The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1907-03-03
HOCKEY IS NATIONAL
GAME OF CANADIANS
Sport Is Becoming Popular in
the United States at
Present.

On account of the mildness Of tho
western climate, ice hockey, a game
which is, in many respects, the fastest
and most exciting IN the roster of
sports, is rather a minus quantity This
great Canadian winter sport is, how.
ever, becoming very popular in some of
the large Eastern cities, such as New
York, Brooklyn, Pittsburg, Calumet,
Sault Ste. Marie and Detroit, and is in
vading the west. The teams in these
cities are composed Of first class players,
and the championship games cause in
tense excitement, and although 1T was
the custom for most of these teams to
be largely composed of Canadians, the
state of affairs is rapidly changing and
this winter one finds a comparatively
small numbers of the players other than
| out and ont Americans. This partly be-
cause of the increasing proficiency OF
! the latter In their knowledge OF the
game, and partly on account of the fact
/ that Il great many of the Canadian
clubs have become professional, and
probably are in position TO offer snf.
| fcient inducements to take many OF
[ their original players back across the
I border
However. let the cause be what it
/ may, 1T is now an undlspnted tact that
( there gre today several teams such as
/ the New York or the ST. Nicholas team
! Of New York. the CrcsceUts Of Brooklyn
and one or two Of the PIttsburg teams
composed entirely Of Yankee BOYS,
/ which could give the Canucks run
| for their money. Yale, Harvard, Prince
/ ton and several o. the larger colleges
/ have very good hockey teams, which
compare fayorably with any strlct!y
amateur aggregation il existence.
OF course, while athletes who harc
! become SO capable in p game OF which
I few years ago they we're compare"
I lively ignorant. after all it is only an
other OF the innumerablc examples of
| American perseverance, and progress.
| There was some talk during the past
| winter among the New York clubs or
/ sending an All-Amcr;can hockey team
| TO Montreal to play Il series OF games
with the Wanderers of that city, who
were then champions, FOR the champion
ship Of the world. Nothing, however,
came OF 1t, although some negotiations
/ were started with the Officials o. the
I Wanderer club, aad il was understood
they wou.d have boeu quite ;Villing 10
accept 4 challenge had II not been for
the Fact that with their regular league
matches, and other matches which they
had arranged Tor. i: would have been
an lmpOss D!iitr 10 arrange L series be
fore the end Of The playing season.
Tie hockey situation i'm Canada is
pretty much The same IS cricket in
Great Britain o. baseball in the United
Stales. iu Canada every lirtie towa
and village mas its hockey team. and the
residents are as proud OF their team as
;he- ayc Of their Carnegie library; they
celebrate when tGej" team wins; they
mourn Wacn IL loses. and in some cases
they 60 so far as To make things pretty
hot for the visitors IT they trim the
local boys In the large cities it is
different. but tGe same feeling. of 10y
atty 10 their clubs still remains, but
see the best team win. All this tends
10 develop large number Of splendid
PLAYERS throughout the country, the
large city teams, such as the Montreal
Hockey club, the Wanderer and Vie
toria hockey clubs of Montreal and the
Ottawa, Quebec, Toronto and Winnipeg
clubs getting the cream.
The tangible symbol of Canadian
hockey supremacy is the Stanley cup,
and any team winning or holding the
championship of any official hockey
league is emitted to challenge the cup
holders. And so in this way, the Wan"
dercrs of Montreal being last year 8
champions OF the Eastern Hockey
union, became holders OF the cup, for
merly held by the Ottawa club. i'm turn
the team representing kenora, Mani
tobn. a town of 5000, champions OF the
Manitoba league, in the middle of the
season defeated The Wanderers and at
the present time are still the cham
pions