Herder Memorial Trophy

The Herder Memorial Trophy, or Herder, is the championship trophy awarded annually to the senior ice hockey champions of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The trophy was originally donated in 1935 by the Herder family, owners of The Evening Telegram newspaper, as a memorial to five brothers who played hockey in St. John's. The Herder was first awarded to the Corner Brook team that won the inaugural all-Newfoundland hockey championships on March 22, 1935. The most recent winners of the Herder Memorial Trophy were the Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts on April 14, 2019.[1]

Herder Memorial Trophy
SportIce hockey
Given forSenior hockey champions of Newfoundland and Labrador
History
First award1935 (Corner Brook)
Most recent2019 (Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts)

History

The Herder trophy was the brainchild of Ralph Herder, then president of The Evening Telegram, as a memorial to his five late brothers, Arthur, William, Douglas, Augustus and Hubert, who were all avid hockey players in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. The trophy was donated in 1935 by The Evening Telegram newspaper and was to be awarded to Newfoundland's best ice hockey team. The Evening Telegram was published by a member of the Herder family since the founding of the paper in 1879 up until the retirement of Stephen Herder in 1993. The Telegram has played an integral role in the promotion and sponsorship of the Herder, which continues to this day.

Originally donated by Ralph Herder in memory of five of his late brothers, the trophy now honors the memory of eight members of the Herder family including Ralph's brothers Ralph and James. In 2009, the name of Ralph's son Stephen was added to the trophy. All seven Herder brothers were fine hockey players and often played together, with four of them sometimes playing together on a championship team. James Herder coached the 1935 Guards team that lost the inaugural Herder championship to Corner Brook in March 1935.

The St. John's Guards had earned the right to compete for the inaugural Herder Memorial Trophy in 1935 by first defeating St. Bon's in a 2-game series to become St. John's city champions, and later toppling the Bay Roberts Rovers in a 2-game, total goal series to become the Avalon Peninsula champions. The championship match-up was then set – the Guards of St. John's would play host to the Corner Brook All-Star Team. Fans in St. John's eagerly awaited the arrival of the Corner Brook Royals; tickets to the 2 games were sold out quickly. The Royals edged the Guards 1–0 in Game 1, and were victorious in Game 2 by a 4–2 margin to become the island's top team, and Herder Trophy Champions.

Today, fan interest and competition is as keen as it was in the glory days of senior hockey. The Herder Memorial Trophy will live forever in the minds and hearts of the people of Newfoundland.

The Herder family

The trophy was originally donated by Ralph Herder on behalf of the Herder Family as a memorial to five Herder brothers (Douglas, Arthur, Hubert, Hebert Augustus 'Gus' and William Jr.) who had all been prominent hockey players in St. John's. Later the names of Ralph (d.1955), his brother James (d.1970) and Ralph's son Stephen (d.1993) were added to the trophy.

The Herder is now a memorial to the following Herder family members:

1. Arthur, a lawyer, was a captain in the First World War. In 1917 he was fatally wounded in France and died at age 32.

2. Hubert, a lieutenant when he was killed at Beaumont Hamel July 1, 1916 at the age of 25.

3. William, vice-president of the Evening Telegram when he died in 1934.

4. Douglas, who died from typhoid in 1908.[2]

5. Augustus, vice-president of the Evening Telegram when he died in 1934.

6. Ralph, also a lieutenant, was seriously wounded July 1, 1916. He survived the war. He became publisher on the deaths of his brothers in 1934, and was the driving force behind the creation of the Herder Memorial Trophy in memory of his five brothers who predeceased him. Ralph was the father of Rendell [Rex] and Stephen. He died in 1955 at the age of 61.

7. James was the youngest of the seven brothers. He was vice president and general manager of The Evening Telegram when his brother Ralph died in 1955. Jim, as he was known, took over as publisher and piloted The Evening Telegram Ltd through a period of tremendous growth and prosperity during the late 1950s and through the 1960s. He died in 1970.

8. Stephen succeeded his uncle Jim and was the longtime publisher of The Telegram. An environmentalist long before his time, he was known for saving Rennies River, and a bridge over that river is dedicated to his efforts. Steve was a proud proponent of the Herder memorial Trophy. He and died in 1993, at the age of 65.

The trophy

The Herder Trophy was donated in 1935. Over the years additional tiers were added to the original base, filled with shields bearing the names and years of championship teams.

