Ottawa Capitals

The Ottawa Capitals were the competing clubs of the Capital Amateur Athletic Association (CAAA) of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The Association competed in ice hockey, lacrosse and other athletics.

Perhaps best known are the early amateur senior men's ice hockey clubs which played from the 1890s until 1920. The club would challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1897, but abandon its challenge after one game, after it lost 15–2. The Capitals would later precipitate the breakup of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC). The nickname 'Capitals' is sometimes applied to the Ottawa Hockey Club (aka HC/Silver Seven/Generals/Senators), however the two teams were not affiliated.

The Capital Lacrosse Club was also successful, and won the first Minto Cup in 1901. The Capitals lacrosse club was one of the first amateur organizations that gave some of its players small amounts of money, causing a scandal that led to several of their athletes, notably Rat Westwick being banned from amateur play against other organizations that frowned on any dilution of the amateur standard.

The Capital Hockey senior club was created in 1896 by the Capital Hockey Association (CHA) hockey portion of the CAAA.

The Capitals formed the Central Canada Hockey Association (CCHA) senior league, with Brockville, Ontario and Cornwall, Ontario, in direct competition with the senior level of the Ottawa City Hockey League (OCHL) which had been organized in 1890 by the Ottawa Hockey Association (owners of the Ottawa Hockey Club). The OCHL also operated a junior and an intermediate league—the CAAA's junior Capitals played in the OCHL, winning the City championship in 1897.

After winning the CCHA championship in 1897, the senior Capitals challenged the Montreal Victorias HC for the Stanley Cup, but abandoned its challenge after only one game of a projected best-of-three, after losing 15-2. The club then joined the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) intermediate division and won the 1898 intermediate championship.

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