The Goodall Cup is a perpetual trophy that is, currently, annually awarded to the playoff champions of the Australian Ice Hockey League (AIHL). The trophy is named after Australian born player John Edwin Goodall who originally donated the cup.
The Goodall Cup was originally gifted to the Inter-State Series, which was an annual 3 game series held between state teams, representing a selection of the best available players in each state. It was the championship trophy awarded to the first team to win 2 out of the 3 games in the Inter-State Series, that team would remain in possession of the cup until the following tournament.
The first evidence of the Goodall Cup having been presented was on 18 September 1911 by VAIHSA President Philip John Rupert Steele Sr to New South Wales Captain Jim Kendall, after being donated by John Edwin Goodall. The modern day version of the cup is instantly recognisable by the distinct single gold band of plaques around the lower barrel portion of the trophy.
There are currently three known versions of the Goodall Cup: A 'First Cup' which can be seen in a 1913 photograph, the "Original Cup" that now resides in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Canada, and the "Replica Cup" that is currently used for presentations and is presented to the players upon becoming the AIHL finals champions.
History
With the opening of the Sydney Glaciarium, ice hockey matches between Victoria and New South Wales representative teams began almost immediately. As early as 1907, teams from both states met up in the Sydney Glaciarium to play on 5 August 1907 at 10:15 pm. The New South Wales team won the game 3 – 0.
1909–1910: The beginning of the Inter-State Series
31 August 1909 This evening marked the first Inter-State Series for ice hockey in Australia which was held between a state representative team from Victoria and from New South Wales. This tournament was a best-of-3 format and each game consisted of 2 halves with a break in between. There were 6 players that would play the whole duration of the game, which included the goaltender. In the first series Victoria won the series 2 games to 1. New South Wales was represented by a newly formed team in 1909 and travelled to Melbourne on 29 August 1909 which marked the first national interstate competition for senior men's hockey in Australia.
The first game of the 1909 Inter-State Series had a final score of 2–1 with New South Wales defeating Victoria. Friday 3 September 1909 the Victorian team defeated the New South Wales team 1–0, giving Victorian goaltender Charles Watt the first recorded shutout in the history of the Inter-State Series. In the third game of the series both teams had won a game each. Victoria defeated New South Wales 6–1 and became the first team to win the Inter-State Series Test in Australia.
23 July 1910 The first game of the second Inter-State Series saw team Victoria travel up to the Sydney Glaciarium to meet the New South Wales team in front of an enthusiastic crowd. Victoria defeated the New South Wales team by a score of 4–2 with goals being scored by Victorians Andrew Reid (who had 2 goals), Robert Jackson and Dudley Woods. Scoring for New South Wales was done by Jack Pike and Les Turnbull. The second game was dominated by Victoria who overwhelmed New South Wales by a score of 12–0. The third night concluded with the 3rd straight win for Victoria with a convincing 8–0 victory over New South Wales. The goals were scored by Henry "Hal" Newman Reid Jr., who had five goals and his brother Andrew Reid with three goals.
1911: The Donation of the Goodall Cup
13 September 1911 The date of the first of 3 games in the third Inter-State Series which saw New South Wales win the Goodall Cup and the dominant skill of Canadian born Jim Kendall who arrived in Australia 2 years before. Jim Kendall scored all 5 goals in the first game of the season for New South Wales in a 5–3 win over Victoria. The second match was closely fought but the dominance of Jim Kendall again proved to be too much for the Victorians as he scored 6 of the 7 goals for New South Wales, often sweeping from end to end like the puck was attached to his stick by a magnet. Dunbar Poole scored the 7th goal for New South Wales as they clinched the series with a 7–5 win over Victoria. In this game, Jim Kendall suffered an injury as a hockey stick split his shin bone during play, rendering him unable to compete in the final game of the 3 game championship. Dunbar Poole was unable to stay and had also left, leaving the New South Wales team short 2 players. A decision was made to complete the final game of the series with a composite team of Dark Blue and Light Blue teams made up of the Victoria and New South Wales teams and emergency back up players for the Victorian team. The final score was 6–3 in favour of the Dark Blue team. The newly appointed second president of the VAIHSA, Philip John Rupert Steele Sr, presented the Goodall Cup to the injured New South Wales captain Jim Kendall on the evening after the final game of this series.
23 August 1912 From this the first game on this date, New South Wales would win the Goodall Cup at home in the Sydney Glaciarium for the first time by winning all 3 games in the fourth inter-state series.
13 August 1913 From winning this first game and the second game two days later, Victoria won the inter-state series and the Goodall Cup was returned to them in this fifth inter-state series, which would be the last series before the Great War began and the series was suspended. The players would discuss the current progress of the war in the change rooms.
After The Great War
New South Wales and Victoria would not play again until 1921 as World War I forced the closure of the Sydney rink (which reopened in 1920) and the abandonment of the 1914 season. New South Wales won the 1921 series with a far superior line-up which included Canadian Jimmy Kendall, who had previously turned down a cadetship with the Montreal Professional Club. This also marked the same year that the first protective hockey equipment arrived from Canada.
