The Chicago Blackhawks and the Muldoon Curse

Pete Muldoon, born Colonel Linton Treacy in St. Mary’s, Ontario, in 1887, became the inaugural coach of the Chicago Black Hawks. After playing hockey in his youth, he moved to the West Coast in the early 1900s to pursue a career in boxing, adopting the name Pete Muldoon, which he felt was more fitting for a pugilist.

Despite his boxing endeavors, hockey remained Muldoon's true passion. He began his coaching career at 27 with the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in the 1914-15 season. Two years later, he moved to Seattle to coach the Seattle Metropolitans, also in the PCHA, leading them to the Stanley Cup against the Montreal Canadiens.

Their victory made the Metropolitans the first American team to ever win the Stanley Cup. Muldoon himself holds the distinction of being the youngest coach to guide an American team to a Stanley Cup triumph and the first to bring the coveted trophy south of the Canadian border.

After the Seattle franchise disbanded following the 1924 playoffs, Muldoon returned to Portland. In 1926, most of the Rosebuds' players were acquired by Major Frederick McLaughlin, owner of the newly formed Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League. Muldoon was offered and accepted the coaching position, a role he embraced fully. He held a strong affection for his team and players, and his influence was evident; eight of Chicago's sixteen players that season eventually became coaches themselves, including the highly successful Dick Irvin, who later won Stanley Cups with both the Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens.

However, Muldoon's tenure under McLaughlin proved challenging. The owner frequently interfered with coaching decisions, offering suggestions and even dictating player usage. Frustrated by McLaughlin's meddling, Muldoon informed him he would resign with 14 days left in the season. Despite a moderately successful inaugural year, finishing third in their division, the team missed out on Stanley Cup glory. Muldoon followed through on his promise and departed. Tragically, after returning to Seattle, he died of a heart attack in March 1929 at the age of 41.

Regarding the infamous curse, Muldoon, deeply disillusioned by McLaughlin's constant interference upon leaving the Black Hawks, allegedly warned the owner that he would place an Irish hex on the team. He swore the club would never finish in first place in the NHL standings. Debate persists whether this conversation truly occurred or was an invention by journalist Jim Coleman. Regardless, the direct participants in this exchange are no longer alive to confirm or deny it.

The supposed Muldoon Curse was eventually broken in the 1966-67 season, the final year of the NHL's 'Original Six' era. The Black Hawks, featuring stars like Glen Hall, Pierre Pilote, Stan Mikita, Kenny Wharram, and Bobby Hull, clinched first place, 23 years after McLaughlin's death. However, Chicago ultimately lost in the semifinals to Toronto.