.

Winning the Cup was especially sweet for the Stampeders. While the team was known for offence, the deciding game saw the Stamps 1-0 in a contest that was far more about tactical know-how than out-and-out flair. As well, that final game was played in front of a packed house at the Edmonton Gardens; the city that had cheered so hard for the 1937 Dominions team in their quest for the Allan Cup now had to watch the bitter rivals from Calgary take the trophy on Edmonton ice. And even though Edmonton amateur clubs had shown far more promise than Calgary teams before the war, it was the big city to the south that earned bragging rights as the province’s first Allan Cup winners.

It was not to last—the Stampeders got to the Allan Cup final the next year, but had to travel to Quebec to face the powerful Montreal Royals, who featured future Canadiens Hall of Fame defenceman Doug Harvey and Gerry McNeil in net, who would also later play for the Habs. The Stamps were well beaten. The deciding game was played in front of over 11,000 fans, proof positive that the war and the success of the Canadiens did not dampen Quebecers’ love of Canada’s amateur championship.

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