Welcome to the Deep Dive. Today, we're looking
at a year that completely reshaped professional
sport. Oh, yeah. A really wild one. Yeah. If
you want to understand how modern athletics evolved,
you really have to look at the specific 48 game
stretch. We are talking about the 1937 -38. NHL
season. And it is packed with vintage hockey
chaos. Exactly. I mean, our mission today is
to take you through this incredible Wikipedia
article on the season and extract the most surprising
nuggets. Because this one season perfectly encapsulates
the chaotic evolution of modern sports. It really
does. We've got locker room horseplay resulting
in 11 stitches, fans literally physically preventing
referees from counting goals, and a championship
team with the lowest regular season wins. What's
fascinating here is how this season represented
transitional era for hockey. You have a sport
caught right in the middle. On one hand, you
have this lawless frontier, a super physical
contest played by rough and tumble guys. But
on the other hand, you're seeing the beginnings
of the highly structured corporate game we know
today. The executives are trying to invent the
modern rulebook. Exactly. While the players are
still acting like absolute cowboys the second
they step off the ice. Okay, let's unpack this.
Because the rule changes are the perfect place
to start. They fundamentally altered the whole
geometry of the game. They really did. In September
1937, the NHL officially passed the icing rule.
Which, you know, for anyone who knows the sport,
it's hard to even imagine a time before icing
existed. Oh, it would be unwatchable today. Right.
But prior to the season, teams with the lead
could just, they would indiscriminately blast
the puck 200 feet down the ice over and over
again solely to kill the clock. With absolutely
no penalty unless they were already shorthanded.
Yeah, which was just terrible for the fans. It
was an absolute nightmare for the spectator experience.
the league realized they had a massive commercial
viability problem on their hands. Especially
during the Great Depression. Exactly. If fans
are paying good money for a ticket in 1937, they
expect to see an actual hockey game, not a group
of guys exploiting a massive loophole to play
keep away for the entire third period. So by
outlawing icing at even strength, they legislated
entertainment value back into the product. They
forced teams to actively engage. And it's a huge
shift in how the game had to be coached. But
they didn't stop there. No, they completely revamped
the penalty shot that same year. They removed
the static dots on the ice where the shot used
to take place. Right, they used to just shoot
from a dot. Yeah, like a golf swing. Yeah. But
they replaced those dots with two lines painted
30 feet from the goal. So the player taking the
shot had to start from the line closest to his
own net, physically skate with the puck, and
shoot before crossing that 30 -foot penalty line
nearest the opposition's goal. Which completely
changes the psychology of a penalty shot. You
go from a static swing to a dynamic play where
the skater is carrying momentum toward the goaltender.
They also tweet face -offs, right? Yeah, they
did. If a puck was shot out of bounds, the ensuing
face -off was moved to the point where the shot
was actually taken. Rather than the spot where
the puck happened to cross the boards. Exactly.
Again, it was about stopping defensive teams
from excluding the geometry of the rink just
to gain cheap territory. That desire to clean
up the on -ice product definitely mirrored what
the league was trying to do in the boardroom.
Because the business side of the league was just
as ruthless as the checking on the ice. Oh, absolutely.
Just look at Bill Dwyer. Right. The owner of
the New York Americans. He couldn't come up with
the capital required to keep his team afloat.
And... The NHL didn't hesitate for a second.
They stepped in, stripped him of his ownership,
and took full control of the franchise. The finances
of the era are incredibly revealing, like the
Howie Morenz Memorial Game. November 2nd, 1937.