St. Bon's star Edward "Key" Kennedy (1911–1955) was the model for the hockey player that stands atop the original trophy. It is well known that trophy-donor Ralph Herder took a photo of Kennedy, in playing pose, to New York, where he had a model made and then had the figure cast in silver.[3]

The original trophy was retired. A replica was made and is currently presented to championship teams.

Conditions placed by the trophy donor

The Herder family attached eight conditions to the donation of the Herder Memorial Trophy:[4]

  1. Trophy is to be known as The Herder Memorial Trophy presented by The Evening Telegram in memory of Arthur, Douglas, William, Augustus and Hubert Herder.
  2. Trophy is to be emblematic of the All-Newfoundland Amateur Hockey championship, and must be competed for each year in St. John's.
  3. All matches held for the Trophy to be held under the rules of the body governing hockey in Newfoundland.
  4. The Trophy cannot be won outright but to be competed for each year.
  5. The winner shall hold the Trophy until the start of the hockey season the following year and then it must be returned to the donors.
  6. Arrangements for the playing of the All-Newfoundland championship are to be made by the main body governing hockey, the management of the rink, and the donors.
  7. No names of teams or players winning the trophy to be engraved on the trophy or base.
  8. If an All-Newfoundland championship is impossible in any year, the Trophy shall be held by the team winning the championship of the Avalon Peninsula or other Inter-Sectional championship.

Changes to the original conditions

From 1935 though 1941 the All-Newfoundland finals were played at the former Prince's Rink in St. John's (renamed The Arena in 1937). The Herder championships were cancelled for 1942 and 1943 after the Arena was destroyed by fire on November 28, 1941, and due to depleted rosters of senior hockey teams with men serving overseas during the Second World War. After the Arena burned down in November 1941, St. John's did not have a suitable venue until the opening of Memorial Stadium in December 1954. In 1944, the Herder finals were held outside St. John's for the first time when Bell Island and Corner Brook played the all-Newfoundland final series at the Corner Brook rink. The NAHA was granted permission by Ralph Herder to hold the Herder finals outside the capital city for the first time.

In 1947, the Herder championship was held in Gander. Grand Falls and St. Bon's faced off in the finals at the first Gander Gardens which was located in an old RCAF hangar at the airport. The Gardens had a natural sheet of ice which, at the time, was the largest ice surface on the island. The 1948 the finals were held at the Grand Falls Stadium that opened just two months prior. The state-of-the-art arena had Newfoundland's first 'regulation size' artificial ice surface and, for the next few years, was the only arena on the island with an ice plant.

In recent years, the Herder finals series was held at Mile One Centre (and before it was built, at Memorial Stadium) in St. John's and frequently sold out the 6,000 seat building. Games were also held in the Pepsi Centre in the city of Corner Brook, on the west coast of the island, when teams from that area were playing for the cup.

Since 2013 the Herder finalists have the right to decide the location of their home games.

Series format

Since the original series of eastern champions versus western champions was organized over a short period, the NAHA has dictated a number of series formats that included the winners of divisional, local league or island-wide league playoffs.

On February 25, 2015, Hockey Newfoundland and Labrador approved a request by the Central West Senior Hockey League in which they asked to play for the historic Herder Trophy because it was the only operating Senior A hockey league registered in the province.

Series format history

This is a list of Herder championship series formats since 1935.

