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Boston Arena Christmas Tournament

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The Boston Arena Christmas Tournament was a mid-season college ice hockey tournament with the first iteration played in late December 1953. It was held 17 times over an 18-year span and was discontinued after the 1970 edition.

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37-525: The Boston Arena , which had served as a home for several college ice hockey programs, began hosting a tournament held between Christmas and new year's starting in 1953. Boston University , which then played its home games at the Arena, served as the host for the tournament. After a few years, Northeastern , who also played its home games at the Boston Arena, joined in on the tournament and served as co-host for

74-704: A controlling interest in the Boston Garden. In 1936, the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation bought out the remaining stock owned by the Madison Square Garden Corporation. In April 16, 1953, the Boston Garden-Arena Corporation sold the Boston Arena to Samuel L. Pinsly for $ 240,000. He planned on doubling the size of the building and converting it into a garment manufacturing facility, as the purchase agreement included

111-530: A five-year ban on sports or events at building unless it was acquired by a government entity. Three months later, the building was purchased by the Metropolitan District Commission for $ 280,000, which planned on using it for high school sports and other athletic events. Francis Ouimet was named chairman of the MDC's Boston Arena Authority and Clark Hodder was named manager of the Arena. In 1975,

148-418: A legal battle between the two sides that ended in 1933, when Bruins owner Charles F. Adams agreed to pay the arena $ 54,000. Boston Arena general manager George V. Brown was able to keep the venue running with college hockey and figure skating. The Garden ran their shows at a loss in order to keep events away from the Arena. In 1934, the smaller Boston Arena Corporation, led by Henry G. Lapham , purchased

185-467: A performance by Irving Brokaw . The arena's first ice hockey game was won by the Harvard Freshmen hockey team, who defeated Newton High School , 4–0. The Harvard varsity squad played later that evening, losing to Crescent H. C. , 1–0. The Arena's original ice surface was larger than the current standard at 220-by-90-foot (67 m × 27 m). The first games of professional ice hockey at

222-679: A profession. He was also a well-known artist and a member of The Salons of America, an art society, and the Huguenot Society. In 1910, Brokaw wrote the first of four books, all entitled The Art of Skating , which was referred to as the "figure skater's bible" by Time Magazine . The first book included chapters written by leading skaters of the time, including Georg Sanders of Russia, who wrote about special figures , Phyllis Johnson and James H. Johnson from England, who wrote about pair skating , and Gilbert Fuchs from Germany, who wrote an essay entitled, "Theory of Skating". In 1976, Brokaw

259-556: Is a historic multi-purpose arena in Boston , Massachusetts currently owned by Northeastern University . At over 120 years old, is the world's oldest multi-purpose athletic building still in use, as well as the oldest arena in use for ice hockey . There are current plans to demolish the historic arena and replace it with a new facility. It is the original home of the National Hockey League (NHL) Boston Bruins —the only team of

296-823: Is debut at the Arena when the Boston Whirlwinds of the American Basketball League played their inaugural home game on November 30, 1925. Unable to meet its financial obligations, the team moved its games first to the Mechanics Hall and then to the Mount Benedict Knights of Columbus Hall in Somerville, Massachusetts . The Arena was also home to the American Basketball League's Boston Trojans during their only season. On November 5, 1946,

333-546: The 1908 Summer Olympics in figure skating, where he placed 6th . The 1908 Olympics were the first Games in which figure skating was contested. Brokaw became the first American to compete in skating and, by extension, any Winter Olympic sport at the Olympic Games. He was later elected as an honorary president of the U.S. Figure Skating Association and made large contributions to skating techniques. Brokaw graduated from New York Law School in 1907 but never practiced law as

370-464: The 1928 campaign . The Democratic Party hosted two large rallies at the arena during the 1932 presidential campaign , one headlined by Smith and the other headlined by presidential nominee Franklin D. Roosevelt . Republican nominee Thomas E. Dewey spoke at the arena during his 1948 presidential campaign . Malcolm Nichols held a rally at the arena during his 1937 mayoral campaign . The Bruins played their first-ever NHL regular season game at

407-576: The American Legion 's 1940 national convention. The formal session was held at the Boston Arena and featured speeches from Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation J. Edgar Hoover , Governor Leverett Saltonstall , and Mayor Maurice J. Tobin . In 1946, the arena hosted the national encampment of the Veterans of Foreign Wars . Future U.S. President John F. Kennedy was the general chairman of

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444-455: The Boston & Maine Railroad , announced that the construction of a new sports arena at their North Station facility. The Madison Square Garden Corporation signed a 25-year lease for the arena. The Boston Garden opened in 1928 and replaced the Arena as the city's venue for premier boxing, wrestling, and track events. The Bruins broke their contract the Arena to move to the Garden, which led to

