The Americans Stay Strong in St. Louis: The History of the St. Louis Americans of the NHL

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Chapter 1: An Unlikely New Start.
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    • TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    "I wasn't planning to upload this till the new year but I after getting it proofed reader by a friend and being able to create the logo and jersey. Well, I might as well try and see what everyone thinks. The story is created due to the "Sports What-if" Thread about the Brooklyn Americans and how they could still be around today. And after a bit of time to let it settle in my head. Here we are. Though a bit of warning, I'm not good at creating art stuff. Warning out of the way, let's get to it!"

    1640826512672.png



    The “Amerks” Stay Strong in St. Louis
    The History of the St. Louis Americans

    Chapter 1: An Unlikely New Start.​

    The New York sports scene can be cruel and a bit unforgiving. From their inception in 1925 to their move to Brooklyn in 1941. The former New York Americans would suffer from poor ownership from the Bill Dwyer era, lack of notable exposure from the fans of Manhattan after Tex Rickard landed the New York Rangers, and the fact they never have as many winning seasons in Madison Square Garden compared to the Rangers.

    To New York City, they were the second banana sports team. After ownership changed from Dwyer to former player/coach Red Dutton, Dutton moved the team to Brooklyn in hopes of finding a new arena for the team. But with looming debt and the fact that by December, the US would be forced into World War II. Seeing no point in continuing the club, Dutton shut down operations till the war was over.

    Surprisingly, the National Hockey League, who already lost a few other teams during the Great Depression, didn’t want to shrink down to just six teams. So in 1942, weeks after the New York/Brooklyn Americans experiment ended with Red Dutton folding the club. Frank Sellick Calder announced that the league purchased the struggling franchise for a potential expansion after the war.

    World War II ended in late 1945 and by the 1947 NHL season, the NHL Presidency changed hands twice from Red Dutton to Clarence Campbell after Calder passed away back in 1943. Campbell took his time to find a new team owner for the Americans franchise. Luckily, the right owner came as Gussie Busch, the owner of Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis was looking to own a franchise. The MLB Cardinals were still out of the question but the NHL wasn’t. After some negotiations about league structure and payment to the league and the Chicago Blackhawks, Campbell agreed and sold the team to Busch. The short-lived six-team league is no more. The “Magnificent Seven” era was born.

    The NHL once had a team in the city, the St. Louis Eagles. The former Eagles were once the proud Ottawa Senators who relocated in the early 1930s due to low attendance and low profit. The team was a flop, not helped that the NHL placed them in the Canadian Division instead of moving them to the Americans for a better travel schedule. Finishing in last place in that one and only season forced the franchise to close. Hockey fans already got their fix with the St. Louis Flyers of the AHL. So when news came that the NHL was coming back to St. Louis, some hostility started to form.

    Gussie Busch, knowing that the St. Louis Flyers were a success in the AHL and removing them would cause backlash from the fans. He then decided to buy the AHL club from their owners with one condition, to keep the Flyers in St. Louis. The Flyers then became the farm team for the Americans. Debuting in the 1948-49 NHL Season. The league held an expansion draft for the new club.

    St. Louis Americans
    First Twelve Players:
    1. Pat Egan: Defense (Former NY American Player)
    2. Jack Gelineau: Goaltender
    3. Fred Shero: Defense
    4. Jim Henry: Goaltender
    5. Paul Gladu: Forward (Given Captain role after Egan declined)
    6. Art Michaluk: Defense
    7. John Mariucci: Defense
    8. Jim McFadden: Forward
    9. Joe Klukay: Forward
    10. Sid Smith: Forward
    11. Emile Bouchard: Defense
    12. Jack Evans: Defense

    1640826571527.png


    The rest of the roster was filled with journeymen players. They decided to use an old design of the NY/Brooklyn Americans jerseys but swap the cities for St. Louis and some minor modifications. Finally, St. Louis selected Bill Thoms as their first head coach. Thoms was formerly part of the OHA Toronto Marlboros. The club’s first game was on the 1948-49 Season Opener against the Montreal Canadiens. While St. Louis Arena was packed, it wasn’t as packed compared to the Flyers. 13,500 compared to the Flyers 14,200 sell-out against the Indianapolis Capitols. Canadiens Maurice Richard would score three unanswered goals-against Jim Henry. Yet the Americans fought back and tie the game three to three by the third period. Despite the rally, Montreal won the game after Billy Reay scored the game-winner. Four to three was the score, but fans weren’t disappointed by the new team.

