The Kenora Thistles: 1907 Stanley Cup Champs
 
Out of the Mists of the Past The Kenora Thistles: 1907 Stanley Cup Champions

Player Biographies:

  • Tommy Phillips
  • Si Griffis
  • Tom Hooper
  • Billy McGimsie
  • Roxy Beaudro
  • Eddie Giroux
  • Art Ross
  • Joe Hall
  • Alf Smith
  • Harry Westwick
  • Fred Whitcroft

  • Other Notables

    Statistics:

  • League Standings
  • Individual Stats

    Photographs:

  • The Rat Portage Thistles, c. 1897-99
  • The Rat Portage Thistles, 1900-01
  • The Rat Portage Thistles, 1902-03
  • The Rat Portage Thistles, 1903-04
  • The Kenora Thistles, 1904-05
  • The Kenora Thistles, 1905-06
  • The Stanley Cup Champs, 1907
  • The Town of Rat Portage, c.~1885
  • The Town of Rat Portage, c.~1900
  • The Port of Kenora, c.1910

    Essays:

  • Fred "Cyclone" Taylor: Almost A Thistle?
  • Team History

    Main Resource Links:

  • Lake of the Woods Museum
  • Puckerings.com
  • Legends of Hockey
  • Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame
  • Eric Zweig
  • More Resources...

    and of course...

  • Dr. Ron Lappage


  • SIHR hockey book page
    		•  the Thistles c. 1905
    UP ALONG THE COAST     of the Lake Of The Woods in northwestern Ontario lies the port town of Kenora, home of the 1907 Stanley Cup Champion Kenora Thistles.

    The Thistles were very much a product of their times. Before there was a united professional league, amateur senior leagues reigned supreme in both popularity and talent. Any town with a few good skaters could form a squad and try their luck against other nearby towns.

    Kenora (or Rat Portage as it was known until 1905) was one of just many Canadian midwestern boom towns that, after a hardworking summer season, felt the desire for an off-season past-time. That past-time was ice hockey, played on many of the thousands of frozen lakes that speckled the Canadian winter countryside.

    Within a few years, the Thistles had assembled an awesome roster, boasting some of the greatest players of the game. Though their Stanley Cup stewardship was short, only two months, the Kenora Thistles' influence remaines undiminished, indelibly imprinted upon the formative pages of the National Hockey League. To this day their story remains an inextinguishable source of simple, old-time hockey idealism in this modern age of corporate-sponsored marketing, cynicism and greed.

    And now, without any further ado, here are your 1907 Stanley Cup Champions, the Kenora Thistles!!!


    		 1907-2007: Celebrating the 100 year centennial of the Thistles' amazing achievement!

    The city of Kenora held festivities the weekend of January 20, 2007 to pay tribute to the 1907 Stanley cup champion Kenora Thistles. Among the events was a re-enactment of their famed Stanley Cup match vs. the Montreal Wanderers that included NHL greats Dale Hawerchuk, Brian Trottier, Billy Smith, Glenn Anderson, & Bob Bourne.

    Kenora Thistles: Our Hockey Heritage
    A book on the history of the Thistles!!


    Thistles' History:

    ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY years ago, the Lake Of The Woods, separating the newly formed American state of Minnesota and the territory of Canada known as Ontario, was nothing more than a territorial landmark. Several small settlements had been founded along its rocky, twisty shores, yet, other than the lakes' burgeoning fish population, there was nothing there of permanance that could keep a 19th century prospector and settler apt to stay. Gold and silver had been discovered in the far west, as well as vast deposits of iron ore and coal. The Lake of the Woods provided a nice stop-off point for those who sought to make their fortunes through these high risk ventures. Prospectors would stay a few days, rest up, gather supplies at local trading posts, and then move forward into the vast rolling plains of Manitoba and Saskatchewan to engage their destinies.

    One of these small lakeside trading posts was Rat Portage...

    Last update: June 1, 2008
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