481-474: The Boston Arena , groundbreaking took place on October 11, 1909. The 1896 United States skating champion Herbert S. Evans dug the first portion of earth. The arena was to have a capacity of 5,000 and was to be used for ice skating, curling, horse shows, and a variety of sporting events. The arena had its own power plant, which powered the two 100-ton ice machines and all of the arena's lighting. Charles C. Abbey

518-707: The Nave & McCord Mercantile Company , a chain of wholesale stores in the Midwest. They had three daughters: Irving Brokaw died March 19, 1939, in West Palm Beach, Florida . He is buried at Locust Valley Cemetery in Locust Valley, N.Y. As a figure skater, Brokaw competed in early national championships in the United States that predated the U.S. Figure Skating Championships and won the events in 1906 and 1908. He competed at

555-568: The Arena on Monday, December 1, 1924. with the Bruins' most historic rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens being initiated only one week later. The Bruins left for the Boston Garden in 1928, but returned for one game in 1952 after a wooden awning in North Station collapsed and damaged some pipes in the Garden. The Detroit Red Wings beat the Bruins 4–3 in front of only 4,049 fans. In 1952,

592-616: The Arena served as the first home to the annual Beanpot tournament between Boston's four major college hockey programs. From 1953 to 1970, it hosted the Boston Arena Christmas Tournament . The 1960 NCAA men's ice hockey tournament was held at the Boston Arena. From 1972 to 1974, the venue was home to the New England Whalers of the World Hockey Association . In 1925, professional basketball made

629-633: The Arena took place in March 1911 when a two-game $ 2,500 competition between two NHA teams, the Montreal Wanderers and the Ottawa Senators took place. The Arena was the home ice for a number of amateur and college hockey teams, including the Boston Athletic Association , Boston Arenas , Westminster Hockey Club , Boston College , Boston University , Harvard , and MIT . The Arena

666-425: The Arena will be presented over my dead body". Freed charged with inciting a riot, but the case was dropped due to the death of the chief investigator and difficultly of bringing in witnesses from outside Massachusetts. The Doors were booked to perform two shows at the Boston Arena on April 10, 1970. The second concert did not begin until after midnight and went on for two hours before arena management turned off

703-589: The Boston Celtics played their first ever game in front of 4,329 fans at the Boston Arena. . The team split its home games between the Garden and the Arena until 1955. On May 4, 1958, the Boston Arena hosted a rock 'n' roll concert headlined by Alan Freed and Jerry Lee Lewis . After the show, one man was stabbed and a dozen others were robbed, which led to Mayor John Hynes declaring that he would not authorize anymore licenses for rock concerts and arena manager Paul Brown stating that "the next rock 'n' roll show at

740-681: The Boston Planning & Development Agency, it will result in the loss of the oldest hockey arena in the United States, that was the first home of the Boston Bruins , Boston Celtics , Carolina Hurricanes (then the New England Whalers) and numerous college hockey teams. On October 10, 1910, former president Theodore Roosevelt delivered a speech before a crowd of 8,000 spectators. In it, he endorsed Governor Eben Sumner Draper and U.S. Senator Henry Cabot Lodge for reelection. Draper, who

777-632: The International Style of skating back to the United States. His book, The Art of Skating , was known as the figure skater's bible. He was born in New York City on March 29, 1871, as Isaac Irving Brokaw to Isaac Vail Brokaw and Elvira Tuttle Gould. He was a member of a wealthy New York City family, his father having founded the Brokaw Brothers men's clothing stores. His brothers were lawyer and sportsman George Tuttle Brokaw (whose first wife

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814-402: The MDC offered to sell the Arena to the city of Boston for $ 450,000. The city leased the building from the MDC pending completion of the purchase. The sale never took place and in 1977, the MDC leased the Arena at no cost to Northeastern University. The Arena was purchased by Northeastern University on October 3, 1979. The arena was known as Northeastern Arena until November 14, 1982, when it

851-793: The NHL's Original Six whose original home arena still exists for the sport of ice hockey; the WHA New England Whalers (now the NHL Carolina Hurricanes ); and the NBA's Boston Celtics . Today is used by the Northeastern Huskies men's and women's ice hockey teams, and men's basketball team as well as various high school ice hockey programs in the city of Boston. The venue also hosts Northeastern's graduation ceremonies, its annual Springfest concert, and other events. Originally named

888-505: The convention. Speakers included fleet admiral Chester W. Nimitz , Governor Maurice J. Tobin, and Congressmen Joseph W. Martin Jr. and John W. McCormack . Paul Bowser , Price and Dellamano Promotions, and Tony Santos promoted wrestling cards at the arena. Boxing was once a mainstay at the arena and hosted bouts with Jack Sharkey and Marvelous Marvin Hagler . In 1993, the arena hosted

925-412: The fifth version had all participants playing three games while the following year each team played two games with a tie-breaker being held between the two top teams on the final day. After 1960, the tournament settled down and became a more common 4-team tournament. After one year with a single-elimination format, it converted into a round-robin series and remained that way for several years. The tournament

