History Of Ice Hockey in Philadelphia - Part 2

Philadelphia Quakers (1932)

After five years in the NHL, the Pittsburgh Pirates relocated to Philadelphia in 1932 due to financial troubles and their home arena, Duquesne Gardens, being unsuitable for a NHL team. This created Philadelphia's first NHL team, who where renamed the Quakers after the relocation. The team played in the Philadelphia Arena, same Arena the Arrows played in.

Things didn't go much better in Philadelphia as the Quakers set a couple loosing records for the NHL. They had a season’s record of 4-36-4, and their .136% winning percentage was the lowest in the NHL (1931-1932 Standings) . That lasted until the Washington Capitals broke that mark in the 1974/1975 season with a .131% record. The 4 wins tied the 1919/1920 Quebec Bulldogs for the fewest wins in NHL history for teams who played a full season. With 76 goals for, the Quakers had the worst offense, and the worst defense with 184 goals against in the league. The Quakers did have two players who where among league leaders.....in Penalties In Minutes; D'Arcy Coulson third with 103 PIM, and Allan Shields 4th with 98. At the end of the season, the Quakers franchise, along with the Ottawa Senators, announced that they both would suspend operations and would not field a team for the following NHL season. The Quakers ownership tried to secure a better arena in Philadelphia or Pittsburgh, but with the depression, funds never came together; By 1936 the team officially canceled operations. (Click the Jersey Above to view the Quakers stats)

There was a lone bright spot,for this horrid team though. The Quakers had two future Hockey Hall Of Famers, these two where: Syd Howe and coach J. Copper Smeaton.

Smeaton became a legendary NHL referee, and 30 years later was elected into the Hockey Hall Of Fame.

Syd Howe, who was a rookie on the Quakers, was a future Hall Of Famer as well. After the Quakers folded, he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ottawa Senators, and even the St. Louis Eagles. Finally he landed in Detroit before the start of the 1934-1935 season, where Howe (no relation to Gordie Howe) played the rest of his NHL career. Upon his retirement in 1946, the summer before Gordie Howe’s NHL debut, Syd was the all-time leading scorer in the NHL with 237 goals, 291 points in 697 games, winning 3 Stanley Cups. Want to know more about Syd Howe? Click Here ;For Complete Stats Click Here

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***Credits for the information gathered on thus blog goes to hockeydb.com, flyershistory.com and hockeyscoop.net. All information was collected for recreational use only. This is NOT an attempt to claim this information gathered as my own. All information belongs to the respected owners.***

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