Text Timeline

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1893—On Jan. 4, the first recorded hockey game in Alberta history takes place in Calgary. The Town Boys defeat the Tailors 4-1.

1894—On Christmas Day, the Thistles beat Fort Saskatchewan 3-2 in the first-ever recorded hockey game in Edmonton history.

1904—Richard Secord, an MLA for the Northwest Territories helps finance a new downtown outdoor arena for the Thistles. The ice surface measures 20 ft. shorter than the modern 200-ft. long rink.

1907—The Alberta Amateur Hockey Association is formed Nov. 29 at a meeting in Red Deer. Calgary hockey officials do not join the body until several years later.

1908—The Alberta Hockey League champion Edmonton Eskimos challenge the holders Montreal Wanderers for the Stanley Cup. The Eskimos replace six of the seven players on their roster with established players such as former Montreal hockey stars Lester Patrick and Didier Pitre. But the Wanderers win easily.

1910—The Eskimos make another Cup challenge, this time using no added players. But the National Hockey Association Ottawa Senators clobber the Esks by 8-4 and 13-7 scores.

1913—On Christmas Day, Edmonton’s first indoor arena, which would later be known as the Edmonton Gardens, opens its doors for the first time. The Eskimos and Dominions face off against each other in front of 2,000 fans, with the Dominions winning by a 4-2 count.

1921—The two-year-old Big-4 League, which features two Edmonton teams and two Calgary clubs, folds after the two Calgary clubs protest the Edmonton Eskimos’ acquisition of goaltender Bill Tobin, who they claim did not reside in Alberta for long enough a time to warrant a spot on a Big-4 club’s roster.

1921—A new professional Western Canada Hockey League, which features pro teams from Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon and Regina, forms. The champs are immediately granted the right to challenge for the Stanley Cup.

1923—The Eskimos win the WCHL title, and play the NHL champion Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup in Vancouver. The Eskimos score only one goal against the Senators in a two-game sweep. In Game 2, Clancy plays every position on the ice. The young star goes in net when goalie Clint Benedict serves a penalty.

1924—The Calgary Tigers win the Western title, and earn the right to play the NHL champion Montréal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens sweep the series.

1925—The WCHL merges with the Pacific Coast League, bringing teams from Vancouver, Victoria and Portland into the new organization. Meanwhile, the Eskimos sign a defenceman from Saskatchewan by the name of Eddie Shore; the “Edmonton Express” will go on to become one of the greatest defencemen in hockey history.

1926—The Calgary Canadians become the first Alberta-based team to win the Memorial Cup as national junior champions, defeating Queens University in the final.

1926—Drowning in red ink, the WCHL folds. The Eskimos sell Shore and six other players to the Boston Bruins of the NHL.

1933—The Edmonton Superiors, backed by money from by meat-packing mogul Cliff Gainer, go on a long tour of Europe which culminates at the International Championships in Switzerland. The Superiors win 34 out of 38 games played across the Atlantic, and play to a large crowd at the Stade de Paris.

1946—The Edmonton Gardens hosts the Allan Cup, the national senior men’s hockey championship. But it is a neutral site game, and Edmontonians watch the Calgary Stampeders win the trophy with a 1-0 win over the Hamilton Tigers.

1948—Two years after the Stampeders take the trophy, the Edmonton Flyers win the Allan Cup. The Flyers win the championship over the Ottawa Senators in Game 6 of the series played in Calgary. The Flyers were led by goaltender Al Rollins, who would later go on and winn the 1954 Hart Trophy as NHL most valuable player with the Chicago Blackhawks.

1950—The Edmonton Mercurys represent Canada at the World Championships in London. The Mercurys win gold.

1952—That same Edmonton Mercurys represent Canada at the Winter Olympics in Oslo, Norway, winning the last gold medal for Canada until 2002.

1953—The Edmonton Flyers, now members of the minor-pro Western Hockey League and affiliated with the Detroit Red Wings of the NHL, win the WHL title.

1955—The Flyers win their second WHL title with a star-studded line-up which includes goaltender Glenn Hall, forwards Norm Ullman, Johnny Bucyk and Bronco Horvath and defenceman Al Arbour.

1955—The Flyers play in the Edinburgh Cup championship for North American minor-pro supremacy, but thanks to an injury to Glenn Hall, they lose the Cup final to Shawinigan Falls.

1962—Led by the hard-nosed play of Doug Messier—father of Mark—the Edmonton Flyers win the Western Hockey League title for the third time.

1963—Thanks to dwindling attendances, the Flyers fold.

1963—The Edmonton Oil Kings play in their fourth Memorial Cup final in a row. But unlike the first three finals, they win the championship this time, beating the Niagara Falls Flyers in six games.

1966—The Oil Kings, now managed by Saskatchewan transplant Bill Hunter, win their second Memorial Cup over Bobby Orr and the Oshawa Generals.

1971—The Oil Kings win the Western Hockey League title and prepare to play Guy Lafleur and the Eastern champion Quebec Remparts for the Memorial Cup. The series is slated for Quebec City, and organizers ponder canceling the tourney because of the FLQ Crisis, organizers ponder canceling the Memorial Cup. Oil Kings manager Bill Hunter asks then-prime minister Pierre Trudeau to invoke the War Measures Act to make sure the show does go on. Organizers relent and decide to go ahead with the final, and the Remparts stomp the Kings for the Cup.

1971—Americans Dennis Murphy and Gary Davidson form the World Hockey Association. Bill Hunter goes across North America in an effort to attract owners and teams to the league, while working to build an investors’ group for a new Edmonton franchise.

1972—Bill Hunter teams with Edmonton-based investors Dr. Charles Allard and Zane Feldman to launch the Alberta Oilers in the new World Hockey Association.

1972—Alberta Oiler Ron Anderson scores the first goal in WHA history, a first period marker in the Oct. 11 season opener against the Ottawa Nationals. The Oilers go on to a 7-4 win.

1973—On Jan, 30, Oiler Jim Harrison becomes the first pro player to record a 10-point night. Harrison scores three goals and adds seven assists in an 11-2 trouncing of the New York Raiders.

1973—After a deal to play haf their home games in Calgary does not pan out, the Alberta Oilers are renamed the Edmonton Oilers.

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