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against

Herder Format Teams
1935Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (winner of Avalon championship) vs. Western champions (winner of Corner Brook-Grand Falls intertown series)
1936 to 1939Three-team single-round robin Herder final series, top two teams in a championship gameEastern (City League) champions, Conception Bay League Champion, Western champions
1940Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1941Two-team Herder final, best-of-three seriesEastern (City League champions) vs. Conception Bay champions (Buchans were Western Champion but chose not to enter)
1942Herder championships were cancelled due to the Second World War
1943Herder championships were cancelled due to the Second World War
1944Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1945Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (City League champions) vs. Conception Bay champions (a Western champion did not enter)
1946Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1947Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1948 to 1952Two-team Herder final, two games total goals seriesEastern (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1953 to 1954Two-team Herder final, best-of-three seriesOnly Buchans and Grand Falls entered teams for Herder competition in 1953, 1954 and 1955
1955 to 1956Three-team Herder playoff series, best-of-five final seriesSt. Bon's Bluegolds (City League champions) vs. Buchans in best-of-three semi-final, winner vs. Grand Falls in a best-of-five final series
1957No competition for the HerderNAHA awarded the trophy to the only team entered (Grand Falls)
1958Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesOnly Corner Brook and Grand Falls entered teams for Herder competition in 1958
1959Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesEastern champions (Avalon champions) vs. Western champions
1960 to 1962Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesEast Division champions vs. West Division champions
1963 to 1970Best-of-seven finals seriesOne provincial senior league with a regular season, top four teams in semi-finals, followed by the Herder finals
1971 to 1973Best-of-seven finals seriesOne provincial senior league with a regular season, home-and-home round robin, Herder finals
1974Best-of-seven finals seriesOne provincial senior league with a regular season, top four teams in semi-finals, followed by the Herder finals
1975Best-of-seven finals seriesThree-team provincial senior league with a 16-game regular season, 2nd & 3rd place teams in semi-final, winner played #1 in Herder final
1976Best-of-seven finals seriesFour-team provincial senior league with a 20-game regular season (12 games for St. John's), 3rd & 4th place teams in best-of-five Quarter-final, winner played 2nd place in semi-final, winner played 1st place in Herder final
1977 to 1978Best-of-seven finals seriesEight-team provincial senior league with East and West Divisions, Winner of Eastern playoffs faced winner of Western playoffs in Herder final
1979 to 1989Best-of-seven finals seriesOne provincial senior league with a regular season, top four teams in semi-finals, followed by the Herder finals
1990Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven finals seriesEastern champions (winner of St. John's Capitals vs. Avalon East league all-stars winner played the Central league champions in the semi-final). The winner played a final series vs. the Western Champion (winner of Corner Brook vs. Stephenville)
1991No Herder competition
1992Two-team Herder final, best-of-five seriesAvalon East League champions vs. Central League champions
1993Two-team Herder final (best-of-five series)Eastern champions (winner of Avalon East vs. Conception Bay South Intermediate League Herder semi-final) vs. Central League champions
1994Two-team Herder final (best-of-five series)Eastern champions (winner of Avalon East vs. Avalon West Herder semi-final) vs. Central League champions
1995 to 96Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesAvalon East League champions vs. Avalon West League champions
1997Two-team Herder final, best-of-five seriesEastern champion (winner of Avalon East vs. Avalon West best-of-seven Herder semi-final) vs. Central League champions
1998Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesRound robin semi-final between champions of Avalon East, Avalon West and the Central League. Top two teams got berth to final.
1999Two-team Herder final, best-of-five seriesRound robin semi-final between champions of Avalon East, Avalon West and the Central League. Top two teams got berth to final.
2000 to 2011
2012 to 2014Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesNLSHL championship final
2015Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesCentral West Senior Hockey championship final
2016 to 2017Two-team Herder final, best-of-five seriesCWSHL champions vs. AESHL champions[5]
2018Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesCWSHL champions vs. ECSHL champions [6]
2019Two-team Herder final, best-of-seven seriesNSHL Central Division champions vs. Eastern Division champions [7]
2020No Herder competition

