Klondikers: Dawson City’s Stanley Cup Challenge and How a Nation Fell in Love with Hockey tells the story of how an unlikely team of dreamers traveled for three and a half weeks from the Yukon to Ottawa to play for the Stanley Cup in 1905.
Most fans of hockey history know this challenge took place, but the details have always been hazy. With this book, I’ve done my best to dig up as much information as I could and to separate fact from myth. One common misconception is that the players went by dog sleds. In fact, three left Dawson on foot one morning; four cycled out of town the next day (though they all abandoned their bikes before they reached Whitehorse).
Klondikers also covers the growth of the hockey after Lord Stanley donated the championship trophy in 1893. New rinks appeared in big cities and small towns, leading to more players, teams and leagues. And more fans. When the Montreal Victorias challenged the Winnipeg Victorias for the Cup in December 1896, supporters in both cities followed the play-by-play via telegraph updates.
Ottawa star Weldy Young moved to Dawson in 1899, and within a year was talking about a Cup challenge. With the help of Klondike businessman Joe Boyle, it finally happened. The Yukon team’s eagerness to make the journey, and the public’s enthusiastic response, revealed just how deeply, and how quickly, Canadians had fallen in love with hockey. Ottawa pounded the exhausted visitors, with “One-Eyed” Frank McGee scoring an astonishing fourteen goals in the second game. But there was no doubt hockey was now the national pastime.
Klondikers is available in trade paperback for $24.95 in Canada at good independent bookstores, Indigo and Chapters as well as online at Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca. In the United States, it’s $19.95 and available from Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
Subscribe to Puck Possession, a free monthly newsletter about the roots of our love affair with hockey here.
About the Author
Tim Falconer’s previous books include Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music, which made the Globe and Mail’s Top 100 list and was a finalist for the Lane Anderson Award. He first visited the Klondike when he had a summer job working in a Yukon mine. A former resident at the Berton House Writers’ Retreat in Dawson City, he’s also paddled three of the territory’s rivers. Tim lives and plays hockey in Toronto but returns to the Yukon as often as he can.
Reading
Here I am reading the Prologue:
Excerpt from Chapter Twenty-Five
Ottawans had a well-established habit of not showing up in great numbers for matches against unheralded opponents. That wasn’t a problem on this night, though. Fans filled every seat and space in the standing room area was hard to come by well before the crowd cheered Earl Grey as he stepped on the ice at 8:45 p.m. P.D. Ross, who was running as a Conservative for a seat in the Ontario legislature, was one of the local dignitaries who escorted the governor general. Only recently arrived in Canada, Albert Grey, like his predecessors, had quickly become a hockey fan. After he attended the Ottawa-Wanderers match the previous week, the Citizen reported, “His Excellency and the Government house party were among the most liberal of the spectators in their applause of the carnival of grit and skill.” But this was different: this was a Stanley Cup game. He said a few words to the players, including congratulating the Yukoners for their stout-heartedness, then shook hands with the referee and team captains, Alf Smith and Randy McLennan. Both sides responded with three rousing cheers for His Excellency. From the edge of the rink, well clear of any swinging sticks, Grey faced the puck by blowing a whistle and the game was on.
After pushing the puck through Hector Smith’s legs, Westwick passed it to the Ottawa captain, who shot from the side and Forrest made his first save. McLennan rushed and passed to Watt, who shot wide. Allen lifted it out of the Ottawa end, but Hannay, playing despite Ottawa’s objections, and McLennan brought it in again and set up Hector Smith for a shot. Alf Smith and Westwick moved down the ice with it until Hannay intercepted a pass. Soon, McGee had his first chance but couldn’t beat Forrest. Early indications were that Dawson could compete with Ottawa.
