Ontario Hockey League history

In 1970, the Junior A level was divided into two more levels, Tier I (Major Junior A) and Tier II (Minor Junior A). In 1974, the "Major Junior A" division of the OHA became the Ontario Major Junior Hockey League (OMJHL) and began to operate independently of the OHA. Finally in 1980, the OMJHL became the Ontario Hockey League.

Hockey started as a challenge series in the winter of 1889 when a team from Ottawa challenged teams from Lindsay and Toronto. A year later the Ontario Hockey Association was formed on November 27, 1890 in Toronto at the Queen's Hotel.

The first junior teams started play in 1892, without enforced age limits; the first champions Kingston Limestones over Galt. In 1896, the OHA re-organized into three divisions, senior, intermediate and junior. Junior hockey now became age-limited to players 20 years of age or younger by January 1 of the season being played. Out of its modest beginnings at the turn of the century, junior hockey quickly grew into an organized and entertaining brand of hockey. The end of World War I marked the beginning of the Memorial Cup, the symbol of junior hockey supremacy in Canada. Teams from all across the province participated in provincial playoffs in the hope of winning the George Richardson Memorial Trophy and representing Eastern Canada in the Memorial Cup finals. As each year passed, the number of communities participating in junior hockey grew and the calibre of play increased.

For the 1933–34 season, junior hockey was split into 'A' and 'B' divisions. Two new championship trophies were created at the same time. The 'A' level teams competing for the J. Ross Robertson Cup as OHA champions and the Memorial Cup as national champions. The 'B' level teams competed for the Sutherland Cup, which is still Ontario's Junior B championship trophy.

The 1930s gave birth to noted teams such as the Oshawa Generals, St. Michael's Majors and the Toronto Marlboros. Other notable teams of that era were the Toronto Young Rangers, Toronto Native Sons, and the Stratford Midgets.

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