Rooted in the Rose City: A nod to the Portland Rosebuds
The Portland Winterhawks’ annual Oregon Hockey History Night offers fans and players alike the chance to go back in time. It’s seen the return of iconic Portland brands and teams, including multiple iterations of the Portland Buckaroos and the return of the Winterhawks’ 1983 Memorial Cup-winning club last spring. The Winterhawks also immortalized Cam Neely’s #21 – the first number to be retired by the club – while inducting him and his teammates Randy Heath, Grant Sasser and Ken Yaremchuk into the team’s Hall of Fame.
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Now, the team turns the clock back even further, almost 100 years worth, as they don a modernized 1925-26 Portland Rosebuds uniform for this Saturday’s game against Wenatchee. Designed by Brian Gundell, who also put together the Winterhawks’ rebranded uniforms in 2022, he sweater features a classic rose crest with embroidered features and stylized stitching on player names and numbers. Sublimated replicas are currently available through the Winterhawks team store. Fans interested in acquiring the fully-stitched, game-worn versions of the Rosebuds throwbacks can purchase a raffle ticket for the annual Winterhawks Amateur Hockey Association (WAHA) “Jersey Off Their Backs” giveaway.
According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, the Rosebuds were Portland’s first professional ice hockey team after moving from New Westminster, B.C. in 1914. Competing in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the team captured the league title in 1916, granting them the opportunity to compete for the Stanley Cup against the National Hockey Association (NHA) champion Montreal Canadiens. Those Canadiens went on to win 24 Stanley Cups, the most among all National Hockey League (NHL) clubs.
Though they ultimately fell to the Canadiens in the deciding contest of a five-game series, the Rosebuds earned the right to engrave “Portland, Ore. – PCHA Champions – 1915-16” on hockey’s holy grail. That same engraving remains on the cup today, a permanent reminder of Portland’s status as the first U.S. city to participate in the Stanley Cup Final and have its name on Lord Stanley’s famous trophy.
After the original Rosebuds suspended operations in 1918, the moniker was again adopted in 1925 when the old Western Hockey League’s Regina Capitals packed up and moved to Portland for the league’s final season of operation. Sporting that iconic rose-in-shield logo seen above, the 1925 Rosebuds finished in fourth place during their lone season.
Ironically, players from that team were ultimately sold to form what would become the Chicago Blackhawks, who later helped outfit the modern Winter Hawks with uniforms upon their move from Edmonton in 1976.
Though both versions of the Rosebuds were short-lived, they helped kick-start a hockey tradition in Portland that has lasted more than 100 years. Be sure to stop by local collector Scott Petterson’s authentic Portland hockey memorabilia display will be on the concourse outside Entry MM during Saturday’s game to learn more! From the Rosebuds, to the Buckaroos, to the Eagles, Penguins and now Winterhawks, our city has a rich and storied hockey history, and we can’t wait to relive another chapter this weekend!
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