Effect of World War on Formation of the NHL

[Iain Fyffe]

I am illustrating who was able to generate prose or text worthy of publishing in a major newspaper and that major newspapers did not cater to an elite literate niche but to a wide sector of the population from youngsters to oldsters across Canada with diverse interests including hockey.

But since the comment you were responding to discussed literacy rates, specifically the proportion of people who are literate, this is entirely irrelevant.

This could very easily be solved by simply quoting the literacy rate at that time.

I've had a bit of a look around online, and haven't been able to find anything unfortunately. Lots of information about current rates, but nothing historical that I've been able to find.

 

[Theokritos]

Literacy in Canada 1911-1921

Illiteracy and literacy among the population of Canada, five years and older:

1911: 11.0 % illiterate / 89.0 % literate (of 6.3 Million people)
1921: 10.0 % illiterate / 90.0 % literate (of 7.7 Million people)

Breakdown by nativity:

Canadian-born
1911: 11.2 % illiterate / 88.8 % literate
1921: 11.0 % illiterate / 89.0 % literate

British-born
1911: 4.2 % illiterate / 95.8 % literate
1921: 1.5 % illiterate / 98.5 % literate

Foreign-born
1911: 17.5 % illiterate / 82.5 % literate
1921: 13.9 % illiterate / 86.1 % literate

Source: UNESCO, Progress of Literacy in Various Countries, Paris 1953, p.55 et seqq. See link.

 

[tarheelhockey]

^ thank you

FWIW, Canada's literacy rate today is 99%. So from 1921 we are talking about 10% of the population, almost entirely in the immigrant class.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Definition

^ thank you

FWIW, Canada's literacy rate today is 99%. So from 1921 we are talking about 10% of the population, almost entirely in the immigrant class.

Definitions of literacy have changed from 1911-21 to today.

The 99% claim made today has ot be taken with a grain of salt against a background where claims are made that app 20% of Canada's adult population cannot read adequately.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Definitions of literacy have changed from 1911-21 to today.

Can you demonstrate that?

And if so, can you provide the literacy rate today using the older definition, if it was in fact different?

Edit: The Canadian guideline for the definition of literacy used for the years note above was the ability to write a letter to a friend and to read and understand the response. The 99% figure is from the CIA World Factbook, which provides the definition of being 15 years or older and "able to read and write", nothing more than that. Both definitions are pretty simple, the ability to do basic reading and writing is all that is required, so there seems to be no significant difference in the definitions.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Examining the details contained in the report that Teokritos linked above, a few things stick out:

- In 1921, the overall literacy rate for age 5+ was 90% (as noted above) but the literacy rate for age 10+ was 94.3%. In other words, about half of the illiterate population was aged 5-9 years. IMO the latter is nearly irrelevant to the matter of following professional hockey coverage via newspaper.

- By far and away the highest rates of illiteracy were among Indian (native) populations, at 52.1%. This subgroup accounted for only 1% of the total population but for 7% of the illiterate population. I am not in a position to say whether the literate portion of this subgroup would have followed NHL game coverage, but their lack of representation in the player population suggests to me that they were outside the "world of hockey" at that time.

- Combining the two subgroups above and subtracting them from the Canadian-born population, I'd estimate that Canadian-born literacy was in the range of 95-96% in 1921, as compared to something like 99% today.

- The next highest rate of illiteracy occurred among Asians (26.6%) whom the data suggests were recent immigrants. Setting aside the question of whether immigrants were properly tested for literacy, I don't think it's a controversial statement that, in 1921, Asian immigrants were outside the target market for NHL hockey regardless of their level of literacy.

Which is all to say, I'm not sure the data really shows that the practical change in hockey exposure has changed all that much due to increases in literacy since 1921. The groups which were heavily illiterate at that time appear to have been isolated from hockey coverage regardless of their ability to read -- for example, did Asian immigrant newspapers even cover hockey games? Were copies of the daily paper even available to rural Native populations?

IMO, the key here is not the rate of literacy. As far as the hockey-accessible population is concerned, that may have changed by a handful of percentage points over the past century, at most. Much more significant is the penetration of hockey culture into communities such as Native reservations, urban immigrant enclaves, and so forth.

 

[Theokritos]

The Canadian guideline for the definition of literacy used for the years note above was the ability to write a letter to a friend and to read and understand the response. The 99% figure is from the CIA World Factbook, which provides the definition of being 15 years or older and "able to read and write", nothing more than that. Both definitions are pretty simple, the ability to do basic reading and writing is all that is required, so there seems to be no significant difference in the definitions.

I'd argue that there is a significant difference between "read and understand" & "read and write".