Yeah. It was only the NHL's second All -Star
game ever. They pitted the league's top talent
against a combined roster of Canadians and Maroons
players. But the hockey itself was totally secondary
to the economics of that night. The game generated
over $11 ,000, which was combined with other
contributions to establish a fund of over $20
,000 for the Morenz family. And they even auctioned
off Howie Morenz's uniform right before the puck
dropped. Joseph Katarnich put down the winning
bid of $500 and then immediately handed the uniform
over to Howie Morenz Jr. Which is such a touching
moment. And to put it in perspective, $20 ,000
in 1937 was a small fortune. It shows a profound
sense of fraternity among the players. A real
community. Yes. But at the exact same time, you
have NHL president Frank Calder making administrative
moves that were coldly calculating. In February
of 1938. Right. Calder unilaterally terminated
the Professional Amateur Agreement with the Canadian
Amateur Hockey Association, the CAHA. The history
there is that the agreement had previously limited
how NHL teams could sign junior players. It was
a very messy system. Super messy. A suspended
NHL player might get registered by a CHA team,
creating these weird contractual loopholes. So
Calder meets with CHA Vice President W .G. Hardy,
couldn't get a resolution he liked, and just
goes nuclear. He essentially told all the NHL
owners that the gloves were off. They were now
free to approach any junior player they wanted
with a contract offer. bypassing the amateur
association entirely. It was a massive flex of
executive power. It showed the NHL was no longer
willing to share governance of the sports talent
pipeline. But while Calder is in the boardroom
trying to modernize the business structure, the
actual players are still operating in this wild
circus -like reality. All the locker room stuff
is unbelievable. Which brings us to the regular
season and honestly one of the most absurd anecdotes
you will ever hear in sports history. The penknife
incident. Yes. The New York Rangers lost their
star center, Neal Colville, for a stretch of
games. And he didn't tear an ACL or separate
a shoulder? No, he was sidelined because of a
locker room fad involving formal wear and a blade.
It perfectly captures the juxtaposition of the
era. You have defenseman Joe Cooper, who apparently
decided it was hilarious to walk around the dressing
room with a pocket knife. And just slice off
the bottom of his teammates' neckties. Casually
ruining everyone's suits. So Cooper goes to slice
Colville's tie. Colville naturally throws his
hand up to protect himself, and the blade catches
his hand, resulting in a gash that required 11
stitches to close. Rangers coach Lester Patrick
was absolutely furious. And I want you to imagine
this today. Imagine a modern media trained multimillion
dollar superstar getting sidelined today because
his defensive pairing was playing Zorro in the
locker room. The sports talk radio cycle would
just melt down completely. It would be front
page news for weeks. It's a great reminder that
these weren't corporate entities. They were just
young, reckless guys. blowing off steam in an
era before PR departments existed. But that lack
of modern sports medicine and oversight also
had a very dark side. You look at Charlie Conacher.
The big bomber. The captain of the Toronto Maple
Leafs. His season is a tragedy of cumulative
trauma. In mid -November, Conacher has this explosive
weekend against Chicago. He scores a hat -trick
in a 7 -3 win and then follows it up with two
more goals and a tie. He is playing at the absolute
peak of his abilities. But just days later against
the Canadians, He dislocates his shoulder. And
this wasn't an isolated incident for him. The
medical reports from the time specifically note
that the constant cycle of injuries had a profound
effect on his nervous and physical condition.
His doctor had to step in and forcefully demand
that he retire from hockey. Because his body
was simply failing him. He stepped away for the
rest of that season. He did try to come back
the following year, but his legendary tenure
with the Maple Leafs was permanently over. It
really paints a picture of what these guys sacrificed.
It does. Meanwhile, the New York Americans, the
team the NHL had just seized from Bill Dwyer,
were actually thriving despite the front office
turmoil. They brought in Ching Johnson and Hap
Day to relieve their defensemen. And offensively,
Sweeney Schreiner and Nell Stewart were lighting
the lamp. Stewart even potted his 300th career
NHL goal on St. Patrick's Day against the Rangers.
Plus, Earl Robertson was a brick wall for them.
He led the entire Canadian division in goaltending.
If we connect this to the bigger picture, the
American success highlights the extreme volatility
of the league back then. Oh, absolutely. Without
a modern draft or a salary cap to enforce parity,
teams rose and fell at breakneck speeds. Look
at the Detroit Red Wings. They won the Stanley
Cup in 1937. And by this 1937 -38 season, they
plummeted to dead last in the American division.
A complete free fall from champions to the cellar
in a matter of months. Though, to be fair to
Detroit, they did provide one incredible highlight.
