| Hamilton Fincups | |
|---|---|
 | |
| City | Hamilton, Ontario |
| League | Ontario Major Junior Hockey League |
| Operated | 1974 (1974)–78 |
| Colours | Blue, white and gold |
| Franchise history | |
| 1946–1953 | Windsor Spitfires |
| 1953–1960 | Hamilton Tiger Cubs |
| 1960–1974 | Hamilton Red Wings |
| 1974–1978 | Hamilton/St. Catharines Fincups |
| 1978–1984 | Brantford Alexanders |
| 1984–1988 | Hamilton Steelhawks |
| 1988–1996 | Niagara Falls Thunder |
| 1996–present | Erie Otters |
| Championships | |
| Playoff championships | 1976Memorial Cup Champions |
TheHamilton Fincups were a Canadianjunior ice hockey team in theOntario Major Junior Hockey League for 4 years, from 1974 to 1978. The team played inHamilton, Ontario for three years, and inSt. Catharines, Ontario for one. The Hamilton Fincups played home games at theBarton Street Arena, also known as the Hamilton Forum from 1974–1976. The St. Catharines Fincups played in theGarden City Arena in downtown St. Catharines, Ontario in 1976–1977. After moving back to Hamilton, the Fincups played out of theMountain Arena from 1977–1978.
The Fincups were a short-lived team in theOntario Major Junior Hockey League that was very successful on the ice, but did poorly generating revenue. The club bounced around in three outdated arenas in four years. Unable to turn much of a profit, the Fincups moved out of town, becoming the Brantford Alexanders.
Fincup was a combination of thesurnames of the team's owners, Joe Finochio and the Cupido brothers Ron and Mario.[1] They renamed the oldHamilton Red Wings after the 1974 season; the franchise had history in Steeltown dating back to the early 1950s. The new owners did not have to go far to hire a new coach for the new regime as they hired a very youngBert Templeton as the team's new coach (Bert was coaching the Junior B team in Hamilton owned by Cupido and Finochio) which had just won the Jr B championship (Sutherland cup). Templeton was voted winner of theMatt Leyden Trophy as Coach of the Year in his first season. Templeton was let go partway through the Fincups' fourth season due to conflict with ownership and replaced by Dave Draper.
In the four short seasons that the Fincups played, the team won theMemorial Cup once, and theJ. Ross Robertson Cup once. The Fincups also represented Canada at the World Junior Tournament and came away with a silver medal.
The Fincups won the Emms Division regular season title for two consecutive years in 1975–76 and 1976–77, and theHamilton Spectator Trophy in 1976–77 as the first overall team in the OHA regular season.
The Fincups made the OHA finals all 3 years they played out of Hamilton, and came within one win of making it four consecutive appearances in the championship series in their only year in St. Catharines.[2]
The franchise issued a set of 18 sports cards for the 1974-75 season.[3]
The Hamilton Fincups of 1976 were a small, hard-working and determined team which practiced meticulously and strived to be top in condition. Their hard work won the Emms division regular season in 1976 and eliminated theKitchener Rangers,Toronto Marlboros and theSudbury Wolves to make to the Memorial Cup hosted at theMontreal Forum. Their opponents for the 1976 national title would be the WHL'sNew Westminster Bruins and the QMJHL'sQuebec Remparts.
Hamilton lost the first game of the round-robin to Quebec 4-3, due to the 45 save performance of the Remparts goalie Maurice Barrette. The Bruins would defeat the Remparts the next day 4-2. The third game saw the Fincups score seven power play goals to beat the Bruins 8-4 in a game with many penalties, which concluded the round-robin.
The win and the large goal differential put Hamilton directly into the final game. New Westminster would solidly beat Quebec 10-3 in the semi-final game. The next day in front of 4,350 fans at the Montreal Forum, the Fincups played a tenacious forechecking game and defeated the New Westminster Bruins 5-2 in Memorial Cup Final game. The win brought the Memorial Cup back to the "Steel City" for the first time in 14 years.
The team's move toSt. Catharines, Ontario in 1977 was necessitated by the closure of the oldBarton Street Arena in Hamilton. During the 1976 Memorial Cup run, theHamilton Spectator was filled with speculation about a possible move toBrantford, Ontario, as the old arena in Hamilton was obviously on its last legs. However, the city of Hamilton refused to make a decision about a new arena, and debated whether to build a 5,000-seat building for the Fincups or a 16,000 seat arena in hopes of pursuing aWorld Hockey Association team. In August 1976, the ice-making machinery in the dilapidated, 67-year-old barn broke down and Fincup ownership, who also owned the building, chose to demolish the battered, ancient arena rather than repair it. The team was unable to negotiate a short-term lease to use the only other semi-suitable arena in Hamilton, theMountain Arena, due to opposition from local residents, and so the homeless team was forced to move toSt. Catharines, Ontario, about thirty minutes down theQEW, who had recently witnessed the departure of their own OMJHL team, theBlack Hawks.
Team ownership was able to negotiate a lease for Mountain Arena for the1977-78 OHL season, but at the end of the year the city of Hamilton was still no closer to building a new arena than they had been two years earlier. Moreover, the team was losing money at the tiny, out of the way Mountain Arena. Out of long-term options in Hamilton, the team was moved at the end of that season to Brantford, where they were renamed theBrantford Alexanders.
The heart and soul of the Fincups was their captainDale McCourt. He led the team to the Memorial Cup title in 1976, and the Hamilton Spectator Trophy in 1977. He was voted CHL Player of the year for his efforts. There are 21 Fincups alumni who made the NHL.
| Season | City | Games | Won | Lost | Tied | Points | Pct % | Goals for | Goals against | Standing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974–75 | Hamilton | 70 | 37 | 24 | 9 | 83 | 0.593 | 337 | 271 | 3rd OMJHL |
| 1975–76 | Hamilton | 66 | 43 | 15 | 8 | 94 | 0.712 | 379 | 232 | 1st Emms |
| 1976–77 | St. Catharines | 66 | 50 | 11 | 5 | 105 | 0.795 | 438 | 242 | 1st Emms |
| 1977–78 | Hamilton | 68 | 31 | 23 | 14 | 76 | 0.559 | 273 | 223 | 3rd Emms |