    1948-49 NHL Regular Season
    Final Standings:
    1. Detroit Red Wings (Regular Season Champions)
    2. Boston Bruins
    3. Toronto Maple Leafs
    4. Montreal Canadiens
    5. New York Rangers
    6. St. Louis Americans
    7. Chicago Blackhawks​

    NHL Playoffs:
    Detroit Red Wings defeated Toronto Maple Leafs (4-2)
    Boston Bruins defeated Montreal Canadiens (4-3)

    NHL Finals:
    Detroit defeated Boston (4-0)

    NHL 1948-49 Stanley Cup Champions:
    Detroit Red Wings​

    Awards:
    Calder Memorial Trophy: Pentti Lund (NY Rangers)
    Hart Trophy: Sid Abel (Detroit)
    Lady Byng Trophy: Paul Gladu (St. Louis)*
    O’Brien Cup: Boston Bruins*
    Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
    Art Ross Trophy: Paul Ronty (Boston)*
    Vezina Trophy: Bill Durnan (Montreal)

    * = Different from OTL

    The season was interesting for the new team. The St. Louis Arena was packed but not as much compared to the Flyers games. Despite failing to qualify for the playoffs, forward Paul Gladu, who the season prior was playing for the St. Louis Flyers, was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy due to his on and off-ice work. Gladu would also become the first captain for the St. Louis Americans.

    Despite the NHL Americans have a rough start despite some bright moments. The AHL Flyers are once again in that league's playoffs. Only failing to reach the second round thanks to the Cleveland Barons who also went on to win the AHL Calder Cup for that season. Fans were split about having two professional hockey teams. Despite this, the “Amerks” survived the first season without any major issues. Which was better than nothing.

    * I changed the thread name from what it was to something easier to copy the link to.*​
     
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    • stratonapba

    I Better Watch this Thread, So I Hope the 1967 NHL Expansion will play out differently when we get there so I wish we want a Team in the San Francisco Bay Area or maybe earlier than that but either way we want a Team in the San Francisco Bay Area!
     
    TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    stratonapba said:
    I Better Watch this Thread, So I Hope the 1967 NHL Expansion will play out differently when we get there so I wish we want a Team in the San Francisco Bay Area or maybe earlier than that but either way we want a Team in the San Francisco Bay Area!
    Click to expand...
    Well since St. Louis won't be part of the 1967 NHL Expansion this TL. I added a new city to its place instead.
     
    Chapter 2: Sophomore Slump and Building Foundation
  • Index
    • TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    Chapter 2: Sophomore Slump and Building Foundation.​

    The Americans decided to try and build during the 1949 offseason. They required Chicago forward Gud Bodnar and defensive Bill Gadsby. They would lose Joe Klukay to Boston in the process. Nothing else was to note. In the fan’s point of view, it was still a 40/60 split if the fans cared about the Americans. The Flyers were still holding strong in the AHL. While that was better than what AB was thinking it was. It was still far from even in their eyes.

    1949-50 NHL Regular Season:
    Final Standings:
    1. Detroit Red Wings (Regular Season Champions)
    2. Montreal Canadiens
    3. New York Rangers
    4. Boston Bruins
    5. Toronto Maple Leafs
    6. Chicago Blackhawks
    7. St. Louis Americans

    During the off-season, the league, with St. Louis' inclusion the year prior, would increase the number of games from 60 to 70 games for each team. This was done to help the league grow for the new decade but it quickly became an issue for the next several seasons due to having an odd number of teams.

    St. Louis would have its first worst season in team existence as they posted a 20-42-8 record for the season. While the AHL Flyers held a 34-28-8 record. Despite this, the fans still came to the St. Louis Arena to watch both teams play. During the season, owner Gussie Busch would sign a deal with the new local radio station KFUO-FM to broadcast both Americans and Flyers games. This would form the foundation of the Gateway Hockey Night broadcasts that would debut in 1958 on KMOX-TV, later known as KPLR-TV. KFUO-FM hockey broadcast would continue every year till 1980 when it would end after KFUO-FM would end their deal with Anheuser-Busch.

