1900 Buffalo Hockey
by Scott Hollander
University at Buffalo Libraries
By the winter of 1899-1900, the University of Buffalo had been playing organized hockey for over 4 years. The city of Buffalo had clearly embraced the game. So on December 8, 1899, a new city hockey league was formed called the Buffalo Hockey Association. The Buffalo Hockey Association (B.H.A.) consisted of several local hockey teams organized into two sections.
Section A – Iroquois Hockey Club, Crystal Hockey Club, Buffalo Hockey Club, University of Buffalo
Section B – Masten Park High School, Buffalo Tennis Club, Caledonia Hockey Club
The B.H.A. was mostly a success although the clubs at times bickered and accused each other of using “ringers.” Games were played at the Broadway and Caledonia rinks. Both rinks had natural ice so warm spells caused the cancellation of games. The “Buffalo Hockey Club” failed to show up for several of its matches forfeiting several games and almost got thrown out of the league.
At the end of league play, the U.B. team won the cup as city champions of the senior division (Section A) beating the Iroquois club 6-0 in the championship game. (see “Champions of Buffalo Now”
Buffalo Courier, 14 March 1900) The 1900 team, with the B.H.A. championship cup, proudly posed for the photo above.
Outside of B.H.A. league games, U.B. played several other teams including clubs from Niagara on the Lake and Welland, Ontario. The U.B. team capped their standout season by defeating Cornell University by the score of 10-1 at the Broadway Rink in Buffalo on March 22, 1900. (see “Good For U. of B!” Buffalo Evening News, 23 March 1900) The news of the overwhelming defeat administered to the Cornell hockey team by U.B. quickly spread over the Buffalo campus. Astonishment, not surprise, was the word used to describe the victory. Dr. Wettlaufer, manager of the U.B. team, was elated at the success of the team. He said after the Cornell victory:
“There is a chance for some enterprising man to erect a new rink in this city and it will pay him. Hockey next season is destined to be one of the greatest sports in all the city. The people take to it and they will patronize it extensively. For the Cornell game I sold personally 500 tickets , where it had been said that 200 could not be sold.”
It was hoped that the victory would open new opportunities for U.B. athletics. Talk of a possible Buffalo/Cornell football game in the fall, where Cornell could extract revenge for the hockey defeat, soon began.
CHAMPIONS OF BUFFALO NOW
—
‘VARSITY BOYS WON TITLE AT BROADWAY HOCKEY RINK LAST NIGHT.
—
The University of Buffalo won the city championship last night at the Broadway rink by defeating the Iroquois team. The score was 6 to 0. At half time the score was 3 to 0, and was repeated in the second half.
Brown, their star player, won the game or the University of Buffalo boys, although he was ably assisted by Baker.
Snell of Welland could not officiate as referee and Hugh Rose took his place. the line-up:
| IROQUOIS (0) | U. OF B. (6) |
|---|---|
| Despard, g. | g., Baker |
| Tyson, p. | p., Elliott |
| Gerow. c. p. | c. p., Millar |
| Kavanagh, f. | f., Wieland |
| Boyle, f. | f., Empey |
| Eyre, f. | f., “Blank” |
| Robertson, f. | f., Brown |
| Referee, H. A. Rose, Welland | |
— Buffalo Courier, March 14, 1900
GOOD FOR U. OF B!
—
Blue and White Boys Gave Cornell an Overwhelming Defeat at Hockey.
—
There were some pretty joyous students of the U. of B. around town last night after the hockey game at the Broadway Rink, for the blue and white scored a most emphatic victory over the team from the big university at Ithaca. The score was 10 to 1 when the whistle blew for the end of the second half, and there was more noise than the building could very well stand.
The rink, which was not built to accommodate a crowd of spectators, was jammed to the doors with a crowd that mostly sympathized with the Buffalo outfit. The Cornellians were clearly outplayed at every point, though they proved to be no slouches at the game. At the end of the first half the score was 4 t o 1. In the second half Cornell grew desperate and resorted to rough tactics The Ithacans , however, very soon found that the U. of B. boys were not novices at that kind of a game, either. This half saw some of the fastest hockey ever put on in Buffalo. Brown of Buffalo, who played a phenomenal game, was knocked out. The following lineup and time table shows the game in detail:
| U. OF B. (10) | CORNELL (1) |
|---|---|
| Baker, g. | g., Norton |
| Elliot, p. | p., Roberts |
| Miller. c. p. | c. p., Whitman |
| McGuire (Hall), f. | f., McDougall |
| Empey, f. | f., Brown |
| Brown, f. | f., Smith (Capt.) |
| Welland (Capt.), f. | f., Wood |
— Buffalo Evening News, March 23, 1900