The Chicago Blackhawks were founded on September 25, 1926, when
the National Hockey League awarded a franchise to Major Frederic
McLaughlin, a Harvard-educated local coffee tycoon who was able to
come up with the $12,000 entry fee required to join the League.
In an effort to secure players for the upcoming season,
McLaughlin purchased the Portland Rosebuds of the floundering
Western Hockey League for $200,000 and moved the nucleus of that
team (players such as "Rabbit" McVeigh, George Hay, Percy Traub,
Dick Irvin, and goalie Hugh Lehman) to Chicago. After acquiring
enough players to field a competitive team, the Major, never a big
fan of the "Rose Buds" moniker, began to focus his energies on
coming up with a new name for the hockey club. Looking to the past,
the Major found his inspiration. During World War I, McLaughlin had
served as a commander in the 333rd Machine Gun Battalion of the
86th Division of the U.S. Army. Members of his division called
themselves Black Hawks in honor of the Sauk Indian chief who sided
with the British in the War of 1812. Surely, the Major felt, it
would be a fitting name for the newest entry into the National
Hockey League.On November 17, 1926, in front of 9,000 fans at the
Chicago Coliseum, the Chicago Blackhawks made their debut,
defeating the Toronto St. Pat's by a score of 4-1. In the more than
80 years since, the Blackhawks have become a Chicago institution,
winning three Stanley Cups and creating memories for countless
fans.
They moved into the Chicago Stadium, then a state-of-the-art
showcase, and played their first game there - a 3-1 win over the
Pittsburgh Pirates - on December 16, 1929, before 14,212 fans. The
Hawks also had one of the best and most flamboyant goaltenders of
the era in Charlie Gardiner, who joined the club in 1927. Gardiner
not only enjoyed stopping pucks, but also talking about his job. He
won the Vezina Trophy (then given to the goalie of the team with
the lowest goals-against average) in 1932 and was named an
All-Star. The following season,
1933-34, Gardiner finally had a solid team in front of him.
Captain of a squad that included the likes of Doc Romnes, Paul
Thompson, Mush March, Tommy Cook, Johnny Gottselig, Lionel Conacher
and Clarence "Taffy" Abel, Gardiner earned another Vezina Trophy
while posting a 1.73 goals-against average and recording 10
shutouts. More importantly, he led the Hawks, who had finished in
second place in the American Division, to their first Stanley
Cup.
The Hawks barely made the playoffs that year, finishing third in
the American division with a 14-25-9 record. But with solid play,
especially from Karakas and Seibert, the Hawks upset the Montreal
Canadiens in a best-of-three quarterfinal round after losing the
opening game. Chicago then used the same script to knock off the
New York Americans in the semifinals. The Hawks squared off against
the Toronto Maple Leafs in the best-of-five finals. Karakas would
miss the first two games with a broken toe. But the Hawks, using
minor leaguer Alfie Moore in nets, won the first game, 3-1, at
Maple Leaf Gardens. In Game Two, the Hawks and another minor
leaguer, Paul Goodman, didn't fare as well, losing 5-1 in Toronto.
Equipped with a steel-toed boot, Karakas returned to the lineup as
the Hawks played in the Stadium before a then-record 18,497 fans.
Chicago swept the next two contests, 2-1 and 4-1, to capture its
second Stanley Cup. After that Championship, however, the Hawks
slipped into an era of consistent ineptitude that became even
bleaker after McLaughlin's death in 1944. During a 13-season span
from 1946-47 through 1957-58, Chicago made the playoffs only once.
For 15 years, from 1946-47 through 1959-60, the Hawks had losing
regular-season records. In 1960-61, the Hawks set club records for
wins (29) and points (75) and climbed over the .500 mark for the
first time since 1946-47. In the playoffs, Chicago surprised
defending champion Montreal in six games in the semifinals and then
knocked off the Red Wings in six in the finals to win the Cup. That
launched an era of 14 years of consecutive sellouts at the Stadium.
The Hawks were hot. And Hull, the Golden Jet, who cracked the
50-goal barrier for the first time in 1961-62, and Mikita, who
netted his first Art Ross Trophy in 1963-64, became the talk of the
town. The Hawks finally broke the "Curse of Muldoon" in 1966-67.
They finished first overall in the six-team NHL -- the final season
before the League doubled its size through its first expansion. The
expansion draft cost the Hawks Hall and other key players. Chicago
fell to fourth place in the East Division - which contained all six
established teams in 67-68. The Hawks landed in the cellar the
following year. But in 1969-70, they rebounded to first place, due
largely to the play of Tony Esposito in his phenomenal rookie
season. In winning the Calder Trophy, "Tony-O," an acquisition from
Montreal, was 38-17-8, had a 2.17 goals-against average, and posted
a remarkable 15 shutouts.