Hamilton Tigers Hockey Team 1924

Team Roster
L to R - W. Yeales, Percy Thompson (manager), Andrew Ross (owner), Charlie Langlois, Red Green, Eddie Bouchard, Billy Burch, Vernon "Jake" Forbes, Mickey Roach, Ken Randall, Alex McKinnon, Shorty Green, Jesse Spring, Jimmy Gardner (coach), J. Smith (trainer).

The 1924–25 Hamilton Tigers season was the fifth and last season of the Tigers.

Under new Coach Jimmy Gardiner, the Tigers roared off to a 10-4-1 start by the mid-point of the season, and held off a late charge by the Toronto St. Pats to finish first in the NHL with a record of 19-10-1, earning them a birth in the NHL Finals.

While the St. Pats and Canadiens began their semi-final series to determine the Tigers opponent in the NHL Finals, the ten players of the Hamilton Tigers informed Percy Thompson that they would not take place in the NHL Finals unless they would receive an additional $200 each. Under their contracts the Tigers players were to receive the same amount of money no matter how many games they played from December 1, 1924 - March 31, 1925 (even though the season started on November 29, 1924).

NHL President Frank Calder was not amused stating the players would be fined or suspended if they did not play in the final series, but the players stated they would rather retire than to be taken advantage of. The day of the final game of the Semi-Final Shorty Green met with Calder to try and reach an agreement, but to no avail.

The players were all suspended and fined $200 each, therefore eliminating themselves from the playoffs. The NHL awarded its league title to the Montreal Canadiens who had defeated the St. Pats in the semi-final, the Canadiens went on to be defeated by the Victoria Cougars in the 1925 Stanley Cup Final.

The fine Calder imposed on the players was paid after the franchise was sold to New York.

With the NHL expanding to the United States for the first time by placing a team in Boston, "Big Bill" Dwyer, New York's most-celebrated prohibition bootlegger purchased the Tigers from Percy Thompson for $75,000 and swiftly relocated them to New York's newly completed 18,000-seat Madison Square Garden, now known as the Americans, all of the Tigers players received raises, with many players salaries jumping almost 200%.