Professional Hockey Comes to Buffalo!
The Buffalo Majors play inside Buffalo city limits
Buffalo Amusement Company Mogul Lawrence F. Welch, didn't like the fact that the Buffalo Bisons had exclusive "territorial rights" to professional hockey within a fifty-mile radius of Buffalo and didn't even play in Buffalo! So he formed the Buffalo Majors Hockey Club... a team that would be based within the city limits of Buffalo.
They were part of the American Hockey Association (AHA), which also included teams in Chicago, Kansas City, Minneapolis, Duluth, Tulsa and St. Louis. Viewed as an "outlaw circuit," the AHA was not recognized or even supported by either the National or International Hockey Leagues. The brand of hockey exhibited in the AHA featured exaggerated roughness and an overall aggressive style.
The Majors started their inaugural season December 8, 1930 on the road, versus the Tulsa Oilers. Reg Mills, Clark Heyd, Edmond "Eddie" Bouchard and former Bison, "Speedy" Desy composed Buffalo's offense. Eddie Oatman, Ponzi Contant, Ralph Rennie and Denny Breen manned the rearguard and the goaltender was Joe Starke. Unfortunately, the team didn't have a home just yet and played their games on the road, which didn't give them much time to practice. Their offense wasn't sharp and their defense was tired and slow. The team played poorly through the first two months of the season, finally winning their first game on December 14, 1930.
An agreement was struck with the management at Buffalo's Broadway Auditorium and a sheet of artificial ice was finally spread on the floor for opening day on January 25, 1931. The Majors won their home opener against Duluth, 3-2 in sudden death overtime. Since the start of the season, the Majors had proven themselves a tough team and steadily improved their standing in the league. Under almost every conceivable kind of difficulty; no home, poor player conditioning, injuries, fatigue, and financial strain, the Majors managed to hurtle themselves into playoff contention. However, the straw that broke their backs was when the officials of the Broadway Auditorium dissolved their agreement with the Majors and announced plans to use the building as a full-time bowling center. The Majors had the choice to either play the remainder of their games on the road or forfeit the season.
Fortunately, the cavalry rode in and saved the Majors in the end. The International League Bisons, in a gesture of good sportsmanship, offered the Buffalo Majors the use of thier home; The Peace Bridge Arena, for the remainder of the season. When the announcement was first made that the AHA put a second team in Buffalo, there was a sense that a bitter rivalry would develop between the two hockey teams. On the contrary, the City of Buffalo had proven that there was enough room for two good professional hockey teams. Both teams had strong turnouts at their games. Rumors eventually began to surface of a possible post-season exhibition series between the two Buffalo squads to determine which Buffalo team was superior. Unfortunately, the series never transpired. The Majors finished the season in fourth place and narrowly missed the American League playoffs. Eddie Bouchard was the Majors’ top offensive player. He finished the season with 23 goals and 35 points. Joe Starke, the Majors’ goaltender, played in all 46 games and only allowed 90 goals.
Although nobody knew it, the Buffalo Majors had a future United States Hockey Hall-of-Famer in their midst. Left Winger, Francis “Moose” Goheen only played 2 games with the Buffalo squad and was at the end of a tremendous playing career. He was considered at the time to be the greatest hockey player ever produced by the state of Minnesota and recognized for his accomplishments. He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1952 and became a charter member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973.
The next season fared even worse than anyone had expected for the Majors. With a record of 7-14-3, the league felt that the team had gasped its last breath. The Majors began to attract fewer patrons because most of the fans didn't make the trip up to Fort Erie to see them play. As a result, the Majors were dissolved and the players spread around to other teams. Professional hockey would not return to the City of Buffalo until 1940.