In 1922 the Victorians, captained by John Edwin Goodall, won back the Goodall Cup in what was considered an upset. It was the last time the Victorians won the Cup until 1947, and the last time John Edwin Goodall would be part of a team that won the cup that he had donated in 1909.
The three game series had the following scores:
Game 1: Victoria – 4 New South Wales – 1
Game 1: Victoria – 3 New South Wales – 0
Game 1: Victoria – 0 New South Wales – 0
1923–1931 AIHA In 1923 a national federation formed and was named the Australian Ice Hockey Association (AIHA). John Edwin Goodall became the first elected president and A. De Long became the first elected Secretary/ Treasurer. The Goodall Cup would become the trophy awarded to the inter state championship.
The New South Wales State team would win every Goodall Cup in the 9 years of the national federation being called the Australian Ice Hockey Association (AIHA) from 1923 to 1931.
1932–1937 AIHSSC In the year of 1932 the Australian Ice Hockey Association (AIHA) was renamed the Australian Ice Hockey and Speed Skating Council (AIHSSC) and the Goodall Cup would remain the awarded championship trophy for the national competition. The New South Wales State team would win every cup for the 6 years that the national federation went under this name from 1932 to 1937, by winning all but the series in 1932 that resulted in a tied series.
There were cost concerns surrounding the yearly inter state series and some of the players were unable to travel due to not being able to afford the trip. After the national council held a meeting in August, they were undecided about the future of the inter state series and left the decision to the rink managers in Sydney and Melbourne.
1938 AIHF and joining the IIHF In the year 1938, the Australian Ice Hockey and Speed Skating Council (AIHSSC) was renamed the Australian Ice Hockey Federation (AIHF) and became part of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) on 11 February 1938. The Goodall Cup would continue being the awarded trophy for champions of the national competition that remained between Victoria and New South Wales.
New South Wales would win the Goodall Cup in 1938 and 1939 before the national competition was interrupted in 1940 by the events of World War II.
After World War II In 1946, the national competition recommenced and the series was hosted by Victoria at the St. Moritz Ice Rink located in St. Kilda, Victoria.
A record crowd of 5000 people saw the final game of the series on Wednesday 7 August 1946, which resulted in a tie game and a tied series. This tied series resulted in the New South Wales state team retaining the Goodall Cup for 1946 due to having been the previous champions in 1939 before World War II interrupted the competition.
1st Expansion: Tasmania 1 July 1952 marked the first expansion of the inter-state series with the new inclusion of Tasmania into the competition. The game was played in the Hobart Glaciarium
Glaciarium Closure The Goodall Cup was not contested from 1956 to 1960, where 1956 saw the Sydney Glaciarium close down and in 1957 the Melbourne Glaciarium close down, making it the longest operating rink at 50 years.
Queensland wins its first (and only) Cup In 1977 the Queensland state team won the Goodall Cup, the first time a state team other than Victoria or New South Wales had won the championship. It was also the only time to date (2021) that Queensland has won the championship. The team that year was captained by Thornton McLaren and coached (player-coach) by Russ Trudeau and sparked by a 19-year old kid from Burnaby, British Columbia, named Doug Waymark, who won the John Nicholas Trophy as the most valuable player (MVP) of the tournament. The team was composed of eight Aussies, eight Canucks, and one Swiss.GOODALL CUP CENTENARY SOUVENIR PUBLICATION (1909 - 2009) Scroll to page 22 of 35 pages. Viewed October 15, 2021.
Goodall Cup post-1977 In 1986 the South Australia state team won its first Goodall Cup. It was the only state other than Victoria and New South Wales to win a Goodall Cup since Queensland had won in 1977. Moreover, South Australia won the Goodall Cup again in 1987.
In 1993, the Goodall Cup was not contested due to financial concerns.
In 1998, the Australian Capital Territory won its first Goodall Cup.
2002–2008 AIHL
The AIHL was formed in the year 2000 and consisted of 3 teams: Adelaide Avalanche, Sydney Bears and Canberra Knights.
In 2002, The AIHL expanded from 3 teams to 6 teams with the inclusion of Melbourne Ice, Newcastle North Stars and West Sydney Ice Dogs. The Australian Ice Hockey Federation (AIHF) adopted the official business name Ice Hockey Australia (IHA) and the Goodall Cup was transferred from the IHA interstate championship to the AIHL and became the trophy given to the winners of the finals series for the newly formed AIHL.
The Sydney Bears won the first AIHL Goodall Cup in 2002 in a finals series hosted at the Sydney-based Blacktown Ice Arena where they defeated the Adelaide Avalanche.
Celebrating 100 years
The Goodall Cup was withdrawn from the AIHL in 2009 by the cup's custodians, Ice Hockey Australia (IHA). It was instead awarded to South Australia in a traditional state vs state tournament held in Adelaide, South Australia in October 2009 as a 100-year celebration of the Goodall Cup.
To mark the centenary championship, a single band of gold plaques circles the trophy with each containing the name of each State Team. Those teams that did not participate in the centenary final match have the words "Non-participants" under the state name.