The 1918-1919 Stanley Cup final between the Montreal Canadiens and Seattle Metropolitans was played under the shadow of an epidemic. "Spanish" influenza, which targeted young, healthy individuals, was being transmitted around the globe by troops returning home from World War I.
The championship series took place in late March in Seattle and lasted a hard-fought five games, including two that went into overtime. (The March 26 contest went to double overtime before being called a draw and the Canadiens won the March 31 overtime battle to force the deciding game on April 1st.)
The Canadiens, who stayed at a hotel across the border in Victoria B.C., had their lineup ravaged by influenza during the series. On the eve of the final game there were only three players, Pitre, Cleghorn and Vezina, reported as healthy.
April 2, 1919 Winnipeg Free Press
At 2:30 pm on April 1, 1919, tournament organizers had little choice but to announce that the final and deciding game was postponed.
Initially, there were attempts to downplay the illness. An April 3 telegram to Canadian media supposedly sent by by Canadiens' Team Manager George Kennedy said that the team was doing well with a few members "under the weather". (It likely wasn't Kennedy as by that time his wife had been summoned to be by his bedside due to the severity of his illness.)
Things went from bad to worse as members of the Metropolitans also began falling ill
Sports fans were stunned by the announcement on April 5, 1919, that 37-year-old Canadiens defenseman Joe Hall of Brandon, Manitoba had succumbed to influenza.
Any hopes of resuming the final game was put to rest and "Series not completed" was engraved on the Stanley Cup for the 1918 - 1919 season.
A later victim was manager Kennedy who never fully recovered from the effects of influenza and died in 1921 at the age of 39.
More About Brandon's Joe Hall
Hall earned the nickname "Bad Joe Hall" early in his career due to being a tough and sometimes dirty player. He spent a fair bit of time before governing bodies and watching his teams from the stands while under suspension.
One early instance was in a January 1904 game at the Winnipeg Auditorium as a member of the Brandon Rowing Club team. Some in the crowd were taunting him with calls of "butcher" and "lobster" for his dirty play and Hall made "an alleged breach of etiquette towards the audience". That 1904 Brandon team went on to challenge for the Stanley Cup final but lost to the Ottawa Silver Seven.
Hall was offered a pro contract with Portage Lake of the International Hockey League in Houghton, Michigan but turned it down to keep the Brandon lineup intact for another shot at Stanley Cup glory.
January 3, 1906, Winnipeg Tribune
In one of his first games on December 14, 1905, he was ejected for chopping a player with his stick. A couple of games later, against the same team, he went on a verbal tirade using profanities against a referee who then sent him off. When his outburst continued off the ice, the opposing team walked off in protest and forfeited the game. The management of the team said that he would be barred from ever entering their arena again.
Hall was back in Manitoba the following season. (It appears that he was not banned from the IHL, but a restructuring of the Canadian leagues allowed players to be paid to play in Canada rather than have to take up with cross-border teams of the IHL.)
Hall was part of the Brandon lineup that lost in the new Manitoba Hockey League finals to the Kenora Thistles.
Hall's 1911 Bulldogs card (eBay)
After more trouble with league officials, a Winnipeg Tribune sports editorial of December 21, 1907 noted: "Hall’s one drawback as a hockey player is his temper, which, on the ice, he appears to be unable to control. Joe possesses the qualities of a great hockey player and if he could only dampen this feature, his worth would be doubled."Hall's saving grace, aside from the fact that he could be a good hockey player when he put his mind to it, was that he was considered a gentleman off the ice. A good-natured family man who never got in trouble and avoided newspaper interviews.
The president of the Pacific Coast League said that "Off the ice he was one of the jolliest, best-hearted, most popular men who ever played." A Free Press writer agreed, saying that to those who knew him off the ice he was "Good Old Joe Hall".
January 21, 1913, Winnipeg Tribune
Hall was part of the Stanley Cup winning Quebec Bulldogs in 1912 and 1913.
A 1913 wire story said that Hall had a "unique position in the hockey world". His reputation meant that players were either wary of him or underestimated his hockey abilities, which gave him room on the ice to shine. His one drawback was the constant battle to keep himself from responding to the slashes and hits of opponents looking for the old Joe Hall.
In November 1917, the Montreal Canadiens picked Hall up from Quebec and he found himself playing in the starting line at times. In one January 1918 game, the Habs beat Ottawa 5 to 3 and Joe was the game star scoring three goals, including the game winner.
Hall's Canadiens won the 1919 National Hockey Association championship which is what saw the team off to Seattle to play the Pacific Coast League champs for the Stanley Cup.
January 6, 1920, Winnipeg Tribune
Despite playing for teams across the country, Brandon remained home-base for Hall where he resided with wife Mary and their three children. He worked for the railroad on the off-season and invested some of his hockey salary in real estate around Brandon.
When it was clear that Hall might not recover from influenza, Mary was summoned from Brandon to be by Joe's bedside in Washington State. She, along with Hall's mother and sister, left immediately but they did not make it in time. A telegram informed them of his death en route.
Initial plans were to have Hall's body shipped from his place of death, the Columbia Sanatorium in Washington State, via Vancouver to Brandon for burial, but his final resting place ended up being Vancouver.
The hockey community rallied around Joe's family. A trust fund was set up for the widow and children and "Joe Hall Memorial Week" games were played throughout the province to raise funds. There was a game in Montreal as well.
The Winnipeg game featured all-stars from various Winnipeg-based teams playing against all-stars from teams outside of Winnipeg.
In all, Hall's professional career spanned 18 years. He was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.
The 1918-1919 Canadiens' ourhistory.canadiens.com
Joe Hall Hockey Hall of Fame
Hall's Death Reminder of 1919 Flu Canwest Aug 26, 2009
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