Carl Liskum. Yes, he set a record for the fastest
hat -trick up to that point in league history.
He buried three goals in just 1 minute and 52
seconds against Chicago. That record held until
Bill Mosienko broke it later. But sub two minutes
is still mind -blowing. It really is. But if
you want to study a true masterclass in organizational
collapse, you have to look at the Montreal Maroons.
Oh, the Maroons. They started the year under
the guidance of Coach King Clancy, and they immediately
sank to the bottom of the standings. So team
president and general manager Tommy Gorman decided
he could do a better job. He fired Clancy and
put himself behind the bench. Which went about
as well as you'd expect. Gorman's hubris triggered
a brutal eight -game losing streak. The fan base
turned on them completely. They staged a massive
boycott and the gate receipts just plummeted.
They did have one chaotic night where they beat
their bitter rivals, the Canadians, 11 to 7.
Featuring a hat trick by Baldy Northcott. But
the writing was on the wall. On March 17th, 1938,
the Montreal Maroons played their final game
in franchise history, fittingly against the Canadians.
And then vanish. And that volatility, that constant
shifting of power, sets the stage perfectly for
the postseason. Because while teams like the
Maroons were collapsing, a team that had absolutely
no business competing for a championship was
quietly preparing for the greatest Cinderella
story in North American professional sports.
The Chicago Blackhawks. Here's where it gets
really interesting. The playoff structure back
then was incredibly forgiving, which is the only
reason Chicago was even invited to the dance.
They finished the regular season with an abysmal
record. 14 wins, 25 losses, and 9 ties. That
is a total of just 37 points. They lost almost
twice as many games as they won. In any modern
metric, that is a lottery team. Yet, because
the top three teams in each division qualified,
Chicago scraped into the quarterfinals to face
the Canadians. And right away, Montreal's ToeBlake
lights them up with a hat -trick in Game 1. But
Chicago's goaltender, Mike Korekis, responds
with a 4 -0 shutout in Game 2. Game 3 is where
the magic really starts. Montreal's Georges Mantha
scores what looks like a back -breaking freak
power play goal. But Chicago's Earl Seibert saves
their season. He scores with just over a minute
left in the third period to force overtime. Where
Paul Thompson wins it for the Hawks. And while
Chicago was surviving the quarterfinals, the
New York Americans were busy stunning the Rangers.
Lauren Carr hitting the overtime winner in their
deciding game. Which set up the semifinals. Now
the bracket structure mandated that the two division
winners play a heavyweight best of five. series.
In that matchup, the Toronto Maple Leafs pull
off a massive sweep against the Boston Bruins.
That series heavily featured an incredible duel
between goaltenders Turk Broda and the legendary
Tiny Thompson. But that sweep left Chicago to
face the New York Americans in a best of three
for the other spot in the Stanley Cup finals.
And this series is just insane. The Americans
take game one. Game two turns into this grueling
goaltending battle between Chicago's Caracas
and New York's Robertson. Late in the game, it
looks like New York has finally secured their
first ever trip to the finals when Nell Stewart
buries a shot with just seconds left on the clock.
But referee Clarence Campbell instantly waves
it off. He disallowed the goal. He ruled that
New York's Eddie Wiseman was illegally standing
in the goal crease. You can imagine the absolute
fury from the Americans and their fans. In that
era, having a series -clinching goal wiped off
the board by an official was explosive. Given
a second life, Chicago's Cully Dahlstrom scored
in double over... time to force a game three.
And game three in New York is the crown jewel
of this entire chaotic season. The series is
tied. The winner goes to the Stanley Cup finals.
