1919 - The Stanley Cup Cancelled Due to Flu Outbreak

Joe Hall, 1917 Copyright/Source

The 1919 Stanley Cup final in Seattle, USA, was cancelled when many members of the Montreal Canadiens team came down with the Spanish flu. This flu killed more than 20 million people around the world and about 30 000 to 45 000 of them were Canadians. People fell sick whether they lived in crowded cities or on isolated farms. Montréal was one of the cities that was hit the hardest.

When the Montreal Canadiens players became ill, each team had won two games, with one game tied. The Canadiens' "Bad" Joe Hall, a professional hockey player for eleven years, was one of the ones to get sick. He died in a Seattle hospital on April 5th, four days after the series had been called off.

Never before, or since, have the Stanley Cup finals been cancelled.

WORLD'S HOCKEY SERIES CANCELLED. Seven of the Canadians and Owner George Kennedy Stricken With "Flu"

LES CANADIENS SONT PRIS DE LA GRIPPE. Sept sont au lit et devront y rester quelque temps.-- La série mondiale pour la coupe Stanley ne sera pas terminée.