Pete Muldoon

Linton Muldoon Treacy (June 4, 1887 – March 13, 1929), better known as Pete Muldoon, was a Canadian ice hockey coach. He was the coach of the Seattle Metropolitans from 1915 to 1924 and led the team to a Stanley Cup championship in 1917. Muldoon later became the first coach of the Chicago Black Hawks. He was known for reportedly putting a curse on the Black Hawks after he was fired at the end of the 1926–27 season, although it was later stated to be completely fabricated.

Early life Muldoon was born in St. Marys, Ontario, as Linton Muldoon Treacy. He played hockey in the Ontario Hockey Association in the 1900s before moving to the Pacific coast in order to pursue a boxing career. He changed his name to Pete Muldoon because the pursuit of a professional sports career was discouraged in Ontario at the time. Muldoon won regional titles in both the middleweight and light heavyweight divisions while boxing.

Ice hockey career Muldoon was accomplished at other sports, including lacrosse. He played professionally for a Vancouver club in 1911. He was also an ice dancer who was able to skate, as well as play hockey, while on stilts. In 1914, he took over as the coach and manager of the Portland Rosebuds. For the 1915 season, he changed teams, and went to Seattle to manage a new team in the PCHA, the Seattle Metropolitans. He spent eight seasons coaching in Seattle and amassed a record of 115 wins, 105 losses, and four ties. The Mets played for the Stanley Cup three times under his leadership, winning it once in 1917 during their first trip. Muldoon was the first and, at age 30, youngest coach of a Stanley Cup Championship team based in the United States. Seattle lost in the Stanley Cup Final the next year against the Ottawa Senators. Muldoon died from a heart attack. Without their coach, the Seattle Eskimos were able to win a playoff series against Portland before losing to Vancouver in the league finals. The following season the Eskimos established the Pete Muldoon Trophy, presented to the player "deemed most inspirational by his teammates". Coleman admitted to inventing the "curse" due to a bout of writer's block in 1943 when he needed to meet a publishing deadline. Other sources maintain that "41 years is plenty long enough for any 'curse,' real or imagined".

Coaching record