Ontario Hockey Association

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The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario, Canada. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the OHF include the Ottawa District Hockey Association and Hockey Northwestern Ontario. The OHA is composed of 4 major tiers of Junior hockey controlled by the OHA: Junior "A", Junior "B", Junior "C", and Junior Development. The OHA also controls one senior hockey league, Major League Hockey.

In 1980, the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League vacated what was known as Tier I Junior "A" hockey. The league is now known as the Ontario Hockey League. Although it is not a charter member of the OHA, the OHL is affiliated with the OHA and Ontario Hockey Federation.

History

Founding

Part of a series on the
Emergence

of the NHL

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Leagues
  • MWCT (1883–1889)
  • AHAC (1886–1898) †
  • OHA (1890–1908) †
  • MHA (1892–1909) †
  • HCHL (1893–1903) †
  • CCHA (1896–1897) †
  • WPHL (1896–1910)
  • CAHL (1898–1905) †
  • CIAU (1902–1908) †
  • NSHL (1903–1911) †
  • FAHL (1904–1909) †
  • IPHL (1904–1907)
  • ECAHA (1906–1909) †
  • TPHL (1906–1911)
  • APHL (1907–1910) †
  • NOHL (1907–1912) †
  • OPHL (1908–1911) †
  • CHA (1909–1910) †
  • SPHL (1910–1912) †
  • NHA (1909–1917) †
  • EOPHL (1910–1911) †
  • MPHL (1911–1914) †
  • PCHA (1912–1924) †
  • NHL (1917–present) †
  • WCHL (1921–1926) †

† League had team(s) challenge for the Stanley Cup

Early North American leagues portal

The OHA was founded in 1890 to govern amateur ice hockey play in Ontario. This was the idea of Arthur Stanley, son of Lord Stanley, the Governor-General. Arthur played for the Ottawa 'Rideau Rebels' and in the course of exhibition play against other teams in Ontario, convinced team officials to hold a meeting in November 1890 to discuss the idea. So, on November 27, 1890 at the Queen's Hotel in Toronto, delegates from hockey clubs around Ontario formed the Ontario Hockey Association.

The first executive was:

  • A. Morgan Cosby, Toronto Victoria Club, president,
  • John Barron, vice-president,
  • Henry Ward, vice-president,
  • C. K. Temple, Toronto St. George's Club, treasurer,
  • C. R. Hamilton, Toronto Victoria Club, secretary

Early History

In the beginning, the OHA had one league of senior men's hockey teams. This group included teams from Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto, and London. In the first years, the schedule consisted of this group playing a series of elimination playoffs leading to a single-game final playoff. For the first three years the Ottawa Hockey Club was the champions, winners of the Cosby Cup. In 1894, the Ottawa team and the Association came to a disagreement over the venue of the finals, and Ottawa left the league. This was a schism that would lead to the forming of the Ottawa District Hockey Association, governing most of eastern Ontario ice hockey play.

Stanley Cup

From 1893-1908, teams from the OHA could and did challenge for the Stanley Cup, including:

As senior-level play became professional, Stanley Cup challenges would become impossible for amateur teams to win. After the introduction of the Allan Cup in 1908, clubs from the OHA would compete for that instead. The Ontario Professional Hockey League started play in 1908 for senior-level men's pro hockey teams in Ontario. Champions of the OPHL would continue to challenge for the Stanley Cup. The senior-level men's league of the OHA is today composed of the 6 teams of Major League Hockey.

Junior hockey

In 1892, the junior-level was introduced for play at a lower level. It was not age-limited to young men under the age of 20 until 1896, when the OHA introduced the 'intermediate'-level play bracket. In 1919, the Memorial Cup was introduced, first called the 'OHA Memorial Cup', and was first won by University of Toronto Schools (UTS). It was to be the national championship trophy for junior-level play.

