After Nassau County voters nixed a referendum to finance a new home for the New York Islanders, Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz wasted little time in declaring that the team “belongs in Brooklyn.” In making his play for a National Hockey League franchise, Markowitz either is attempting to right a historic wrong or is oblivious to the sorrowful history of big-league hockey in Brooklyn.
Either way, it won’t end well.
The history of the NHL in Brooklyn begins in Manhattan. The New York Americans, known as the “Amerks,” were the original New York NHL franchise. The team joined the league in 1925 and had the double misfortune of being owned by William “Big Bill” Dwyer, a bootlegger, and being a tenant of Madison Square Garden.
Two weeks before the Amerks’ home opener, Dwyer was arrested on criminal charges. If that weren’t trouble enough, the Garden’s owners managed to get their own NHL franchise, so when the Amerks began their second season, they had a rink-mate — the New York Rangers.
For the next 16 seasons, the Rangers were the toast of the Garden and of New York, while the Amerks were also-rans. The Rangers played in six NHL finals from 1929-40, winning three Stanley Cups. The Amerks registered only three winning seasons.
Meanwhile, Dwyer spent time in jail and upon his release was hounded into insolvency by the IRS. In 1936, the league pushed him out and turned the franchise over to Mervyn “Red” Dutton, an Amerk defenseman who’d joined the team in 1930 and was already player-coach.
Although perennial losers, the Amerks had become the outer-borough lunch-bucket favorites. As the team struggled, Dutton looked to remake the losing franchise and get out from under the Rangers’ shadow.
Shortly before the 1941-42 season, he announced that henceforth the team would be the Brooklyn Americans. They might still play at the Garden, but they were now Brooklyn’s team.
Dutton moved to Brooklyn and encouraged his players to do the same. Borough President John Cashmore attended the home opener and dropped the first puck. The players donned jerseys emblazoned “Brooklyn” and adopted the Brooklyn Ice Palace as their training facility. Dutton began plans for a new Brooklyn arena.
But major-league sports have a way of breaking Brooklyn’s heart.
At the end of the 1941-42 season, with World War II raging and players joining the military, the NHL forced the Amerks to suspend operation. Dutton, however, extracted a promise: He’d get to reinstate the Amerks in Brooklyn at war’s end.
With his team dormant, Dutton agreed to serve as interim league president. But he got a surprise in 1946, when he announced he was stepping down as president to pick up with the Amerks. As he later recalled, he raised the issue of reviving the franchise at an NHL meeting that June — but was met with silence. The Board of Governors then informed him that there would be no Brooklyn franchise. The Rangers were opposed — no need for discussion or debate.
Recognizing reality, Dutton told the assembly, “You can stick your franchise up your ass.” With that, his 40-year involvement with the NHL came to an end, as did the dream of a Brooklyn NHL franchise.
So, when Marty Markowitz proclaims that the NHL “belongs in Brooklyn,” people who know their hockey history appreciate the irony. While the Beep may believe the big league belongs in his borough, his wistful vision is likely to run into harsh reality.
In the half-century since the demise of the Americans, nothing has really changed — at least not when it comes to the NHL, the Rangers and Brooklyn.
Steve Cohen served until recently as secretary to Gov. Cuomo. He and his wife, Lisa Melmed, reside in Brooklyn.