Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club , commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros , was founded in 1903 . It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989 . The Marlboros were a farm team to the Toronto Maple Leafs and one of the dominant junior teams in history , winning seven Memorial Cup championships . Other Toronto Marlboros teams include a senior ice hockey team which competed for the Stanley Cup in 1904 and won the Allan Cup in 1950 , a major senior team in 1950 - 51 , and a Minor Hockey team , which has operated continuously since 1931 . History . The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club was started in Toronto , Ontario in 1903 by a group of Toronto sportsmen . It was named after the Duke of Marlborough . A hockey program was started in 1904 . The team was commonly known as the Marlboros or Marlies and was also nicknamed the Dukes . In the early years , the Marlboros were just one of many athletic clubs and junior hockey teams in and around Toronto that played in relative obscurity in the history books . The club was thrust onto the national scene in 1927 when Conn Smythe bought the Toronto Marlboros to be the farm team for his other recently acquired team , the Toronto Maple Leafs . From 1927 to 1989 the Marlboros and Maple Leafs shared common ownership first in the Smythe family and later in Harold Ballard . Upon the death of Conn Smythe , his son Stafford Smythe inherited the teams , and later sold a portion of both clubs to Harold Ballard . Ballard became sole owner of both teams upon the passing of Stafford Smythe . The Marlboros served as a farm team for the Maple Leafs for 40 years until direct NHL sponsorship of junior teams ended in 1967 , however the two clubs continued to remain affiliated under a common ownership until 1989 . During this time the Marlboros sent over 180 players to the NHL and six future Hockey Hall of Fame inductees . The two teams often played double headers on Saturdays , with the junior games in the afternoon and the NHL games in the evening . The original Hot Stove Club was formed at Maple Leaf Gardens on May 28 , 1937 , for the purpose of raising funds to support the Marlborough Hockey Club . The Hot Stove Club was given a permanent bar & lounge at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1963 . From 1929 to 1975 the Marlboros won the national junior championship seven times . Marlboro players from the Memorial Cups in the 1950s and 1960s jumped directly to the Maple Leafs , helping them win the Stanley Cup four times in the 1960s . Former NHL stars stayed in the organization to help coach in the junior ranks . Turk Broda and George Armstrong both coached the Marlboros to Memorial Cup victories . Stafford Smythe organized the Metro Junior A League in 1961 as a rival league to the OHA , with the Marlboros as its charter member . After the league folded in 1963 , the Marlboros scooped up all the former stars from the Toronto Neil McNeil Maroons who had won two consecutive Metro Junior A league titles , and also retained their coach , Jim Gregory . The 1964 Marlboros were one of the strongest teams in Canadian junior history . The Marlboros returned to prominence again in 1973 , coached by former Toronto Maple Leafs captain George Armstrong . Armstrong ' s team in 1973 lost only seven games all season , and two years later he coached the Marlboros to their seventh national title in 1975 . The team began to take a decline in the standings in the late 1970s which continued through the 1980s . Many people felt that Harold Ballard ' s penny - pinching ways helped contribute to the demise of Canada ' s most successful junior team . After the 1988 – 89 season the Toronto Marlboros were sold , and they severed ties with the Maple Leafs . The OHA team moved to Hamilton , becoming the Dukes of Hamilton . They were not financially successful in Hamilton , though , and after only two seasons the Dukes became the Guelph Storm . Championships . The Toronto Marlboros won Memorial Cup seven times , more than any other team in the Cup ' s history . The Marlies also won 10 OHA championships in 17 final appearances . Memorial Cup s . 1929 < br > The Marlboros reached their first Memorial Cup series in 1929 after being upset in 1928 by the Ottawa Gunners . In 1929 the Marlboros defeated the Ottawa Shamrocks in a two - game total goals series by 6 to 5 . Ottawa won the first game 4 to 3 , and Toronto won the second game 3 to 1 . Toronto played the Elmwood Millionaires from Winnipeg , Manitoba , in a best of three series starting on March 29 at the Arena Gardens ( Mutual Street Arena ) for the Memorial Cup . The Marlboros won the first game 4 to 2 in overtime . On March 31 , Toronto won game 2 by an identical score of 4 to 2 for its first Memorial Cup . 