The Hamilton Labour Council is calling on the National Hockey League to apologize for player suspensions made 100 years ago.<\/p>\n
Residents may not know, but once upon a time Hamilton had its own NHL team.<\/p>\n
The Tigers played in the city from 1920 to 1925, and during the final year they actually had a shot at the Stanley Cup, but something prevented them from taking part in the series.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a low impact step for what we\u2019re asking for: the NHL for an apology a hundred years later, for what was a travesty that was put upon this city,\u201d said Anthony Marco, the president of the Hamilton and District Labour Council.<\/p>\n
Back in the Roaring Twenties the Hamilton Tigers were one of six teams in the NHL looking to make the playoffs and win the Stanley Cup for the city.<\/p>\n
It looked like Hamilton could do it in the 1924-25 season.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey went from worst to first in the league,\u201d said Myer Siemiatycki, the Professor Emeritus of politics at Toronto Metropolitan University. \u201cThey were the last place team for their early years in the NHL, and then in this particular year \u2013 top team.\u201d<\/p>\n
That same year, the league expanded its season by six games, but players\u2019 pay was not increased.<\/p>\n
Spearheaded by NHL Hall of Famer Wilfred \u201cShorty\u201d Green, the team went on strike, demanding an extra $200 each or they would not lace up for the NHL playoffs.<\/p>\n
$200 dollars at a time when the average yearly wage in Canada was around $1,800.<\/p>\n
The then-league president Frank Calder responded by instead sending the Montr\u00e9al Canadiens to the playoffs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe league brushed them off, suspended them, disqualified them and ultimately shipped them out of Hamilton to become the first NHL team in New York \u2013 the New York Americans \u2013 for the following season,\u201d said Siemiatycki.<\/p>\n
That was the end of Hamilton\u2019s Stanley Cup hopes.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt deprived Hamilton of a major economic, cultural, social institution,\u201d said Siemiatycki.<\/p>\n
Now, the Hamilton District Labour Council is demanding an apology from the NHL for what they call \u201c100 year misconduct\u201d, saying an apology isn\u2019t a Stanley Cup, but it is something.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially in light of the fact that they just have a new collective agreement with the NHLPA (Players\u2019 Association), which brings into consideration a lot of the stuff these players were fighting for 100 years ago,\u201d said Marco. \u201cIt should be a time where the NHL is willing to say \u2018you know what, we agreed with them this year, why couldn\u2019t we agree with them 100 years ago?\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were willingly sacrificing their shot at a cup, and they probably would have won given they were the best team in the league,\u201d said Siemiatycki,\u201d because they prioritized the fair treatment of players.\u201d<\/p>\n
The council has started a petition, and hopes to get thousands of signatures before contacting the NHL for an apology.<\/p>\n