Champions have been crowned in British ice hockey since 1898. Many of the English Club Championships were awarded to the team that had the best results in games versus other squads at the end of the season. Some years a final match was arranged to crown the champion. If no challenger appeared, the winner from the previous season would retain the championship "unchallengd".
Beginning with the first championship in 1898, the club champion was awarded the Admiral Maxse Challenge Cup (also referred to as the Prince's Cup), donated by Princes Ice Hockey Club owner, Admiral Maxse.
In 1903, the English Ice Hockey League - the first organized hockey league in all of Europe - was founded. It was composed of five teams and ran for one season, 1903-04, with the London Canadians winning the sole league title.
After the demise of the English League, champions were once again awarded via the "top club team" method. In 1911, a one-off "British Championship" was contested between Princes Ice Hockey Club and the Oxford Canadians. It was won by Oxford 11-2.
Club championships then continued through 1914, when hockey was put on hiatus due to World War I. After the war, no club champions were crowned again until 1928, when the United Services won the first of their two titles.
In 1930 the British Championship was contested for the first time. The winners of the misnamed "British League" (also referred to as the English League or the Southern League) and the Scottish League played off for the Patton Cup. The championship would not be repeated again until 1960.
The London Lions were club champions in 1931. After that, the winner of the English League came to be regarded as English champion. Scotland also crowned their own champions from their national league.
Champions[]
- 1898: Niagara IHC
- 1899: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1900: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1901: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1902: Cambridge University
- 1903: London Canadians
- 1904: London Canadians
- 1905: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1906: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1907: Oxford Canadians
- 1908: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1909: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1910: Oxford Canadians
- 1911: Oxford Canadians
- 1912: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1913: Oxford Canadians
- 1914: Princes Ice Hockey Club
- 1915-1927: none
- 1928: United Services
- 1929: United Services
- 1930: see British Championship
- 1931: London Lions
Sources[]
- International Ice Hockey Encyclopaedia 1904-2005
- Canada: An Illustrated Weekly Journal for All Interested in the Dominion (article by B.M. Patton)
- Chambers, Michael A. (ed.) (November 2000). Nottingham Panthers Statistical Guidebook 1946–2000. ISBN 0-9539398-0-4.