    NHL Playoffs:
    Detroit Red Wings defeated New York Rangers (4-1)
    Montreal Canadiens defeated Boston Bruins (4-2)

    NHL Finals:
    Detroit Red Wings defeated Montreal Canadiens (4-3)

    NHL Stanley Cup Champions:
    Detroit Red Wings:

    NHL Awards:
    Calder Memorial Trophy: Jack Gelineau (Boston)
    Hart Trophy: Sid Abel (Detroit)
    Lady Byng Trophy: Paul Ronty (Boston)*
    O’Brien Cup: Montreal Canadiens*
    Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
    Art Ross Trophy: Ted Lindsay (Detroit)*
    Vezina Trophy: Bill Durnan (Montreal)
    * Different from OTL

    The offseason came and Busch was looking to improve the image of the Americans. Wanting to bounce back after a last-place finish, the team needed to sign new players. Luckily they grabbed a goalie named Terry Sawchuk, from the AHL Indianapolis Capitals before Detroit would get a chance. Team staff saw Sawchuck as something special. Sawchuck would sign a seven-year contract with the Americans. While that was happening, defensemen Fred Shero would go to the Flyers for the meantime, singing rookie Danny Lewicki to the Flyers. Both Lewicki and Shero would form a friendship and would make a strong duo for the Flyers that season, which would help the American later on.
    ​
    1950-51 NHL Season:
    Final Standings:
    1. Detroit Red Wings (Regular Season Champions)
    2. Boston Bruins
    3. Toronto Maple Leafs
    4. Montreal Canadiens
    5. St. Louis Americans
    6. Chicago Blackhawks
    7. New York Rangers
    Terry Sawchuk would be a big help for the Americans this season. In his first season, he would have a GAA of 3.06. Which was an improvement over Jim Henery during his first season. Jim McFadden and Paul Gladu playing outstanding hockey. Along with Pat Egan who was competing in his final season. Egan, who was a former NY American player, would be hired by KFUO-FM for their hockey broadcast as a color commentator.

    Despite this, Montreal would sneak past St. Louis by three games to make the playoffs. The last game in the season was between the two teams. A fight would start in the third period after Montreal Elmer Lach would score a goal that Fred Shero didn’t like. Shero, who was called back up a day before the game, wasn’t very happy about it and called out Lach. Both men would fight and a brawl would commence between the two clubs. Lach’s goal would still stand while Shero would be ejected for fighting, later fined $1,000 by the league.

    This would form the Americans/Canadiens rivalry that still continues today.

    NHL Playoffs:
    Toronto Maple Leafs defeated Detroit Red Wings (4-2)
    Boston Bruins defeated Montreal Canadiens (4-1)

    NHL Finals:
    Toronto Maple Leafs defeated Boston Bruins (4-1)

    NHL Awards:
    Prince of Wales Trophy: Detroit Red Wings
    Art Ross Trophy: Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings)
    Calder Memorial Trophy: Terry Sawchuk (St. Louis Americans)*
    Hart Trophy: Milt Schmidt (Boston Bruins)
    Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Red Kelly (Detroit Red Wings)
    Vezina Trophy: Al Rollins (Toronto Maple Leafs)
    * Different from OTL

    Head Coach Bill Thoms would be let go during the offseason due to management not being satisfied with three seasons with under .500 records. In his place is former Blackhawk coach Ebbie Goodfellow. Goodfellow wasn’t very happy with Chicago leadership so Anheuser-Busch gave him a better deal. This would be pivotal for St. Louis Americans and their future season.
     
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    • WB18

    Just caught up with this, seems promising. Any sports timeline is usually pretty good. Wonder what happens to the MLB Cardinals without Busch in charge. Does that mean the St. Louis Browns stay around instead?
     

    Deleted member 147978

    Let's fucking go baby, another NHL/Hockey TL to like and watch with great interest.
     
    TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    Carolus said:
    St. Louis Eagles not St. Louis Hawks.

    en.m.wikipedia.org

    St. Louis Eagles - Wikipedia

    en.m.wikipedia.org en.m.wikipedia.org
    Click to expand...
    I fixed it, I knew it was Eagles but I put Hawks by mistake.

    WB18 said:
    Just caught up with this, seems promising. Any sports timeline is usually pretty good. Wonder what happens to the MLB Cardinals without Busch in charge. Does that mean the St. Louis Browns stay around instead?
    Click to expand...
    The Series won't focus on MLB or any other league till later on. This story is mainly about the StL Americans, Flyers, and the NHL as a whole. But I may do side-chapters like my CFL AU Timeline to cover them in depth.
     
    Chapter 3: First Time for Everything.
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    • TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    Chapter 3: “First Time for Everything.”​

    Ebbie Goodfellow’s hires as head coach for the St. Louis Americans turned out to be a needed change for the team. After three seasons with Bill Thoms at the helm, Goodfellow would be a spark for this four-year-old team. Before the season started, a new league-wide mandated that teams would have a home and away jerseys for viewers at home could identify the two teams more clearly. St. Louis jerseys were then adopted as the home jerseys while they would adopt a new road jersey.

    1951-52 NHL Season:
    Final Standings
    1. Montreal Canadiens (Regular Season Champions)
    2. Detroit Red Wings
    3. Boston Bruins
    4. St. Louis Americans
    5. Toronto Maple Leafs
    6. New York Rangers
    7. Chicago Blackhawks

    With Ebbie Goodfellow as head coach, Terry Shawchuk in net, and Danny Lewicki being called up from the Flyers. The Americans would stun Toronto to make their first playoffs appearance since debuting in the 1948-49 season. Lewicki, who despite being green still, amazed his teammates in his first season in the league. With 20 goals and 26 assists, the young rookie would have won the Calder Trophy for rookie of the year but lost out to Bernie Geoffrion from Boston.

    While in the playoffs, the Americans fought valiantly against an angry Detroit Red Wings team. Detroit just barely lost the regular-season title from Montreal so they wanted to prove they were better than them. This would, however, nearly work perfectly for St. Louis as the team led the series three games to none with the Americans even winning in Detroit Olympia to take the lead. But with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay finally getting their troops together, the Red Wings would end the Americans’ first postseason run with a 4-3 series win.

    NHL Playoffs:
    Montreal Canadiens defeated Boston Bruins (4-1)
    Detroit Red Wings defeated St. Louis Americans (4-2)

    NHL Finals:
    Detroit Red Wings defeated Montreal Canadiens (4-0)

    NHL Finals:
    Detroit Red Wings:

    1951-52 NHL Staley Cup Champions:
    Detroit Red Wings

    NHL Awards:
    Prince of Wales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens*
    Art Ross Trophy: Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings)
    Calder Memorial Trophy: Bernie Geoffrion (Boston Bruins)*
    Hart Trophy: Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings)
    Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Sid Smith (Toronto Maple Leafs)
    Vezina Trophy: Terry Sawchuk (St. Louis Americans)*
    * Different from OTL

    During the offseason, the NHL would face a slight hiccup with the scheduled increase from 60 games to 70 games two seasons prior. The seven-team league couldn’t have all of the teams play each other an even number of times. Due to this, the league would consider a quick expansion from seven teams to eight for the 1953-54 season. So while looking around for potential markets. Al Sutphin, then owner of the AHL Cleveland Barons, applied for the expansion team. The only thing he asked was to keep his AHL players as he wanted his team to be promoted.

    Clarence Campbell ignored the offer, despite the owners saying yes. St. Louis owner Gussie Busch was very verbal about wanting Cleveland to join. Two reasons for this were that this would help balance the schedule and would help the league be more recognized by television networks. (CBS and NBC was considering airing NHL games but only if they expanded to eight teams) The other reason was due to him wanting the Barons to leave the AHL so the St. Louis Flyers could become the top team in said league.

    After some negotiations. President Clarence Campbell, citing the league’s need for more exposure, would accept Al Sutphin’s offer the AHL Barons become the NHL Barons for the 1953-54 season. The NHL’s “Magnificent Seven” era is over as the league welcomes the “Wonderful Eight” era that would last till the 1967-68 Expansion.

