1930–31 Philadelphia Quakers season

1930–31 Philadelphia Quakers
Division5th American
1930–31 record4–36–4
Home record3–17–2
Road record1–19–2
Goals for76
Goals against184
Team information
General managerCooper Smeaton
CoachCooper Smeaton
CaptainHib Milks
ArenaPhiladelphia Arena
Average attendance2,500
Team leaders
GoalsHib Milks (18)
AssistsGerry Lowrey (14)
PointsGerry Lowrey (26)
Penalty minutesD'Arcy Coulson (103)
WinsWilf Cude (2)
Joe Miller (2)
Goals against averageJoe Miller (3.43)

The 1930–31 Philadelphia Quakers season was the Quakers' sole season in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team moved from Pittsburgh, where they had played as the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1925.

Offseason

The team relocated to Philadelphia and was in the charge of Benny Leonard, the prizefighter who held the world lightweight title from 1917 to 1925.

On October 18, 1930, 13 players, including player-coach Frank Fredrickson, were transferred to the Quakers from Pittsburgh.[1] But Fredrickson was released two days later and replaced by Cooper Smeaton, who resigned his position as the league's referee-in-chief to become the Quakers head coach.[1][2]

Regular season

The team finished with 12 points for the season, the worst performance in the six-year history of the Pirate/Quaker franchise. The team lost $100,000 on its operations and folded after the season.[3] As a result, Philadelphia was left without an NHL franchise until the Flyers arrived in 1967.

Season standings

American Division
GP W L T GF GA PTS
Boston Bruins 44 28 10 6 143 90 62
Chicago Black Hawks 44 24 17 3 108 78 51
New York Rangers 44 19 16 9 106 87 47
Detroit Falcons 44 16 21 7 102 105 39
Philadelphia Quakers 44 4 36 4 76 184 12

[4]

Note: GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against
Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