962-650: The following day) on WBCN . The arena has hosted receptions for Jess Willard (1915), Clarence Ransom Edwards (1918), Harry Boland (1921), Charles Lindbergh (1927), the crew of the Bremen (1928), and Amelia Earhart (1928). For many years, the arena hosted Boston University's graduation ceremonies. Commencement speakers included Hamilton Holt , Harry Emerson Fosdick , Garfield Bromley Oxnam , Basil Joseph Mathews , Karl Taylor Compton , Roscoe Pound , George F. Zook , John Erskine , Alessandro Ghigi , Alf Landon , and Paul V. McNutt . Boston hosted

999-655: The funeral service for Boston Celtic captain and Northeastern alum Reggie Lewis . Irving Brokaw Isaac Irving Brokaw (March 29, 1871 – March 18, 1939) was an American figure skater , artist, lawyer, and financier. He represented the United States at the 1908 Summer Olympics in the figure skating competition , becoming the first American to compete in a sport included in the Winter Olympic program. After he won an international prize in Switzerland , he brought

1036-478: The historic Matthews Arena. This came as concerns surrounding the structural integrity of Matthews Arena increased: scaffolding was erected to support the east end of the arena in 2024, part of the student section as well as the Varsity Club (home to the arena's only licensed bar) were closed, and the foundation, built on reclaimed land once part of a wharf, was found to be sinking. If the plans are approved by

1073-468: The power. Lead singer Jim Morrison , who appeared to be intoxicated during the entire latter show, wanted to continue and smashed a microphone stand into the floor before being escorted off the stage. The shows were released as a live album, Live in Boston , in 2007. Phish 's New Year's Eve concert on December 31, 1992 was the band's highest attended concert to date and was broadcast live (and rebroadcast

1110-467: The remainder of its existence. During the first few years, the tournament format and even the number of teams changed annually. The first iteration was a simple, 4-team, single-elimination tournament. The following year, seven team participated but did not play an equal number of games. Two more teams were added for the third event while the fourth edition reverted to a more common 8-team tournament format. In years five and six, 6 teams were invited, however,

1147-709: The second extra period the head coaches for both teams met and agreed to call the game a draw as their respective teams were worn out and both had already proven to be the equal of the other. The two were named co-champions of the tournament. Note: The tournament was not held in 1963. Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Round Robin Matthews Arena Matthews Arena (formerly Boston Arena )

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1184-672: Was Clare Boothe (later Clare Boothe Luce ), Howard Crosby Brokaw, and Frederick Brokaw, who drowned at Elberon, New Jersey, while a student at Princeton. Noted cousins included sportsmen William Gould Brokaw and Clifford Vail Brokaw, their sisters Florence Brokaw, of Martin Hall (Mrs. James E. Martin, later Mrs. Preston Pope Satterwhite) and Lilla Brokaw (Mrs. H. Bramhall Gilbert, later Mrs. Cyril Patrick William Francis Radclyffe Dugmore). On February 4, 1903, Brokaw married Lucile Nave in St. Joseph. Her family co-owned

1221-450: Was destroyed by fire on December 18, 1918. It was rebuilt, and the new facility opened January 1, 1921, with an ice show. The NHL 's first US-based franchise, the Boston Bruins , made the Boston Arena their home from 1924 to 1928. Before the team began play, the Arena reduced its ice surface from 190 feet to 80 feet to conform to NHL regulations. This also allowed the Arena to add 1,000 seats. In 1927, Homer Loring , chairman of

1258-532: Was last held in December 1970, after which, Boston University moved into the Walter Brown Arena . Perhaps the most memorable game in the history of the tournament came in 1966 when Boston University met Cornell . Both teams were undefeated at the time and were widely regarded as the top two squads in the nation. The two played to a 3–3 tie after regulation and then went scoreless for 40 minutes of overtime. After

1295-476: Was present for the speech, spoke after Roosevelt. During the 1912 United States presidential campaign , the arena hosted a rally for President William Howard Taft and two rallies for the Bull Moose Party ticket, one headlined by presidential nominee Theodore Roosevelt and the other headlined by vice presidential nominee Hiram Johnson . Herbert Hoover and Al Smith both delivered speeches here during

1332-495: Was renamed Matthews Arena in honor of the university's chairman emeritus George Matthews. A 1995 renovation expanded the ice surface from 200 by 80 to 200 by 90 feet (61 m × 24 m to 61 m × 27 m). In May 2024, Northeastern University filed a letter of intent to the Boston Planning & Development Agency to construct a new multi-purpose athletics facility designed that would tear down and replace

1369-524: Was the first president and treasurer of the Boston Arena Company and William T. Richardson was the building's first general manager. The arena was scheduled to open on Christmas Day 1909, but construction delays pushed back the opening until April 25, 1910. The arena's inaugural event was an ice carnival to benefit the Sharon Sanatorium. Skating events were held throughout the day, including

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