    -2777223249607459176.jpg
    NHL Barons logo from 1953-54 to 1973-74

    Other off-season news saw Jim Henry being traded to New York while Gump Worsley was picked up after being scouted from the Saskatoon Quakers of the Western Hockey League. Worsley would become a fan favorite and would elevate the Americans to another playoff run as Sawchuk was out with a season-ending injury. Worsley would stay in St. Louis till 1960-61 season when traded to New York, then traded back two seasons later to St. Louis after fans complained. Worsley would then stay in St. Louis for the remaining part of his career. Either for the Americans or the Flyers.

    1952-53 NHL Season:
    Final Standings
    1. Montreal Canadiens (Regular Season Champions)
    2. Detroit Red Wings
    3. St. Louis Americans
    4. Chicago Blackhawks
    5. Boston Bruins
    6. Toronto Maple Leafs
    7. New York Rangers

    The Americans took on the Montreal Canadiens in the first Semifinals round. Despite Montreal being the Regular Season Champions, the Americans took everything they had. Gump Worsley in the net helped save the team from being eliminated twice. The series then went to seven games only for the Americans to come up short in overtime. Maurice Richard, once again, scored the winner in game seven to move on to the finals. Despite this, the St. Louis fanbase for the Americans was growing. Ebbie Goodfellow was quoted as saying:

    “Each season we learn and adapt for what will happen next. I don’t know how or when. But the Americans will win the cup.”

    NHL Playoffs:
    Montreal Canadiens defeated St. Louis Americans
    Detroit Red Wings defeated Chicago Blackhawks

    NHL Finals:
    Detroit Red Wings defeated Montreal Canadiens

    1952-53 NHL Staley Cup Champions:
    Detroit Red Wings

    NHL Awards:
    Prince of Whales Trophy: Montreal Canadiens*
    Art Ross Trophy: Gordie Howe (Detroit)
    Calder Memorial Trophy: Lorne "Gump" Worsley (St. Louis Americans)*
    Hart Trophy: Gordie Howe (Detroit)
    Lady Byng Memorial Trophy: Red Kelly (Detroit)
    Vezina Trophy: Harry Lumley (Detroit)*
    * Different from OTL

    After the finals, Cleveland was admitted into the league as they would be able to meet the NHL requirements. Also helps that Cleveland mayor Thomas A. Burke would help the Barons renovate the aging Cleveland Arena to meet the NHL standards that would be completed by the late 50s. The league then had a vote if they should bring back the “Two-Division” format for the next season. After some time, the league declined and would stay a one-division league.

    NHL Teams (1953-1967):
    Boston Bruins
    Chicago Blackhawks
    Cleveland Barons
    Detroit Red Wings
    Montreal Canadiens
    New York Rangers
    St. Louis Americans
    Toronto Maple Leafs​
     
  • Index

    • TaintedTamt

    Glad I found this! An interesting concept that is already have reverberations throughout the NHL and it's future.

    The Barons have Light Blue in their logo but what are their colours overall? The Barons from the OTL were red and black in colours and the league so far is very red, blue and white dominated.
     
    TheMatthew25

    TheMatthew25

    TaintedTamt said:
    Glad I found this! An interesting concept that is already have reverberations throughout the NHL and it's future.

    The Barons have Light Blue in their logo but what are their colours overall? The Barons from the OTL were red and black in colours and the league so far is very red, blue and white dominated.
    Click to expand...
    The Red and Black of the OTL NHL Barons are not related to the AHL Barons who ITTL was promoted in the last chapter.

    This TL and OTL AHL Barons were Blue and White. They left when the WHA Cleveland Crusaders were formed and relocated to Jacksonville, Florida. They lasted one season or so before folding. The OTL NHL Barons were formally the Oakland/ California Golden Seals before moving and would later merge with the NHL Minnesota North Stars to help save both clubs and so the NHL avoid losing two NHL teams.

    Also thank you for enjoying the story @TaintedTamt . I have a rough road map of the timeline for this series. But any suggestions and opinions are always welcomed.
     
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