Neither team made much effort at a clean game. Along with heavy bodychecks into the fence, there was lots of tripping, slashing and cross-checking, much of it uncalled by Stiles. Before long, the crowd at Dey’s received an introduction to Watt’s boisterous style when he and Alf Smith collided. The result for the little winger was a cut on his head and an inflamed temper. He retaliated by throwing punches, most of which Smith was able to duck. Stiles sent them both to the side for ten minutes. After a long lift from Hannay, which Allen stopped, McGee took a shot that went high. McLennan and Kennedy came down the ice with the puck, but Finnie denied the rover’s bid. Ten minutes into the match, it was still a scoreless tie. Then Westwick and McGee worked their way through their opponents until McGee fired one that Forrest couldn’t stop.
The next penalty went to Kennedy for tripping Fred White, who’d graduated from the intermediate Aberdeens to replace Suddie Gilmour at left wing. After Forrest stopped Westwick, Johnstone carried the puck down to Ottawa’s end, where Allen blocked him. Once all three penalized players returned, McGee set up Alf Smith for another goal. Then, with Moore off to the side, Dawson was able to apply some pressure, but couldn’t solve Finnie. At the other end, Forrest stymied a couple of pretty plays from the hometown seven, which earned him applause from the crowd. After Hector Smith had a chance, Alf Smith dashed down the ice. Edged away from the goal by Johnstone, he passed to White, who passed to Westwick, who beat Forrest. But just twenty seconds later, McLennan finally scored. The Dawson tally suggested a comeback was possible if the challengers could get the next goal. Watt and Alf Smith had another run-in, but it didn’t lead to in any penalties, and there was no more scoring before time ran out on the first half.
The second half started with the points and cover points trading long lifts. But it quickly became clear the Klondikers lacked the necessary conditioning and were now too tired to compete with the champions. Less than two minutes into the half, Alf Smith scored. Two and a half minutes later, he did it again. A minute after that, Westwick put one in. The most violent episode of the match occurred with the score 6-1 and the game out of reach for Dawson. Watt tripped Moore; Moore cross-checked Watt in the face, sending him to the ice; Watt picked himself up, approached Moore from behind and delivered a two-handed smash to his head. Stiles assessed penalties to both players. “He’s off for two minutes; what’s his name?” the ref asked. “Moore? Is that Moore? Make it three minutes.” The Ottawa player needed four stitches before returning to the match. Stiles gave Watt fifteen minutes.
Most fans of hockey history know this challenge took place, but the details have always been hazy. With this book, I’ve done my best to dig up as much information as I could and to separate fact from myth. One common misconception is that the players went by dog sleds. In fact, three left Dawson on foot one morning; four cycled out of town the next day (though they all abandoned their bikes before they reached Whitehorse).
Klondikers also covers the growth of the hockey after Lord Stanley donated the championship trophy in 1893. New rinks appeared in big cities and small towns, leading to more players, teams and leagues. And more fans. When the Montreal Victorias challenged the Winnipeg Victorias for the Cup in December 1896, supporters in both cities followed the play-by-play via telegraph updates.
Ottawa star Weldy Young moved to Dawson in 1899, and within a year was talking about a Cup challenge. With the help of Klondike businessman Joe Boyle, it finally happened. The Yukon team’s eagerness to make the journey, and the public’s enthusiastic response, revealed just how deeply, and how quickly, Canadians had fallen in love with hockey. Ottawa pounded the exhausted visitors, with “One-Eyed” Frank McGee scoring an astonishing fourteen goals in the second game. But there was no doubt hockey was now the national pastime.
Klondikers is available in trade paperback for $24.95 in Canada at good independent bookstores, Indigo and Chapters as well as online at Amazon.ca and Indigo.ca. In the United States, it’s $19.95 and available from Amazon.com and Barnesandnoble.com.
Subscribe to Puck Possession, a free monthly newsletter about the roots of our love affair with hockey here.
About the Author
Tim Falconer’s previous books include Bad Singer: The Surprising Science of Tone Deafness and How We Hear Music, which made the Globe and Mail’s Top 100 list and was a finalist for the Lane Anderson Award. He first visited the Klondike when he had a summer job working in a Yukon mine. A former resident at the Berton House Writers’ Retreat in Dawson City, he’s also paddled three of the territory’s rivers. Tim lives and plays hockey in Toronto but returns to the Yukon as often as he can.