 

[Iain Fyffe]

I'd argue that there is a significant difference between "read and understand" & "read and write".

The former was write and letter and read the response, I think I might have added the understand bit myself. Reading, by itself, implies understanding anyway.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Which is all to say, I'm not sure the data really shows that the practical change in hockey exposure has changed all that much due to increases in literacy since 1921.

I'd say that's a pretty reasonable conclusion based on this data.

 

[Theokritos]

The former was write and letter and read the response, I think I might have added the understand bit myself. Reading, by itself, implies understanding anyway.

Not so sure about that. I can read a text in a language I don't even understand as long as the alphabet is familiar. If you don't know the Greek alphabet you won't able to read the following line:

Ἡ γλῶττα πολλῶν ἐστι αἰτία κακῶν.​

The same line in the alphabet we are familiar with:

He glotta pollon estin aitia kakon.​

Readable, but still not understandable for someone who doesn't know the Greek language.

Regarding today's situation, I don't know about the state of things in Canada, but what I can tell from Europe is that an increasing number of non-illiterate people have trouble to grasp meaning from reading. But I guess we're already off-topic.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

Not so sure about that. I can read a text in a language I don't even understand as long as the alphabet is familiar.

I really don't think that's the definition of "read" that anyone would use if they are collecting information about literacy. Especially because it involves being able to both read and write, explicitly. Do you think it's possible for a person to be able to write a language without being able to read it? Not transcribe, mind you, but write?

 

[Hardyvan123]

I'd argue that there is a significant difference between "read and understand" & "read and write".

not only that but in the report (I treied to copy and quote it but it didn't work) the actual question to paraphrases

"can the person read or write in any language" not just English was the question for 1901 and I believe 1911 as well.

And no I don't think outside of Mallardville (a small french district in Coquitlam near the one time capital of New Westminster) that there were any major french settlements or even newspapers in BC at that time.

Besides with local professional teams the point is rather moot, most hockey fans would follow local teams first and foremost with limited interest or indeed even information form other NHL cities.

 

[Theokritos]

I really don't think that's the definition of "read" that anyone would use if they are collecting information about literacy. Especially because it involves being able to both read and write, explicitly. Do you think it's possible for a person to be able to write a language without being able to read it? Not transcribe, mind you, but write?

I guess your remarks on reading and understanding provoked the academic in me, so I gave an answer more targeting the general statement ("reading, by itself, implies understanding") than the specific situation of literacy surveys. No, I don't think it's possible to be able to write a language without being able to read it.

Still, I think my point stands that being able to read and even write doesn't necessarily imply one & the same thing regarding the ability to grasp the meaning of a text (=something that goes beyond a couple of sentences) and I think that ability is not exactly experiencing an upward trend the last ~20 years, so I can definitely understand where C1958 is coming from with his statement. That said, I also think this is getting off-topic more and more. What we all can probably (hopefully) agree on is what Tarheel said above in post #56: Lack of literacy was not really an issue back when the NHL was formed.

 

[Iain Fyffe]

What we all can probably (hopefully) agree on is what Tarheel said above in post #56: Lack of literacy was not really an issue back when the NHL was formed.

Agreed.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Literacy Data

^ thank you

FWIW, Canada's literacy rate today is 99%. So from 1921 we are talking about 10% of the population, almost entirely in the immigrant class.

The following sheds light on the discussion both from a contemporary perspective - how literacy is viewed and from a historic perspective - compared to literacy requirements app. 100 years ago.

http://www.literacy.ca/literacy/literacy-sub/

Also a local organization:

www.letraindesmots.org

estimates that app 20% of the work force has reading difficulties in their various pamphletes.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Another big pre-wartime name in the NYC league who was omitted above -- Frank Heffernan, a skilled rover/defenseman who starred from 1915-18. He is mentioned in the article below. Two years later, Heffernan would take over as manager and partial owner of the Toronto St. Patricks.

This one is from about a year after conscription began, and a year before the "Hockey Outlook Dismal" article posted on page 2. We can really sense the tone of optimism that existed just before wartime issues caused the collapse of the American hockey establishment.

PLAN BIG HOCKEY LEAGUE

Seven Cities May Have New Teams in Circuit

The National Hockey League, with New York, Pittsburgh and two Boston teams making up the circuit this winter, has met with such success that the International Skating Union is making plans to enlarge the circuit, and next season will see an organization with New York, Boston, Cleveland, Detroit, and possibly Chicago and New Haven in the race. Pittsburgh organized one of the best hockey sevens that has ever played in this country and next season it is expected that the other teams in the league will match the Smoketown stars in playing strength.

