The History of the Chicago Shamrocks (with video!)

The NHL has taken a lot of flack in recent years for rapid expansion into so-called non-traditional hockey markets. Well no one criticized them back in 1926 when they moved into Chicago. As best as I can tell the only organized hockey in the Windy City prior to the arrival of the Blackhawks was an amateur team by the name of the Shamrocks just two years earlier.

Very little information seems to exist about these original Chicago Shamrocks. But a second team with the same named emerged in a professional league in 1930 with some very interesting consequences.

You see this professional Chicago Shamrocks team was owned by a young and eager James Norris. He would become one of the most powerful men in the history of the National Hockey League, but back in 1930 he was a real pain in their side.

Norris had wanted a NHL team in Chicago even though the Blackhawks already existed. The NHL agreed this would hurt their established franchise and refused Mr. Norris' request for a second team in Chicago.

No matter. Norris simply established the Chicago Shamrocks in the American Hockey Association, forerunner to the American Hockey League, and declared the league to be a major league. Bewildered, Frank Calder, president of the NHL, dismissed the league as an outlaw league.

Norris found quick success. By 1931-32, their second season in the league, the Shamrocks won the league championship. They argued they should be allowed to play for the Stanley Cup and even went so far as to partition the Cup trustees for that opportunity. The NHL had full control of the Stanley Cup by then, however, and refused any such request.

In May 1932, the Detroit Falcons of the NHL declared bankruptcy and the NHL desperately needed someone to take over the team. They found strange bedfellows in Norris, who would take over the team and change their name to the Red Wings. As a condition of the purchase, the NHL forced Norris to disband his Shamrocks franchise in Chicago.

Here is a photo of Clarence "Pudge" McKenzie in his Chicago Shamrocks sweater:

MacKenzie would play both seasons with the Shamrocks and would join the Blackhawks in 1932-33 for his only NHL season.

Other notables to play for the Chicago Shamrocks include Eddie Wiseman, Gord Brydson, Corb Denneny, Don McFayden, Jack Riley, Walter Buswell and goaltender Mike Karakas.

Believe it or not, some video footage of the Shamrocks exists on YouTube:


By the way, there was at least one other professional team competing with the Blackhawks for attention prior to the 1930 Shamrocks.

This Chicago team was known as both the Cardinals and the Americans as they seemed to have changed their name half way through their only AHA season, 1926-27. They were owned and coached by Eddie Livingstone, the same Eddie Livingstone who once owned the National Hockey Association's Toronto Arenas franchise. The NHA actually disbanded in order to get away from Livingstone. The remaining teams started a whole new league - the National Hockey League.

2014 Stadium Series Recap: Pittsburgh vs Chicago

Hockey Went Hollywood Back In 1927

The pretty young lady in this photo is Vera Ellen. This Hollywood star was best known for her dancing work in musical movies, starring opposite of the likes of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire and the Marx Brothers. Modern audiences may only recognize her for her supporting role in the holiday classic White Christmas. While Bing Crosby is smitten with Rosemary Clooney, Danny Kaye tries getting Ms. Ellen, playing the role of Judy, under the mistletoe.

The hockey player in the photo is Bill Barilko. Yes, that Bill Barilko. The same Bill Barilko that famously scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951, only then to disappear in a plane crash weeks later.

Bashin' Bill came out of northern Ontario in 1945 to play for the Leafs minor league team in Hollywood of all places. The Hollywood Wolves, playing out of the Pan Pacific Auditorium in Los Angeles, were a short-lived hockey team in the Pacific Coast Hockey League. They lasted just three seasons, from 1944 through 1947, with Barilko playing most of the final two seasons in LA before being called up to the Leafs. Kevin Shea dedicates a whole chapter on this Hollywood adventure in his biography Barilko: Without A Trace.

The Wolves' California based opponents included the Oakland Oaks, San Diego Skyhawks, Los Angeles Monarchs, Pasadena Panthers and San Francisco Shamrocks. The Vancouver Canucks were also in this league, as well as teams from Seattle, Portland and New Westminster. The PCHL and hockey in California was all introduced by a pair of visionary brothers - Phil and Cliff Henderson.

Other notables to play for the Hollywood Wolves were all veterans near the end of their careers - Ching Johnson, Jack Keating, Eric "Doc" Prentice, Bob Gracie (who also coached) and former Hart Trophy winner Cowboy Tom Anderson. Vera Ellen, by the way, was the team's "mascot."

How the team got the nickname Wolves is a mystery. You'd think the marketing department would have pushed for Dreamers or something.

Professional hockey in "Hollywood" actually dates back to 1927 when a team called the the Millionaires played in the California Hockey League. Over the years teams called the Stars and Bears would also play in various low level leagues.

The California Hockey League iced teams from Los Angeles (Maroons, Richfields, Millionaires and Angels), Oakland (Shieks and Checkers), Richfield (Oilers) and San Francisco (Seals, Blackhawks, Tigers, Rangers). That league would last just 5 years.