Summary of Herder finals results and locations

Note: TG = Two games total goals series

Year Winning team Series result in games or TG Runner-up Location
1935 Corner Brook 5-2 (TG) St. John's Guards The Prince's Rink (St. John's)
1936 St. Bon's Bluegolds 5-2 (TG) Corner Brook The Prince's Rink (St. John's)
1937 St. Bon's Bluegolds 4-1 (TG) Buchans The Arena (formerly the Prince's Rink, St. John's)
1938 St. Bon's Bluegolds 9-1 (TG) Grand Falls Papertowners The Arena (St. John's)
1939 St. Bon's Bluegolds 2-0 (TG) Bell Island Islanders The Arena (St. John's)
1940St. Bon's Bluegolds17-7 (TG)BuchansThe Arena (St. John's)
1941Bell Island Islanders2-1Royals (St. John's League champions)The Arena (St. John's)
1942Not held due to WWII
1943Not held due to WWII
1944 Bell Island Islanders 16-5[8] (TG) Corner Brook Corner Brook Rink
1945 St. Bon's Bluegolds 13-4 (TG) Bell Island Islanders
1946 St. Bon's Bluegolds 35-3 (TG) Grand Falls All-Stars St. Bon's Forum (St. John's)[9]
1947 St. Bon's Bluegolds 12-8 (TG) Grand Falls All-Stars Gander Gardens (at the airport)
1948 St. Bon's Bluegolds 6-3 (TG) Buchans Grand Falls Stadium
1949 St. Bon's Bluegolds 21-6 (TG) Corner Brook Corner Brook Rink
1950 Buchans Miners 17-5 (TG) St. Bon's Bluegolds Grand Falls Stadium
1951 Buchans Miners 12-6 (TG) St. Bon's Bluegolds Grand Falls Stadium
1952 Buchans Miners 12-3 (TG) St. Bon's Bluegolds Grand Falls Stadium
1953 Grand Falls All-Stars 2-0 Buchans Miners Grand Falls Stadium
1954 Buchans Miners 2-1 Grand Falls All-Stars Grand Falls Stadium
1955 Grand Falls All-Stars 3-1 Buchans Miners Grand Falls Stadium
1956 Grand Falls Andcos 3-0 Buchans Miners Grand Falls Stadium
1957 Grand Falls Andcos n/a (no teams entered 'A' competition) n/a (Grand Falls were declared champions by NAHA)
1958 Grand Falls Andcos 4-1 Corner Brook Royals Grand Falls Stadium & Humber Gardens (Corner Brook)
1959 Grand Falls Andcos 4-1 Conception Bay Cee Bees Harbour Grace Stadium & Grand Falls Stadium
1960 Conception Bay Cee Bees 4-2 Grand Falls Andcos Grand Falls Stadium & Harbour Grace Stadium
1961 Conception Bay Cee Bees 4-0 Gander Flyers Harbour Grace Stadium & Gander Gardens
1962 Corner Brook Royals 4-1 Conception Bay Cee Bees Humber Gardens & Harbour Grace Stadium
1963 Buchans Miners 4-2 Corner Brook Royals Humber Gardens & Buchans Stadium
1964 Corner Brook Royals 4-2 Buchans Miners Humber Gardens & Buchans Stadium
1965 Conception Bay Cee Bees Corner Brook Royals
1966 Corner Brook Royals Conception Bay Cee Bees
1967 Conception Bay Cee Bees Gander Flyers
1968 Corner Brook Royals Buchans Miners
1969 Gander Flyers 4-0 Buchans Miners Gander Gardens & Buchans Stadium
1970 St. John's Capitals 4-3 Gander Flyers Gander Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1971 Grand Falls Cataracts 4-3 St. John's Capitals Grand Falls Stadium & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1972 Grand Falls Cataracts 4-0 St. John's Capitals Grand Falls Stadium & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1973 St. John's Capitals 4-0 Grand Falls Cataracts Grand Falls Stadium & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1974 St. John's Capitals 4-1 Grand Falls Cataracts Grand Falls Stadium & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1975 St. John's Capitals 4-0 Corner Brook Royals Humber Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1976 St. John's Capitals 4-0 Grand Falls Cataracts Grand Falls Stadium & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1977 Corner Brook Royals 4-2 St. John's Blue Caps Humber Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1978 St. John's Blue Caps 4-3 Gander Flyers Gander Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1979 St. John's Mike's Shamrocks 4-3 Gander Flyers Gander Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1980 Gander Flyers 4-1 St. John's Blue Caps Gander Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1981 Grand Falls Cataracts 4-2 Corner Brook Royals Humber Gardens, Corner Brook & Grand Falls Stadium
1982 Grand Falls Cataracts 4-2 Gander Flyers Grand Falls Stadium & Gander Gardens
1983 Stephenville Jets 4-3 Grand Falls Cataracts Stephenville Gardens & Grand Falls Stadium
1984 Stephenville Jets 4-1 Corner Brook Royals Stephenville Gardens & Humber Gardens, Corner Brook
1985 Corner Brook Royals 4-2 Stephenville Jets Stephenville Gardens & Humber Gardens, Corner Brook
1986 Corner Brook Royals 4-2 Stephenville Jets Stephenville Gardens & Humber Gardens, Corner Brook
1987 St. John's Capitals 4-2 Stephenville Jets Stephenville Gardens & Memorial Stadium, St. John's
1988 Corner Brook Royals 4-1 St. John's Capitals Memorial Stadium, St. John's & Humber Gardens, Corner Brook
1989 Port aux Basques Mariners 4-2 St. John's Capitals
1990 St. John's Capitals 4-0 Corner Brook Royals
1991 Herder championship was not played n/a n/a n/a
1992 Badger Bombers 3-1 Flatrock Flyers Badger Stadium
1993 Flatrock Flyers 3-2 Gander Flyers Gander Gardens
1994 La Scie Jets 3-2 Southern Shore Breakers Cape St. John Arena, La Scie & Southern Shore Arena
1995Southern Shore Breakers4-0Flatrock Flyers
1996Southern Shore Breakers4-3Flatrock FlyersSouthern Shore Arena & Fieldian Gardens, St. John's
1997Flatrock Flyers3-0Badger BombersBadger Stadium
1998Flatrock Flyers4-3Southern Shore BreakersSouthern Shore Arena & Fieldian Gardens, St. John's
1999Southern Shore Breakers2-1Badger BombersSouthern Shore Arena
2000Southern Shore Breakers4-0Torbay West Side Charlies
2001Deer Lake Red Wings3-2Flatrock Flyers
2002Corner Brook Royals3-2Flatrock Flyers
2003 Flatrock Flyers 3-0 Corner Brook Royals
2004 Southern Shore Breakers 3-1 Corner Brook Royals
2005 Deer Lake Red Wings 4-3 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars
2006 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars 4-2 Deer Lake Red Wings
2007 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars 4-2 Deer Lake Red Wings
2008 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars 4-2 Deer Lake Red Wings
2009 Clarenville Caribous 4-1 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars Mile One Centre, (St. John's)
2010 Clarenville Caribous 4-1 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars
2011 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts 4-0 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars
2012 Clarenville Caribous 4-1 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts Mile One Centre, (St. John's) & Pepsi Centre (Corner Brook)
2013 Conception Bay North CeeBee Stars 4-0 Clarenville Caribous Clarenville Events Centre & S.W.Moores Memorial Stadium
2014 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts 4-2 Clarenville Caribous Clarenville Events Centre & Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium (Grand Falls-Windsor)
2015 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts 4-0 Corner Brook Royals Corner Brook Civic Centre & Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium (Grand Falls-Windsor)
2016 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts 3-0 St. John's Capitals Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium (Grand Falls-Windsor) & Jack Byrne Memorial Arena (Torbay)
2017 Harbour Grace CeeBee Stars 3-2 Clarenville Caribous Danny Cleary Community Centre (Harbour Grace) & Eastlink Events Centre (Clarenville)
2018 Clarenville Caribous 4-0 St. John's Senior Caps Eastlink Events Centre (Clarenville) & Jack Byrne Memorial Arena (Torbay)
2019 Grand Falls-Windsor Cataracts 4-1 Southern Shore Breakers Jack Byrne Memorial Arena (Torbay) & Joe Byrne Memorial Stadium (Grand Falls-Windsor)

