The 1907–08 WPHL season was the eighth season of operation for the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) and the first since the league went dormant in 1904. In the intervening three seasons, a team representing Pittsburgh competed in the International Professional Hockey League (IPHL). Four Pittsburgh-area teams made up the revived WPHL, in which all games were played at the Duquesne Garden. Old WPHL teams Pittsburgh Athletic Club and the Pittsburgh Bankers resumed play in the league. Two teams were added to the league, the Pittsburgh Pirates and a team representing the Pittsburgh Lyceum.
Regular season With the Pittsburgh Athletic Club woeful from the outset and the Pirates collapsing after a strong start, the championship race narrowed to a duel between Lyceum and the Bankers. In the last regularly scheduled match of the season, the Bankers, one game behind in the standings, beat the league-leading Lyceum 3–1 to force an extra game to break the tie for first place. The Bankers won the tiebreaker game 4–2 behind three or four goals by center Harry Smith. It was the team's second and last league title.
The season saw some of the first, if not the first, recorded trades involving professional hockey players. The Bankers traded Dutch Koch to Lyceum for Harry Burgoyne in December 1907, then in early January reacquired Koch from Lyceum in exchange for Fred Young. A bigger trade took place on January 27, with the Pittsburgh Pirates sending James MacKay, Edgar Dey and Dunc Taylor to the Bankers in exchange for Joseph Donnelly and Bert Bennett. On January 31 the Pirates also acquired Gordon McGuire from the Bankers through a purchase."Icy Inklings" The Pittsburgh Press. Feb. 1, 1908 (pg. 8). Retrieved 2021-09-15.
Final standings
Note GP = Games Played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, GF = Goals For, GA = Goals Against, PCT = Percentage Team GP W L T GF GA PCTPittsburgh Bankers 19 12 4 3 81 59 .632Pittsburgh Lyceum 17 11 5 1 77 49 .647Pittsburgh Pirates 17 5 10 2 59 70 .294Pittsburgh A.C. 17 3 12 2 41 80 .176 Source: Fitzsimmons, p. 415 Games that resulted in a tie were replayed and are not reflected in total points
Results Month Day Team Score Team Score 1907 December 10 Bankers 2 Pittsburgh AC 0 14 Pirates 2 Lyceum 1 17 Pirates 6 Pittsburgh AC 2 21 Lyceum 2 Bankers 1 24 Pirates 8 Bankers 0 28 Lyceum 6 Pittsburgh AC 1 31 Pirates 4 Lyceum 2 1908 January 7 Bankers 7 Lyceum 5 11 Pirates 6 Pittsburgh AC 1 14 Lyceum 5 Pittsburgh AC 1 18 Bankers 4 Pirates 2 21 Bankers 6 Pittsburgh AC 2 25 Bankers 2 Pittsburgh AC 2 25 Lyceum 3 Pirates 1 28 Pirates 4 Pittsburgh AC 4 February 1 Pittsburgh AC 2 Pirates 1 1 Lyceum 5 Bankers 5 4 Pirates 4 Bankers 4 8 Lyceum 6 Pittsburgh AC 5 8 Bankers 5 Pirates 3 11 Lyceum 5 Pirates 1 11 Bankers 7 Pittsburgh AC 2 15 Bankers 7 Pittsburgh AC 3 18 Lyceum 5 Bankers 3 22 Lyceum 3 Bankers 2 22 Pittsburgh AC 5 Pirates 3 25 Lyceum 5 Pittsburgh AC 4 29 Bankers 5 Pirates 4 March 3 Bankers 7 Pittsburgh AC 0 7 Bankers 7 Pirates 6 7 Lyceum 5 Pittsburgh AC 3 10 Lyceum 16 Pirates 2 14 Pittsburgh AC 4 Pirates 3 14 Bankers 3 Lyceum 1 16 Bankers 4 Lyceum 2
Exhibition The Bankers played a "World's Series" with the Montreal Wanderers. The Wanderers won the series two games to one.
References Citations
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