1955 < br > Turk Broda took over the coaching duties of the Marlboros midway through the 1954 – 55 season . In the playoffs the Marlboros defeated the reigning Memorial Cup champions St . Catharines Teepees , followed by the Quebec Frontenacs to win the Eastern Canadian championship . After a long train ride to Regina , Saskatchewan , to Marlboros and the Regina Pats took part in the First Annual Memorial Cup Dinner . The idea of the banquet was one of Harold Ballard ' s many longlasting effects on the game . The next day the two teams would start a best of seven series for the Cup . Regina won the first game 3 to 1 . Toronto won the next two games scores of 5 to 2 , and 3 to 2 . Regina tied up game four at 2 goals each in the dying minutes of regulation to send the match to overtime . Billy Harris scored in overtime to give the Marlboros a 3 games to 1 lead . Game five was also tied after three periods . Toronto scored three unanswered goals , winning 8 to 5 in overtime , and their second Memorial Cup . 1956 < br > Toronto defeated the Montreal Junior Canadiens in an 8 - game series to return to the Memorial Cup and a rematch versus the Regina Pats . The championship series started at Maple Leaf Gardens on April 27 . The teams tied the first game at 4 goals each . Toronto put together three consecutive victories by scores of 5 to 1 , 4 to 2 , and 6 to 1 . The Marlboros captured their second consecutive Memorial Cup in game five by a score ot 7 to 4 . The Oshawa Generals were the first team to accomplish the feat in 1938 – 39 and 1939 – 40 . 1964 < br > Toronto defeated the defending OHA champions Niagara Falls Flyers and the Montreal Jr . Canadiens to win the J . Ross Robertson Cup . The Marlboros swept the NOHA champion North Bay Trappers to play the Quebec champion Montreal NDG Monarchs , who were coached by Scotty Bowman . Toronto prevailed to return to the Memorial Cup after an eight - year absence . Their opponent was the perennial Abbott Cup champion Edmonton Oil Kings . The series opened at Maple Leaf Gardens with a 5 to 2 Toronto victory . The Marlboros won games two and three with scores of 3 to 2 and 5 to 2 . Toronto finished the series sweep with a 7 to 2 win in game 4 . Many of the players on the 1964 Marlboros team , including Ron Ellis , Mike Walton and Pete Stemkowski , helped the Maple Leafs capture the Stanley Cup in 1967 . 1967 < br > Toronto defeated the Montreal Jr . Canadiens and Hamilton Red Wings for the OHA title , then eliminated the Thetford Mines Canadiens to capture the eastern Canadian championships . The Marlboros played the Port Arthur Marrs in the Memorial Cup series hosted at the Fort William Gardens in what is now the city of Thunder Bay , Ontario . The Marlboros won the first two games by scores of 6 to 3 , and 8 to 4 . Port Arthur won the third game 6 to 4 in a heavily penalized match , including a bench brawl with one second left in the game . Toronto won the last two games by scores of 6 to 0 , and 6 to 3 capturing its 5th Memorial Cup . In 1966 – 67 , the Maple Leafs also won the Stanley Cup , the last year the two clubs were national champions at the same time . 1973 < br > The Marlboros of 1972 – 73 lost only seven games in the regular season . The team was ranked # 1 in Canada going into the playoffs . Toronto eliminated the St . Catharines Black Hawks and Ottawa 67 ' s before meeting the Peterborough Petes in the OHA finals . The series versus the Petes went to a seventh game played at Maple Leaf Gardens in front of 16 , 485 spectators , a record at the time for junior hockey attendance . Toronto needed only a tie game to advance , and did so in dramatic fashion . Paulin Bordeleau scored on a penalty shot in the last minute to tie the game at 5 goals each . After winning the OHA title , the Marlboros travelled to Memorial Cup hosted at the Montreal Forum where their opponents would be the Quebec Remparts and the Medicine Hat Tigers , who were led by future NHL star Lanny McDonald . The Marlies beat Quebec 5 to 2 in the first game , and lost 3 to 2 to the Tigers in the second game . The Remparts then beat the Tigers 8 to 3 in game three . Since each team had won a game , Toronto and Quebec played each other in the finals based on goals for and against . The Marlboros scored a 9 to 1 victory for their 6th Memorial Cup . 