The tension is incredible. Late in the second
period, Chicago's Alex Levinsky rips a shot that
clearly crosses the line to make it 2 -1 for
the Blackhawks. But the red goal light behind
the net. doesn't turn on. The officials halt
the game. There is total confusion. They launch
an immediate investigation right there on the
ice. You have to understand the architecture
of the arenas back then. The gold judges didn't
sit in secure glassed -in booths high up in the
stands. Right. They were often sitting right
on the edge of the crowd, separated by maybe
a thin wire mesh. Which explains what the officials
found. The investigation revealed that the New
York fans in the first row were physically grabbing
and holding the goal judge's hand so he couldn't
flip the switch to turn on the red light. They
literally wrestled the official to stop him from
signaling the goal. Despite the blatant fan interference,
the referees counted the goal, Chicago won 3
-2, and punched their ticket to the finals. It
is the ultimate manifestation of that frontier
lawlessness we talked about. And it brings us
to the Stanley Cup Finals against the heavily
favored Toronto Maple Leafs. Just when you think
Chicago's run couldn't get any weirder, their
starting goaltender, Mike Karakis, suffers an
injury and can't play the start of the series.
So the Blackhawks are forced into a goalie carousel.
They bring in a guy named Alfie Moore to start
Game 1. Then they pivot to Paul Goodman for Game
2. Before a battered Karakis finally returns
to finish the series. Despite utilizing three
different goal... and dragging a 14 -25 -9 regular
season record behind them, Chicago dismantled
Toronto. Winning the Stanley Cup three games
to one. To this day, the 1938 Chicago Blackhawks
hold the record for the lowest regular season
winning percentage of any champion in North American
major professional sports. Roughly .375. It defies
all logic. But the hockey didn't stop with the
Stanley Cup presentation. Immediately following
the playoffs, the league embarked on a massive
cultural exchange. The Detroit Red Wings and
the Montreal Canadiens boarded ships and crossed
the Atlantic for a nine -game exhibition series
in Europe. They played six games in the United
Kingdom and three in France. It was a monumental
logistical undertaking for 1938, but it was crucial
for spreading the gospel of the sport. They were
the very first NHL teams to ever play a game
outside of North America. With the Canadians
ultimately taking the series with five wins,
three losses, and a tie. Before we wrap up the
timeline, we have to acknowledge the hardware
from that season. Right, the awards. Gordie Drillen
of Toronto led the league with 52 points. That's
26 goals and 26 assists. And he took home the
Lady Bing trophy. Over in Boston, despite getting
swept in the semis, they dominated the individual
awards. Eddie Shore won the Hart Trophy as the
league MVP. And Tiny Thompson captured the Vizina
Trophy with a staggering 1 .80. Goals against
average. And the Calder Trophy for Rookie of
the Year went to Chicago's Cully Dahlstrom. Who
more than earned it with that season -saving
double overtime goal against the Americans. Absolutely.
So what does this all mean? When you zoom out
on the 1937 -38 season, you see a sport. desperately
trying to civilize itself. They are outlawing
icing to improve the spectator experience, restructuring
face -offs, and rallying together to raise $20
,000 for a fallen brother's family. Yet just
beneath that thin veneer of professionalism,
players are slashing each other with pocket knives,
executives are spite -firing coaches to run the
bench themselves, and fans are literally grabbing
the hands of referees to alter the score. It
proves that the polished, highly regulated sports
leagues we enjoy today weren't born overnight.
No, they were forged in a frantic crucible of
trial, error, and sheer unpredictability. is
the ultimate friction between order and chaos.
And as we leave you today, this raises an important
question. What's that? I want you to think back
to that seemingly dry piece of administrative
business we touched on earlier. NHL President
Frank Calder, frustrated by an amateur loophole,
unilaterally terminating the agreement with the
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. When he
told his owners to go out and sign any junior
player they wanted. Exactly. While it might have
read like a minor boardroom dispute in the newspapers
of 1938, imagine the ripple effect. That's a
huge shift. That single aggressive power grab
laid the foundational architecture for the massive
high stakes scouting, drafting and developmental
industrial complex that dictates. every single
major sport today. Wow. Without that one moment
of a league executive deciding he refused to
share power with an amateur board, the entire
trajectory of how a young athlete becomes a professional
might look completely different. A butterfly
effect that changed the business of sports forever.
Thank you for joining us on this deep dive. We
hope you enjoyed exploring the pen knives, the
Cinderella upsets, and the wild history hidden
behind the modern games you love. Keep questioning,
keep exploring, and we'll catch you next time.