Women’s professional hockey, more than a century of passion

Fans packed into the stands, new idols, unprecedented media attention: no, we’re not talking about the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL). More than a century before its arrival, women’s hockey was causing a stir in Montreal during the First World War.

“The professional hockey league that we see today did not come out of nowhere,” recalls historian and director of the Mercier–Hochelaga-Maisonneuve history workshop, Olivier Dufresne.

“But if we understand this history well, we can understand what is happening in women’s hockey today with more finesse,” he adds.

At the end of the 19th century^e century, women’s sport was not encouraged much. For example, the former president of the International Olympic Committee Pierre de Coubertin opposed the participation of women in the modern Olympic Games in 1896. In the same vein, the Catholic Church opposed it.

“According to the Church, the role of women was not to play or have fun, but rather to have children, to focus on the family,” recalls Olivier Dufresne.

The arrival of the First World War reversed the trend. As in the factories, women replaced the men who had gone to the front. It all began with the Bell Company, which presented a league featuring six teams of telephone operators. They were named after its six telephone exchanges.

At the Mont-Royal Arena, fans showed up in large numbers to watch these games. The newspapers described each game the next day. The league would only last one winter, but would be a resounding success. It would set the stage for professional women’s hockey, which would arrive the following year.

The Ladies of the East

In the Hochelaga district, a skating rink – that’s what skating rinks were called at the time – was inaugurated in 1908: the Jubilee. Owner of the Wanderers men’s professional team, on hold due to the war, Patrick J. Doran tried by all means to make his arena profitable.

The idea of ​​founding a women’s league, which would be nicknamed the Ladies of the East by the media, came to her mind.

The first official match was held on December 13, 1915. The Maisonneuve Stanleys faced the Western, while the Telegraphs faced the North End Stanleys. Other women’s matches had been held in the past, but this one was of particular importance. For the first time in history, the players were paid.

However, it is unknown how much they received for each game. Based on the arena’s capacity and the price of tickets, historian Michel Vigneault deduces that the players could pocket around $1,000 for a 10-game season. Taking inflation into account, this comes to around $20,260 today.

“Knowing that workers at the time were paid $500 per year, that would be a good salary,” estimates the lecturer in the history of physical activity at UQAM.

One thing is certain: the Dames de l’Est drew crowds. The Jubilee had a capacity of 3,200, but since it was made up of benches and not seats, about 5,000 spectators could cram in for each game, explains Michel Vigneault. Spectators paid between 25 and 75 cents to attend the games in 1917.

“People needed entertainment to forget the war,” says Vigneault, “to justify the league’s popularity. It’s a bit like the same phenomenon that happened with Maurice Richard in the 1940s, in the wake of the Second World War.”

When exhibition matches were played against the Cornwall team, the Tramway Company had to mobilise more wagons, such was the enthusiasm of the supporters.

Albertine’s Passion

At the start of the 1916 season, the Eastern Ladies League had four teams. Shortly after, it added a fifth: Hochelaga, composed exclusively of French-speaking players. This new team was a bit unusual, because most of the players on the circuit were English-speaking, middle-class, Protestant women. Women who were more emancipated from the precepts of the Catholic Church.

From the lot emerges a French-speaking star: Agnès Vautier. The hockey player stands out because she comes from a working-class background, but especially because of her prowess on the ice. Led by her, the Western, which wears the same colours as the Wanderers men’s team, wins the championships of 1916, 1917 and 1918.

In the daily newspapers, Vautier is compared to Montreal Canadiens stars like Newsy Lalonde and Didier Pitre. The CH players are among the new fans of women’s hockey, so much so that they travel to the Jubilee to watch a few games.

Vautier was recognized as the best player before she found her right foot. During two matches against the Cornwall team, a new Franco-Ontarian recruit distinguished herself: Albertine Lapensée.

The thought is so dominant that accusations fly. Accusations that are reminiscent of a certain Algerian boxer, the source of much gossip more than a century later…

“Lapensée was so good that there were rumors that she was a boy disguised as a woman,” says Mr. Dufresne. A journalist from Montreal Star will even go to Cornwall to investigate whether it really is a woman.”

Under completely unknown circumstances, Lapensée disappeared in 1917. Her departure coincided with the rise of violence in women’s hockey. Stick throwing, shoving and arguments between players were increasingly frequent. Four players were outright expelled from the circuit because of their violent play.

The increase in violence was accompanied by a reduction in media interest in the Eastern Ladies League. With the return of the men in 1918, the league disappeared altogether.

From Albertine to Sarah

McGill University would remain a breeding ground for female hockey players in the 1920s. But in the 1930s, the program would be abandoned in the wake of the economic crisis.

Women’s hockey would experience a lull until 1980. And even today, women are still fighting to make a living from their sport.

Montreal had Les Canadiennes from 2007 to 2019. La Force from 2022 to 2023. Then its new unnamed team, founded last year.

More than a century will have passed, but women’s sport is based in part on the same marketing strategies. If Albertine Lapensée and Agnès Vautier were drawing crowds at the beginning of the 20th century^e century, it is now the turn of headliners like Marie-Philip Poulin and Sarah Nurse to do so.

“We see it in basketball with Caitlin Clark. She’s the big name that sells. Even those who know nothing about women’s basketball know her. She’s certainly a big factor in success,” concludes Olivier Dufresne.

Whatever the factors behind the LPHF’s success, history has taught us one thing: professional women’s hockey can take off again as quickly as it arrives, hence the importance of taking nothing for granted despite the resounding progress of recent months.