This year's race was a runaway affair for the Pittsburghers, while the Wanderers, which looked strong at the beginning of the season, was weakened by the loss of Heffernan, at cover point, just when that aggressive player was showing the great playing ability he displayed when he first appeared here two seasons ago.

The organization may be changed into a professional league, but this is not likely because many of the rinks about the circuit are not large enough to support teams which would carry a high salary list. The league this season was slow in getting under way, because of the lack of players. But players were more numerous than was expected and there were plenty of fast skaters to make up the various teams.

Not only will the National Hockey League branch out next season, but it is also expected that the Amateur Hockey League will resume operations under former conditions. Secretary R.L. Von Bernuth stated yesterday that he believed that there would be five or six teams in the running next season. The New York Athletic Club, after a lapse of several seasons, will have a team, and the re-entrance of the Winged Foot will give the league the added interest that it has lacked during the last few years.

The Amateur League teams in this city lost many of their best players through enlistments and the draft, and when the season started it was impossible to get enough players together to start the league. However, the three teams which have recently organized, the Crescents, the Hockey Club, and the St. Nicholas Skating Club, were able to recruit enough players to end the season with spirited competition.

The Brooklyn Interscholastic Hockey League has developed a surprising number of fast young players, and next year these players will be available for the Amateur League teams. Hockey, like every other sport, has recovered from the first depression of the war, and the officials of the sport realize that there is a general demand for this sort of athletic amusement, so plans for next year's activity among the skaters are already under way.

A few points of interest:

- Even though there was clear difficulty in getting amateur play off the ground due to the conscription of able-bodied young men, there was still this sense of "it's fine, we got it figured out and we'll do better next year". As we know, it didn't turn out that way at all.

- Interesting that the spring of '18 were viewed as a temporary, "first depression of the war" to be dismissed as a speed-bump, rather than as a new standard that would gradually get worse. By 1919, the rink in Detroit had been shuttered and the famous St. Nicholas rink was in its final year. Others were likely shut down as well, given the impending restrictions on public assembly (Spanish flu) and the conservation of fuel for war purposes.

- The idea of a lost professional league ranging from Detroit to Boston is kind of tragic. This was the USA's chance to have an equivalent to an independent, PCHA/WCHL/Big-4 type of presence in the pro hockey world, and it went by the wayside. Instead, these teams became expansion markets for the NHL several years later. It's probable that these cities would have been absorbed by the NHL anyway, but the events of 1918/19 caused that expansion to be much less "organic" and participation-driven than it might have been.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Frank Patrick is quoted in the 1/28/20 edition of the Victoria Colonist, saying that the PCHA sent 15 players to war and that 5 returned with medals. This is the first time I've seen someone put a number on the western league's war losses.

I'm certain of a few:

Art Duncan*
Hec Fowler
Dubbie Kerr
Sibby Nichols*
Eddie Oatman
Jim Riley

Duncan and Nichols are two of the five who came back as war heroes.

Jack Walker didn't fight, but I think he had a military exemption that kept him from playing. Similarly, Gord Roberts was a doctor and I'm pretty sure he had to stay out of hockey in order to work.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bernie Morris ended up in jail for draft-dodging. Though to be fair, he seems to have innocently misunderstood that he was eligible.

Of the above, all were top-quality players at the time. Morris, Walker, Oatman, Duncan and Fowler were among the best in the world at their respective positions.

 

[Sanf]

Mike Mitchell and Fred McCulloch were two of them. Both goalies played only one seson before they enlisted. Both were atleast according to articles that I have seen considered promising pros. McCulloch probably one of those who got medal.

The Winnipeg Tribune 21 March 1917

Fred McCulloch, of Ottawa, who enlisted with a Reglna battalion, and was transferred to an imperial battalion when overseas, has been recommended for the military cross. He is a well-known athlete, and achieved fame as a goalkeeper for Lester Patrick's Victoria team In the Pacific Coast Hockey league last year. He was also goalkeeper of the champion Reglna Allan cup team of 1914. Lieut. McCulloch was recommended for conspicuous gallantry in leading a company against a difficult section of German trenches.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Just adding another war casualty: Alf Morrison of the 1916 Allan Cup winning Selkirk Fishermen, KIA

 

[tarheelhockey]

Another one, though this is a little different than the others:

Roy "Minnie" McGiffin played with the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts for three seasons between 1913 and 1915. He was most notorious for being thrown in jail along with Art Ross for fighting each other, and was nearly banned from the NHA.

Soon after the incident with Ross in 1915, McGiffin retired from hockey and went to California. When the war broke out, he was assigned to instruct pilots in the newly-organized Air Service of the US Army. Only 28 years old, he was training a cadet in making loops at 2,000 feet when his plane crashed and killed both men.