Broadcasting

The first island-wide live broadcast of a Herder championship game was on the VONF radio station on Saturday night March 23, 1935. Jack Tobin provided the play-by-play of the second and final game of the first all-Newfoundland hockey championships between Corner Brook vs. the Guards of St. John's live from the Prince's Rink in St. John's.[10] The final score was 4–2 for Corner Brook.

In 2007 and 2008, Rogers Television broadcast the Herder finals and province-wide using the Newfoundland and Labrador House of Assembly Channel. In 2009, games 3 to 5 of the finals were streamed online at thesportspage.ca.

The 2011–2019 Herder finals games were webcast live, with George Scott providing the play-by-play.

References

  1. https://www.thecentralvoice.ca/sports/hockey/grand-falls-windsor-cataracts-are-2019-herder-champs-301690/
  2. http://hockeynl.ca/players/senior/herder-memorial-trophy/
  3. Appendix p. 1607, Murphy, Dee:Our Sports: The Games and Athletes of Newfoundland and Labrador, James Lane Publishing. 2000
  4. Appendix p.1606 Murphy, Dee:Our Sports: The Games and Athletes of Newfoundland and Labrador, James Lane Publishing. 2000
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-09-28. Retrieved 2015-09-27.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.thetelegram.com/sports/herder-championship-going-back-to-best-of-7-series-179817/
  7. http://www.centralwesthockey.ca/news.php?news_id=6650
  8. The Western Star, March 8, 1946 p.8
  9. Grand Falls Advertiser March 16, 1946 p.1
  10. The Western Star, March 27, 1935

Bibliography

  • Abbott, Bill (2000). Herder Memorial Trophy: A History of Senior Hockey in Newfoundland and Labrador. Breakwater Books.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Elliott, Jerry "Stats" (2010). Newfoundland and Labrador Senior Hockey: A Trip Down Memory Lane. Jerry Elliott.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
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