The top-level of junior men's ice hockey would be under the governance of the OHA until 1980, when the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) was formed as a separate organization under Hockey Canada. The OHL took over as the body eligible for Memorial Cup tournament play, and later became part of the Canadian Hockey League junior league.

The OHA continues to be the governing body for several ice hockey leagues in senior and junior within its jurisdictional borders.

Intermediate hockey

In 1897, intermediate level was introduced. This was to organize teams of a lower standard than the seniors.

The first champions were Berlin, defeating the Frontenacs 3-0.

The classification was abolished in 1983 by the OHA. The top league, Major Intermediate A Hockey League was divided between the OHA Senior A Hockey League and the various Senior B leagues. Nowadays, the OHA's Rule Handbook refers to what used to be the Intermediate A level as Senior AA, Intermediate B as Senior A, Intermediate C as Senior B, and the Intermediate D loop as Senior C. The champions for each classification is listed in the OHA Rule Handbook except for Senior C, although its trophy name is listed.

The trophy emblematic of Canadian Intermediate Hockey supremacy was the Hardy Cup. Only three teams from Ontario ever won the Hardy Cup (that ran from 1968-1990), two from the OHA: Georgetown Raiders in 1982 and Dundas Real McCoys in 1986. The third Ontario team was the Embrun Panthers of the Ottawa District Hockey Association.

Early Senior Champions (1891-1920)

Season Champion
1890–91 Ottawa Hockey Club
1891–92 Ottawa Hockey Club
1892–93 Ottawa Hockey Club
1893–94 Osgoode Hall
1894–95 Queen's University
1895–96 Queen's University
1896–97 Queen's University
1897–98 Osgoode Hall
1898–99 Queen's University
1899–1900 Toronto Wellingtons
1900–01 Toronto Wellingtons
1901–02 Toronto Wellingtons
1902–03 Toronto Wellingtons
1903–04 Toronto Marlboros
1904–05 Toronto Marlboros
1905–06 Berlin
1906–07 Stratford Indians
1907–08 Kingston 14th Regiment
1908–09 St. Michael's College
1909–10 St. Michael's College
1910–11 Toronto Eatons
1911–12 Toronto Eatons
1912–13 Toronto R&AA
1913–14 Toronto R&AA
1914–15 Toronto Victorias
1915-16 Toronto Riversides
1916–17 Toronto Dentals
1917–18 Kitchener
1918–19 Hamilton
1919–20 Toronto Granites

Major Series

  • 1891 St. Michael's - Hamilton (games) 4-1

Early Intermediate Champions (1897-1920)

  • 1897 Berlin - Frontenac 3-0
  • 1898 Listowel - Waterloo 4-10 (Listowel won as Waterloo was disqualified)
  • 1899 Kingston Frontenac - Guelph-National 5-2
  • 1900 London - Belleville 3-1
  • 1901 St. George's Toronto - Port Hope 10-8
  • 1902 Peterboro - Galt 7-6
  • 1903 Paris - Marlboros, Toronto 12-7
  • 1904 Stratford - Midland 13-11
  • 1905 Victoria Harbor - Berlin 9-6
  • 1906 Peterboro - Goderich 14-8
  • 1907 Berlin - Collingwood 12-7
  • 1908 Midland - Collingwood 23-20
  • 1909 Lindsay - Stratford 12-5
  • 1910 Collingwood - London 9-7
  • 1911 Preston - Midland 12-10
  • 1912 Preston - Midland 24-21
  • 1913 Collingwood - London 19-9
  • 1914 Berlin - Orillia 5-3
  • 1915 Orillia - Wiarton 6-4
  • 1916 Sarnia - Belleville 19-18
  • 1917 Hamilton - Kitchener 9-6
  • 1918 Collingwood - Oshawa 6-5
  • 1919 Collingwood - Kingston 9-6
  • 1920 Collingwood - Kingston 16-3
Playoffs
Group Play

Early Junior Seasons

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