Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA)

History: 1906-1909 (4 seasons)

Eastern Canada Hockey Association (ECHA)

History 1906-1909 (4 seasons)

Leagues / Hockey / ECHA

The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was a men's amateur – later professional – ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with the top clubs from two other leagues: four from the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL) and two from the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL). It was formed to maximize the revenues of a now popular spectator sport and help these amateur teams cope with professionalism in the sport. The league would shed its amateur status for the 1908 season, leading to the split between Canadian amateur ice hockey teams playing for the Allan Cup, and the professionals playing for the Stanley Cup. The league would itself dissolve in 1909 over a dispute between team owners over business issues. The CAHL held its regular meeting on December 9, 1905. At that meeting it was decided that amalgamation with the FAHL should be attempted. On December 11, it was announced that the amalgamation would form a new league, the ECAHA. The CAHL was discontinued, but the FAHL would continue. From the start, the league allowed teams to openly use professional players. The players who were professionals had to be printed publicly. In 1908, the amateur-only Montreal Victorias and Montreal Hockey Club teams left the league. The league became a professional-only league, leading to several amateurs retiring from their teams. In significance of the change the league was renamed the Eastern Canada Hockey Association. In November 1909, the league dissolved over the plans of the Wanderers to move to an arena with fewer (revenue paying) spectator seats. The three other teams announced that they were leaving the ECHA, creating the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA). The Wanderers helped form a competing league, the National Hockey Association (NHA). The CHA played for less than two weeks, merging with the NHA in January 1910.

Other concurrent hockey leagues:
OPHL · TPHL · MPHL · FHL · IHL · WPHL

ECHA Champions

Year Team Coach

1909 Ottawa Hockey Club

1908 Montreal Wanderers

1907 Montreal Wanderers

1906 Montreal Wanderers

View All ECHA Seasons

League Executives

Tenure Name Title

1909 Joe Power League President

1909 J. Eveleigh League V.P.

1909 James Strachan League V.P.

1908 Dr. George Cameron League President

1908 W. P. Lunny League Secretary

1908 Patrick J. Baskerville League V.P.

1908 Joe Power League V.P.

1907 Fred McRobie League President

1907-09 Emmett Quinn League Secretary

1907 Thomas D'Arcy McGee League V.P.

1907 Gordon Blair League V.P.

1906 James Strachan League Secretary

1906 William Northey League Secretary

1906 Dr. George Cameron League V.P.

1906 G.P. Murphy League V.P.

1905-06 Howard Wilson League President

1 Comment

Davan S. Mani says:

April 17, 2020 at 11:36 pm

what a year. the competitiveness of the ABL really brought the NBA out of its duldrums.

Reply

ECHA Champions

League Executives

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