1975 < br > The 1975 playoff run for the Marlboros was complicated by Mark Napier and John Tonelli signing professional contracts before the season ended . Tonelli would sit out all the Marlboros games after his 18th birthday so he would not the jeopardize playing for the Houston Aeros . Toronto stumbled through the playoffs managing come - from - behind victories in series versus the 8th place Kingston Canadians and 5th place Sudbury Wolves . Both series went 8 games , and the Marlboros were a point away from being eliminated each time but stayed alive . The Marlboros then beat the Hamilton Fincups in the finals for their last OHA championship . Toronto would face the New Westminster Bruins , and the Sherbrooke Castors in the Memorial Cup series played at the Kitchener Memorial Auditorium Complex . Toronto beat Sherbrooke 5 to 4 in overtime in game 1 after coming back from three goals down . The Bruins beat the Castors ( Beavers in English ) 7 to 5 in game two , defeated Toronto 6 to 2 in the third game to reach the finals . In a rematch versus the Castors in the semi - final , Toronto won 10 to 4 to reach the finals versus New Westminster . The Marlboros continued their momentum in the finals winning 7 to 3 , and capturing their seventh and final Memorial Cup championship . Coach Armstrong said it was all worth it , even after his team had tossed him into the hotel swimming pool during a victory party . Coaches . One of the most famous Maple Leafs and Marlboros of all time , George Armstrong , coached the Marlboros to their final two Memorial Cup victories in 1972 – 73 and 1974 – 75 . Two Toronto Marlboros coaches have been awarded the Matt Leyden Trophy as the OHA Coach of the Year . They are George Armstrong 1972 - 73 in his first year , and Dave Chambers in 1979 – 80 . Players . Until the NHL instituted the Entry Draft in 1967 , the Maple Leafs relied heavily on the Jr . A . Marlboros to produce NHL players . Many players were part of Maple Leafs Stanley Cup winning teams . In total , 202 OHA Junior Marlboros went on to play in the National Hockey League . Hockey Hall of Famers . Six players who played for the Marlboros and Maple Leafs have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . They are George Armstrong , Charlie Conacher , Red Horner , Harvey Jackson , Joe Primeau and Bob Pulford . Former Marlboros Brad Park was also inducted into the Hall of Fame as an NHL defenceman , and Carl Voss was inducted as a builder . Uniforms and logos . In 1903 club secretary Fred Waghorne wrote to the Duke of Marlborough in England for permission to use the storied name and crest . In choosing its logo the club took the Marlborough family crown and added the initials A . C . for Athletic Club . The Toronto Marlboros used the same colour scheme as the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs from 1927 when the two club came under common ownership . The Marlborough crown was originally displayed by itself on the jersey chest . It was not until the late 1950s that the crown was set against the present day Maple Leaf . Arenas . In the beginning both the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Marlboros practised and were headquartered out of the old Ravina Gardens in Toronto ' s west end . Home games were played downtown at the Mutual Street Arena . In 1931 Maple Leaf Gardens opened up for business and the Marlboros had a new home again . In 1964 the Marlboros won the Memorial Cup on home ice , the same year the Toronto Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup on home ice . The Marlboros occasionally also played games in the 1970s at the North York Centennial Centre and the Markham Centennial Centre when Maple Leaf Gardens was unavailable , usually due to scheduling conflicts at MLG with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and also the Toronto Toros of the WHA . They also played part of their home schedule in the 1976 – 77 season in Brantford , Ontario out of the Brantford Civic Centre . The Marlboros today . The Toronto Marlboros Hockey Club operates minor hockey teams in the city of Toronto , Ontario . This club operated independently to the former OHA Junior ' A ' team . After the Junior ' A ' team left for Hamilton , the late Toronto Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard granted permission for the Minor Marlboros to retain and carry on the Marlborough name . Three years later in the fall of 1992 the Marlboros combined their fabled crest with the current NHL Maple Leafs ' uniform . The Minor Marlboros celebrated their 75th anniversary in 2005 – 06 . NHL alumni of the Minor Marlboros include , Sam Gagner , Ron Handy , Mike Hough , Peter Ing , Chris Kelly , Nathan LaFayette , Rick Nash , Mike Ricci , Jason Spezza , Brian Wilks , Wojtek Wolski and John Tavares .