Reading
Here I am reading the Prologue:
Excerpt from Chapter Twenty-Five
Ottawans had a well-established habit of not showing up in great numbers for matches against unheralded opponents. That wasn’t a problem on this night, though. Fans filled every seat and space in the standing room area was hard to come by well before the crowd cheered Earl Grey as he stepped on the ice at 8:45 p.m. P.D. Ross, who was running as a Conservative for a seat in the Ontario legislature, was one of the local dignitaries who escorted the governor general. Only recently arrived in Canada, Albert Grey, like his predecessors, had quickly become a hockey fan. After he attended the Ottawa-Wanderers match the previous week, the Citizen reported, “His Excellency and the Government house party were among the most liberal of the spectators in their applause of the carnival of grit and skill.” But this was different: this was a Stanley Cup game. He said a few words to the players, including congratulating the Yukoners for their stout-heartedness, then shook hands with the referee and team captains, Alf Smith and Randy McLennan. Both sides responded with three rousing cheers for His Excellency. From the edge of the rink, well clear of any swinging sticks, Grey faced the puck by blowing a whistle and the game was on.
After pushing the puck through Hector Smith’s legs, Westwick passed it to the Ottawa captain, who shot from the side and Forrest made his first save. McLennan rushed and passed to Watt, who shot wide. Allen lifted it out of the Ottawa end, but Hannay, playing despite Ottawa’s objections, and McLennan brought it in again and set up Hector Smith for a shot. Alf Smith and Westwick moved down the ice with it until Hannay intercepted a pass. Soon, McGee had his first chance but couldn’t beat Forrest. Early indications were that Dawson could compete with Ottawa.
Neither team made much effort at a clean game. Along with heavy bodychecks into the fence, there was lots of tripping, slashing and cross-checking, much of it uncalled by Stiles. Before long, the crowd at Dey’s received an introduction to Watt’s boisterous style when he and Alf Smith collided. The result for the little winger was a cut on his head and an inflamed temper. He retaliated by throwing punches, most of which Smith was able to duck. Stiles sent them both to the side for ten minutes. After a long lift from Hannay, which Allen stopped, McGee took a shot that went high. McLennan and Kennedy came down the ice with the puck, but Finnie denied the rover’s bid. Ten minutes into the match, it was still a scoreless tie. Then Westwick and McGee worked their way through their opponents until McGee fired one that Forrest couldn’t stop.
The next penalty went to Kennedy for tripping Fred White, who’d graduated from the intermediate Aberdeens to replace Suddie Gilmour at left wing. After Forrest stopped Westwick, Johnstone carried the puck down to Ottawa’s end, where Allen blocked him. Once all three penalized players returned, McGee set up Alf Smith for another goal. Then, with Moore off to the side, Dawson was able to apply some pressure, but couldn’t solve Finnie. At the other end, Forrest stymied a couple of pretty plays from the hometown seven, which earned him applause from the crowd. After Hector Smith had a chance, Alf Smith dashed down the ice. Edged away from the goal by Johnstone, he passed to White, who passed to Westwick, who beat Forrest. But just twenty seconds later, McLennan finally scored. The Dawson tally suggested a comeback was possible if the challengers could get the next goal. Watt and Alf Smith had another run-in, but it didn’t lead to in any penalties, and there was no more scoring before time ran out on the first half.
The second half started with the points and cover points trading long lifts. But it quickly became clear the Klondikers lacked the necessary conditioning and were now too tired to compete with the champions. Less than two minutes into the half, Alf Smith scored. Two and a half minutes later, he did it again. A minute after that, Westwick put one in. The most violent episode of the match occurred with the score 6-1 and the game out of reach for Dawson. Watt tripped Moore; Moore cross-checked Watt in the face, sending him to the ice; Watt picked himself up, approached Moore from behind and delivered a two-handed smash to his head. Stiles assessed penalties to both players. “He’s off for two minutes; what’s his name?” the ref asked. “Moore? Is that Moore? Make it three minutes.” The Ottawa player needed four stitches before returning to the match. Stiles gave Watt fifteen minutes.
