1904-1907 The International Hockey League Professionals era

The first hockey game was played in the Palestra Dec 16, 1904, between the two local representatives of the International Hockey League, Portage Lake and Calumet. Calumet won by a score of 4-3, attendance was 3,000.
            Players and Positions for this Dec 16, 1904 Game at the Palestra in Laurium:
Portage Lake            Position            Calumet
Hern                         Goal                  Nickolson
Gibson                      Point                 MacMillan
Holden                     C. Point             H. Stuart
Lake                         Rover                Mallen
B. Stuart                   Center               Strike
Shields                      R. Wing             Scott
Westcott                   L. Wing             Gardner

Hockey Games played at the Palestra in 1904:
Jan   2, 1904    Calumet  7     Soo 1
Jan 14, 1904    Calumet 10    Canadian Soo 9
Jan 16, 1904    Calumet 13    Soo 2
Jan 25, 1904    Calumet 12    Portage Lake 2    (attendance 3,500)
Feb  6, 1904    Calumet 1      American Soo 4 (First defeat for Calumet on their own ice)    
Feb  7, 1904    Calumet 8      American Soo 2
Feb 18, 1904   Calumet 6      Pittsburg 5
Feb 27, 1904   Calumet 6      Canadian Soo 3

The Palestra was located on the corner of Third and Isle Royal streets in Laurium, Michigan. Gasoline Alley Body shop is located there today and the Bi-Centennial Ice Arena is just across the field on the same side of the street. In 1921, the Palestra was sold, then dismantled and transported by rail to Marquette about 100 miles away. It took just 51 days to do this and rebuild the Palestra in Marquette where it became Marquette's first indoor skate rink.

1903-04 The 1904 Portage Lakes won the American Championship over the Pittsburgh Victorias and the World Championship over the Montreal Wanderers who were the reigning Canadian Champions.  During this season, in 25 games, they scored 258 goals and allowed only 49, with only 2 defeats. J.L. "Doc" Gibson was the leading scorer for Portage Lake.

Portage Lake vs Pittsburg Bankers 4 Feb 1904 Daily Mining Gazette

1903-04 Roster & Game Results

18 March 1904 The local newspaper, The Daily Mining Gazette, announces that "the Wanderers of Montreal have challenged the Portage Lakes for the championship of the world." The news report reads: "C.E. Webb, manager of the Portage Lake hockey team, received a communication last night from the manager of the Wanderers of Montreal in which he challenged the Portage Lakes for the championship of the world. The Wanderers are considered to be one of the fastest teams in existence and are anxious to meet the Portage Lake aggregation at any time or place. The expense of bringing the Montreal team here will be very great, but it is thought that this difficulty will be overcome. Mr. Webb will communicate with the Wanderers' management at once and will endeavor to make satisfactory arrangement for a series of games and there is little doubt that the residents for Portage Lake will be able to witness a game for the championship of the world at the Amphidrome some time during the coming week."

Announcement of Wanderers Challenge 18 March 1904 Daily Mining Gazette

Newspaper Ad for World's Championship 20 March 1904 Daily Mining Gazette Portage Lake decisively won these games 8-4 and 9-2 becoming the  World's Champions!