Record vs. opponents


Schedule and results

1930–31 regular season[6]
November: 1–5–1, 3 points (home: 1–2–1; road: 0–3–0)
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
1 November 11 New York Rangers 0–3 Miller 5,000 0–1–0 0 Recap
2 November 15 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 0–4 Miller 6,000 0–2–0 0 Recap
3 November 16 @ Detroit Falcons 1–5 Miller 7,500 0–3–0 0 Recap
4 November 18 Ottawa Senators 2–2 OT Miller 2,000 0–3–1 1 Recap
5 November 23 @ New York Rangers 2–5 Miller 9,000 0–4–1 1 Recap
6 November 25 Toronto Maple Leafs 2–1 Miller 3,500 1–4–1 3 Recap
7 November 29 New York Rangers 3–6 Miller 2,500 1–5–1 3 Recap
December: 0–10–0, 0 points (home: 0–5–0; road: 0–5–0)
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
8 December 2 Montreal Canadiens 0–2 Miller 4,000 1–6–1 3 Recap
9 December 4 @ Ottawa Senators 2–5 Miller 4,000 1–7–1 3 Recap
10 December 6 Boston Bruins 3–4 Miller 5,000 1–8–1 3 Recap
11 December 9 New York Americans 1–2 OT Miller 3,000 1–9–1 3 Recap
12 December 13 Detroit Falcons 2–3 Miller 5,000 1–10–1 3 Recap
13 December 16 @ New York Americans 0–3 Miller 5,000 1–11–1 3 Recap
14 December 20 @ Montreal Maroons 1–5 Miller 9,000 1–12–1 3 Recap
15 December 23 Chicago Blackhawks 2–3 Cude 2,000 1–13–1 3 Recap
16 December 25 @ Boston Bruins 0–8 Cude 11,000 1–14–1 3 Recap
17 December 28 @ New York Rangers 2–4 Cude 7,000 1–15–1 3 Recap
January: 1–11–1, 3 points (home: 1–5–0; road: 0–6–1)
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
18 January 1 @ Chicago Black Hawks 3–10 Cude 7,000 1–16–1 3 Recap
19 January 3 Ottawa Senators 4–5 OT Cude 3,500 1–17–1 3 Recap
20 January 4 @ New York Americans 0–5 Cude 7,000 1–18–1 3 Recap
21 January 8 Chicago Black Hawks 0–4 Cude n/a 1–19–1 3 Recap
22 January 10 Montreal Maroons 4–3 OT Miller 3,000 2–19–1 5 Recap
23 January 13 Montreal Canadiens 1–2 Forbes 3,500 2–20–1 5 Recap
24 January 17 Detroit Falcons 2–5 Forbes 2,500 2–21–1 5 Recap
25 January 20 @ Detroit Falcons 2–5 Cude 6,000 2–22–1 5 Recap
26 January 22 @ Chicago Black Hawks 2–5 Cude 6,500 2–23–1 5 Recap
27 January 24 Boston Bruins 2–4 Cude 3,500 2–24–1 5 Recap
28 January 27 @ Boston Bruins 3–3 OT Cude n/a 2–24–2 6 Recap
29 January 29 @ Montreal Canadiens 1–7 Cude 10,000 2–25–2 6 Recap
30 January 31 @ Toronto Maple Leafs 2–3 Cude 7,000 2–26–2 6 Recap
February: 1–5–1, 3 points (home: 0–2–1; road: 1–3–0)
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
31 February 5 @ Chicago Black Hawks 1–6 Cude 8,000 2–27–2 6 Recap
32 February 10 New York Rangers 1–3 Cude n/a 2–28–2 6 Recap
33 February 14 New York Americans 1–1 OT Cude 3,000 2–28–3 7 Recap
34 February 17 @ Detroit Falcons 2–0 Cude 5,000 3–28–3 9 Recap
35 February 22 @ New York Rangers 1–6 Cude 8,000 3–29–3 9 Recap
36 February 24 Boston Bruins 1–5 Cude 2,000 3–30–3 9 Recap
37 February 28 @ Montreal Maroons 1–4 Cude 9,500 3–31–3 9 Recap
March: 1–5–1, 3 points (home: 1–3–0; road: 0–2–1)
Game Date Opponent Score OT Decision Attendance Record Points Recap
38 March 3 Toronto Maple Leafs 1–5 Cude 1,500 3–32–3 9 Recap
39 March 7 @ Boston Bruins 2–7 Cude n/a 3–33–3 9 Recap
40 March 10 @ Ottawa Senators 3–5 OT Cude 2,000 3–34–3 9 Recap
41 March 12 Detroit Falcons 7–5 Cude n/a 4–34–3 11 Recap
42 March 14 Montreal Maroons 2–3 Cude n/a 4–35–3 11 Recap
43 March 17 Chicago Black Hawks 0–4 Cude 2,500 4–36–3 11 Recap
44 March 21 @ Montreal Canadiens 4–4 Cude n/a 4–36–4 12 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Center; D = Defense; F = Forward; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Quakers only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Quakers only.
The 1930–31 Philadelphia Quakers.
No. Player Pos Regular season
GP G A Pts PIM
7 Gerry Lowrey C 43 12 14 26 27
4 Hib Milks C 44 18 6 24 42
15 Syd Howe LW/C 44 9 11 20 22
14 Wally Kilrea C 44 8 11 19 26
10 Cliff Barton RW 43 6 7 13 21
5 James Jarvis LW 44 5 7 12 32
12 Al Shields D 43 7 4 11 102
2 Ron Lyons†‡ LW 22 2 4 6 11
17 Eddie McCalmon RW 16 3 0 3 6
11 Tex White‡ RW 9 3 0 3 2
8 Herb Drury LW 24 0 3 3 10
6 Harold Darragh‡ RW 10 1 1 2 4
9 John McKinnon D 39 1 1 2 46
6 Bill Hutton†‡ RW 21 1 0 1 2
16 D'Arcy Coulson† D 28 0 0 0 103
3 Stan Crossett† D 21 0 0 0 10
18 Wilf Cude† G 29 0 0 0 0
1 Jake Forbes†‡ G 2 0 0 0 0
2 Gord Fraser‡ D 5 0 0 0 29
19[a] Rennison Manners‡ F 4 0 0 0 0
1 Joe Miller‡ G 15 0 0 0 0
3 Rodger Smith‡ D 9 0 0 0 8
16 Aubrey Webster F 1 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

No. Player Regular season
GP W L T SO GA GAA MIN
18 Wilf Cude† 29 2 23 3 1 130 4.38 1779
1 Joe Miller‡ 15 2 11 1 0 47 3.43 821
1 Jake Forbes†‡ 2 0 2 0 0 7 3.50 120

Awards and records

Records

The 1930–31 Quakers are tied with the 1919–20 Quebec Bulldogs for the fewest wins in a season with four, though Quebec played 20 fewer games.[7] The Quakers .136 points percentage on the season held the NHL record low for 44 years until being surpassed by the expansion 1974–75 Washington Capitals’ .131.[8]

Transactions

Syd Howe, seen here in a Quakers uniform during the 1930–31 season, was one of three players acquired on loan from Ottawa a few days prior to the start of the regular season.

