Founding The Manitoba Hockey Association was formed on November 11, 1892 to organize ice hockey play in Manitoba.
Manitoba & Northwestern Hockey Association In 1904, it would absorb the
Manitoba & Northwestern Hockey Association league, and include the Rat Portage/Kenora Thistles team from the province of
Ontario.
Kenora, ON was originally named Rat Portage.
Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) In 1905, the league started to have professional players, and renamed itself the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL). This lasted until the end of the 1908–09 season, when several teams folded.
E. A. Gilroy served on the league executive and coached the Portage la Prairie team. Teams in the league also competed for the
Fit-Reform Cup, the Western Canada championship.
Manitoba Hockey League (MHL) In November 1908,
Claude C. Robinson led efforts to establish a senior amateur hockey league in Winnipeg affiliated with the Manitoba Amateur Athletic Association. Robinson coached the Victorias to a Manitoba Hockey League (MHL) championship for the 1908–09 season, and felt that his team could have competed for the newly-established
Allan Cup, although challenges from
senior ice hockey teams were accepted only from Eastern Canada at the time. Taylor then cast a tie-breaking vote to uphold a decision by the previous executive to play all league games at the Auditorium.
The Winnipeg Tribune wrote that the leadership of Taylor and Marples had brought peace and financial stability to the Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League, and both were re-elected for the 1913–14 season. The league chose to play its games at both the Amphitheatre and the Auditorium; and appointed a board of
on-ice officials to avoid in-season arguing over the selection of officials, as suggested by Marples. In January 1914, the league debated whether players from leagues from elsewhere in Manitoba and Northwestern Ontario were eligible to be a reserve player. Debate focused on whether these leagues were an equal level of senior hockey, or a lower level of intermediate hockey. The issue was temporarily resolved by asking permission from the other league for the player to be a reserve in another league. The issue resurfaced again in the national playoffs for the
Allan Cup. Trustees for the cup struggled to determine player eligibility since there was no authoritative national body to classify leagues by the level of play, and determine who was a senior level player compared to an intermediate level player. The Monarchs won the regular season title and were chosen to defend the first challenge for the
1914 Allan Cup on behalf of the league. When Allan Cup trustee
William Northey ruled that
Dick Irvin of the Winnipeg Strathconas was ineligible to compete, the Monarchs refused to defend the Allan Cup. Marples considered the Strathconas to be a reserve team for the Monarchs and that the decision was unfair to his team. After three days of negotiating, the Monarchs agreed to play without Irvin in a one-game Allan Cup challenge versus the
Kenora Thistles, instead of the customary two-game series decided on total goals scored. The Monarchs won versus the Kenora Thistles, then lost the second Allan Cup challenge in a one-game final to the
Regina Victorias. Allan Cup trustee Claude C. Robinson, suggested that a governing body be formed for hockey in Canada, which was echoed by similar calls from
The Winnipeg Tribune and the
Winnipeg Free Press. The league met on June 23, 1914, to form a governing body to oversee hockey in Manitoba. Taylor was appointed chairman and Marples was appointed secretary of a provisional commission which later became the
Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association (MAHA), and sought to merge into a national commission when such a body became established. The
Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) was founded on December 4, 1914, with Taylor elected as its first president, and Robinson elected as its first secretary. For the 1914–15 season, the league adopted all Allan Cup rules and player eligibility. The league also supported formation of the Winnipeg Intermediate Hockey League for the second-tier teams of its clubs, and appointed Robinson chairman of the intermediate league. The Winnipeg Amateur Hockey League included teams composed of military personnel for the 1915–16 season, and raised funds to support soldiers and the war effort. The league was renamed to the Winnipeg Patriotic Hockey League. During
World War I, the league donated a portion of profits towards
patriotic funds to support the war effort. The Monarchs repeated as league champions in the 1914–15 season and defeated the
Melville Millionaires to win the
1915 Allan Cup. Robert McKay succeeded Taylor as league president in 1915, as registration of players decreased due to enlistments during the war. The league renamed itself the Patriotic Hockey League as of the 1915–16 season, which saw the
Winnipeg 61st Battalion win the
1916 Allan Cup. The Winnipeg Patriotic Hockey League became the Winnipeg Military Hockey League during the 1917–18 season, and its teams were temporarily renamed for battles fought during the war. ==Teams==