Berlin Dutchmen


The Berlin Dutchmen were an early professional ice hockey team operating out of Berlin, Ontario, from 1907 in the Ontario Professional Hockey League. The Berlin team is notable for challenging for the Stanley Cup in 1910 versus the Montreal Wanderers. The dormant team was revived in 1926 as the Kitchener Dutchmen of the Canadian Professional Hockey League. The dormant name was revived in 1947 as the senior Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, notable for winning Canada a bronze medal at the 1956 Olympics and a silver medal at the 1960 Olympics. The minor junior Kitchener Dutchmen continue the name today.

Etymology

"Dutchman" is a misnomer for a Germanic person, from Deutsch. This is even more so for Waterloo County, Ontario, as many of the earliest settlers were so-called "Pennsylvania Dutch".

History

The Dutchmen were one of the founding teams of the OPHL in 1907. Starting play in January 1908, the club would be a member of the OPHL until 1911. The club would win the OPHL championship once, in 1910, giving the team the chance to challenge for the Stanley Cup, then the Canadian professional championship trophy. Berlin played in Montreal against the Wanderers and were defeated 7–3. The OPHL would only survive for only one more year before folding.

Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen

The name was revived in 1927 as the Kitchener Dutchmen, a professional team in the Canadian Professional Hockey League. In 1929, the franchise was moved to Cleveland, Ohio, becoming the Cleveland Indians and eventually the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League.
The name was revived again in 1947 as the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, a senior amateur ice hockey team which represented Canada at the 1956 and 1960 Winter Olympics. The K-W Dutchmen played in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior Division from 1947 until 1963.
The Senior Division Dutchmen won the Allan Cup in 1955 and 1957, the national senior amateur men's ice hockey championship. These Dutchmen were the last self-contained club to represent Canada in the Olympic hockey tournament—they were also the only club team to represent Canada at two Olympics.

Notable players