The Quakers were involved in the following transactions before, during, and after the 1930–31 season.[9]

Trades

Date Details
November 6, 1930 (1930-11-06) To Philadelphia Quakers
To Ottawa Senators
  • $35,000
November 28, 1930 (1930-11-28) To Philadelphia Quakers
  • cash
 To Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (IHL)
December 8, 1930 (1930-12-08) To Philadelphia Quakers
To Boston Bruins
December 16, 1930 (1930-12-16) To Philadelphia Quakers
  • cash
 To Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (IHL)
January 13, 1931 (1931-01-13) To Philadelphia Quakers
To New Haven Eagles (CAHL)
February 12, 1931 (1931-02-12) To Philadelphia Quakers
  • cash
 To Boston Bruins
February 24, 1931 (1931-02-24) To Philadelphia Quakers
  • cash
 To Detroit Olympics (IHL)
October 19, 1933 (1933-10-19) To Philadelphia Quakers
  • cash
 To Montreal Canadiens

Players acquired

Date Player Former team Via
November 12, 1930 (1930-11-12) Aubrey Shore Kitchener Flying Dutchmen (CPHL) Free agency
December 15, 1930 (1930-12-15) D'Arcy Coulson Chicago Shamrocks (AHA) Free agency
Wilf Cude Melville Millionaires (S-SSHL) Free agency
Eddie McCalmon Toronto Millionaires (IHL) Free agency
January 9, 1931 (1931-01-09) Stan Crossett Port Hope Eagles (OHA-Sr.) Free agency
May 9, 1931 (1931-05-09) Doug Young Cleveland Indians (IHL) Inter-league draft

Players lost

Date Player New team Via
October 20, 1930 (1930-10-20) Frank Fredrickson Detroit Falcons[b] Release
November 12, 1930 (1930-11-12) Tom Cowan Release
November 28, 1930 (1930-11-28)[c] Rennison Manners Niagara Falls Cataracts (OPHL)[d] Release
February 16, 1931 (1931-02-16) Joe Miller Release
September 26, 1931 (1931-09-26) Cliff Barton New York Rangers Dispersal draft
D'Arcy Coulson Montreal Maroons Dispersal draft
James Jarvis New York Rangers Dispersal draft
Gerry Lowrey Chicago Black Hawks Dispersal draft
Hib Milks New York Rangers Dispersal draft
Doug Young New York Americans Dispersal draft
September 27, 1931 (1931-09-27) Wilf Cude National Hockey League Free agency[e]

Signings

Date Player
November 12, 1930 (1930-11-12) Gerry Lowrey

Notes

  1. ^ Manners wore number 16 in his second game.
  2. ^ Fredrickson signed with Detroit on November 23, 1930.[10]
  3. ^ Date approximated
  4. ^ Manners played for Niagara Falls for the rest of the 1930–31 season.
  5. ^ Cude was signed by the league to serve as utility back-up goaltender. His NHL rights were retained by the Quakers franchise.

References

  • "Philadelphia Quakers 1930-31 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  • "1930-31 Philadelphia Quakers Roster and Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  • "Flyers History – Philadelphia Quakers". quakers.flyershistory.net. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  • McFarlane, Brian (1989). One hundred years of hockey. Toronto, Ontario: Deneau Publishers. ISBN 0-88879-216-6.
  1. ^ a b Christman, Paul. "1930-31 Pittsburgh Pirates convert to Quakers". PittsburghHockey.net. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  2. ^ Stubbs, Dave (February 22, 2019). "Quakers made wrong kind of history in Philadelphia decades before Flyers". NHL.com. Retrieved August 29, 2022.
  3. ^ McFarlane, p. 28
  4. ^ Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 146. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  5. ^ "All-Time NHL Results". NHL.com. Retrieved August 25, 2023.
  6. ^ "1930-31 Philadelphia Quakers Schedule and Results". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  7. ^ "Team Records: Fewest Wins, Season". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  8. ^ "Team Records: Lowest Points Percentage, Season". records.nhl.com. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  9. ^ "Hockey Transactions Search Results". Pro Sports Transactions. Retrieved August 25, 2022.
  10. ^ Frank Fredrickson at Hockey-Reference.com, retrieved August 25, 2022