1904-05 Inaugural season for International (Professional) Hockey League (IHL) consisting of five communities in the United States and Ontario: Houghton Portage Lakes with home ice in the new Amphidrome on Portage Lake and team colors of Green & White; Calumet with home ice in the new Palastra and team colors of Pearl Gray & Cardinal; Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan with home ice at their local curling rink named the Ridge Street Ice-A-Torium and team colors of Purple & White; Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario with home ice at their local Curling Rink called and team colors of Red & Black (the following year, they changed their team colors to Red & White); and Pittsburgh, PA with home ice in the Duquesne Gardens and team colors of Red & Blue. (Referees wore yellow sweaters during games.) This professional league attracted many of the best of the Canadian players from the established Canadian amateur leagues to come here to play pro in the US. Every player in the International Hockey League received a salary and some were also given lucrative jobs in the community.  "Hod" Stuart, from Ottawa, Ontario, who was considered by some to be the "greatest hockey player in the world" was paid $1,800 by Calumet to play for the team and manage their rink for the 1904-05 season!  Since the hockey season was only 2+ months long because of the natural ice, most Canadian players returned home to their families and regular jobs in Canada at the end of each season; requiring the IHL managers to organize a new team each season.
  Calumet, led by the Canadian born "Hod" Stuart, won the first league championship, the next two titles in 1905-06 and 1906-07 titles were won by Houghton's Portage Lakes. The Canadian Soo was the weaker club and in fact did not play in the 1905-06 IHL season. 
  The IHL operated for only three seasons, disbanding in the fall of 1907 when Canada established a professional league and drew many players back to Canada to play for their home crowds. Until then, keeping in the European tradition, Canada allowed only amateur status hockey and publicly scorned professionalizing athletics. As quoted in the Copper Country Evening News in 1904, John Ross Robertson of the OHA was reported to have said "for self preservation, the stand of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) against the professionalism of Pittsburgh, Houghton, Calumet and the Soo must be uncompromisingly antagonistic...Any player who figures on any of these teams must be banished from Ontario Hockey." 
  An excerpt from the article written by Daniel S. Mason "The International Hockey League and the Professionalization of Ice Hockey, 1904-1907" and presented at the 1997 North American Society for Sport History conference held at Springfield College.  ..."While the leagues in Canada had been accused of professional practices for several years, it was not until the formation of the Portage Lakes Hockey Club and the International Hockey League in 1904 that open professionalism arrived in hockey. The Portage Lakes Hockey Club would be the flagship team and would be joined by a club from Pittsburgh, which would disband the [amateur]  Western Pennsylvania League in order to enter a team in the new professional circuit.  During the previous season, in 1903-04, exhibition games against the Portage Lakes team had led the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) to ban both the Sault Ste. Marie towns. [the Canadian Soo and the American Soo] As a result, it was likely that the two Soo teams would join the new league, as they would be unable to compete against the Canadian amateur teams.  In the fall of 1903, James R. Dee of Houghton wrote to Pittsburgh to initiate discussion on the formation of a national hockey association. By the fall of 1904 with the possible inclusion of a team from the Canadian Soo, the Sault Ste. Marie Evening News reported that the proposed league would "adapt the name 'International' or something of similar significance" At a meeting held on November 5, 1904, prominent business leaders from Pittsburgh, the Canadian Soo, and Northern Michigan considered franchises for a number of cities including Montreal, Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Grand Rapids, and Duluth. Eventually, the league accepted teams from Houghton, Pittsburgh, the two Soos; and Calumet, the nearby civic rival of Houghton.  In addition, a revenue-sharing plan suggested by the Canadian Soo--that gate receipts be divided in a 60-40, home-visitor split--was adopted by the league.  Revenue sharing would make the long journey to Pittsburgh more palatable, given the potential gate money that could be generated in that city's commodious [5,000 seating capacity] Duquesne Gardens....." ..."Local businesses [in the five communities] took advantage of the league's popularity, by installing private telephones in hotels and saloons that allowed reports to be relayed directly from the arenas. [such as the Dunn Bros. of Fifth Street in Houghton]  Similarly, railway companies scheduled extra excursions to and from nearby IHL communities, both before and after games, arranged for spectators to travel the longer distances for games against league rivals...." The Copper Range Railroad charged fifty cents for fare between Houghton and Calumet, 15 miles apart; one game between the two rivals in 1905, carried eighteen cars full of passengers. The Duluth, South Shore and Atlantic RR charged six dollars for fare between Houghton and the American Soo and $6.50 from Calumet to the American Soo and back. 

1905-06 The Portage Lake team won the International Hockey League professional Championship Title. During this season, the Portage Lake Hockey Team challenged the Montreal Wanderers, then Canadian champions, to a series of two games, one to be played in Houghton and other at Montreal. Portage Lake won both contests, thus they were the Worlds Champions. They sent word to the Stanley Cup Committee Board of Governors challenging Montreal to a championship; they were denied the opportunity, again, because of the Portage Lake team's professional status. 

1906 There was a Second Hancock High School team who were Champions of the Second High School teams of the Copper Country this year again. Players on this Second team were: Pierce -goal & mgr, Wilmot & Watson -Point, Wolfsky Cover Point & Capt, Pelto, Exley & Goldsworthy -Rovers, Maclean -Center, Exley & Pelto -Rt Wing, Weismiller -L Wing. They played games with Houghton High School's Second team. Players on Houghton HS Second team were: ....

1906 There was a youth team from Hancock called the Senators, they played eight games and were undefeated. The younger high school players on this team were: Walter Larsen, Adolph Weismiller , Walter Exley and Oscar Fred. The Funkey Hardware Company presented each player on this winning team "with a fine new hockey stick".

1906-07 The Portage Lake team won the International Hockey League professional Championship Title.  After the IHL played from 1904-1907, the professional league broke up. When Canada changed their rules to allow professionalism in hockey, many of the IHL stars moved back home to Canada to continue to play professional hockey on Canadian teams. Click here to see a list of all North American professional teams from 1904 to present. Following this season, a Portage Lake team was still formed every year, but this team played as an amateur team. To this day, there is still a Portage Lake adult men's team. 

1906-07 The Portage Lake team won the International Hockey League Championship Title. Their home ice was the original Amphidrome in Houghton. Members of the 1906-07 Portage Lake team pictured are:  Top 3 L-R: Jas M Duggan -Trainer; Darcy Regan -Goal 24 games, 2 shutouts; John T. McNamara -Mgr. Middle 2 L-R:  Fred W. Taylor -Cover Point 23 games 14 goals; Barney Holden -Point 20 games, 3 goals. Middle 4 L-R:  Grindy Forester -Right Wing 22 games, 15 goals; Goldy Cochrane -Rover 17 games, 12 goals;  C. Bruce Stuart -Capt. Centre 23 games, 17 goals;  Fred E. Lake -Wing. Bottom 1: Jack Descarie -Spare. Others who played this season with the Portage Lake team: "Tuff" Bellefeuille 2 games, 0 goals (played 3 games with Calumet) Harry Bright 4 games, 3 goals Harry Brown 5 games 0 goals Con Corbeau 2 games, 0 goals (played 13 games with Calumet) Doc Gibson 2 games, 0 goals Cliff Hudson 1 game, 0 goals Dick Wilson 2 games, 1 goal

Portage Lake 1906-07  IHL Championship Team Photo Courtesy of SIHR

1907 Click here to see pictures of more Houghton Hockey Teams 1907-present. 
1907 Click here to see pictures of more Calumet Hockey Teams 1907-present.

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