The year no one won the Stanley Cup: Nicely done historical piece on an event that I never knew about. "Long before SARS, professional sports was faced with the challenge of carrying on business during an epidemic. The Spanish influenza pandemic of 1918-19 caused the only instance of a major North American sports championship being cancelled because of illness: the Stanley Cup."
With the sixth game set to be played on April 1, it was obvious the Canadiens wouldn't be able to ice a team. Kennedy offered to bring in players from Victoria, but Seattle declined. The Metropolitans also chose not to claim victory by forfeit. Classy move by the Mets all those years ago. Compelling story of sportsmanship and loss - I especially liked the details about "Bad Hal" working on the railroads during the off season. I wonder how today's players would handle that?
posted by Joey Michaels at 07:39 PM on May 02, 2003