A New Century
Detroit’s story entered a new chapter at the turn of the 20th century. In 1903 industrialist James Ward Packard opened the Packard Automotive Plant. The city offered ample, affordable land, giving manufacturers a lower barrier to entry. Before long, Cadillac, Ford and Chevrolet turned the Detroit region into the hub of the American automobile industry, creating a massive cache of jobs.
New venues for entertainment and the arts soon followed. The city’s Major League Baseball (MLB) club, the Detroit Tigers, joined the American League in 1901. More roads were paved, and Detroit’s first airport opened, making travel to and from the city easier than ever.
The Roaring Twenties
Detroit’s population grew more than fivefold between 1900 and the 1930s, rocketing from 13th to fourth among the country’s most populous cities. Workers and entrepreneurs poured in, and money was plentiful. The auto industry, boosted by World War I government contracts, put still more cash in local pockets. Opportunities opened for investors who funneled money into big civic projects such as Olympia Stadium, which opened in 1927.
Wartime Impact on Hockey
World War I reshaped the hockey landscape. Canada’s 1917 Military Service Act drafted men in their athletic prime, depleting professional rosters. The National Hockey Association (NHA) lost not only players but also an entire club (the Toronto 228th Battalion). That same year, four NHA teams broke away and formed the National Hockey League (NHL).
As a result of the number of athletes put into service, military hockey teams were formed. According to Canadian's Veteran Affairs, interest in hockey grew during this period.
"“Military hockey teams attracted lots of attention, such as the 228th Battalion (Northern Fusiliers) who even played in a professional league. As the war dragged on, more and more men were needed on the front lines. Hockey themes were even used in posters to encourage military service! Large number of young men ended up enlisting, creating a void in many arenas and women’s hockey suddenly became very popular.”"Canadian Veteran Affairs website
Urban migration after the war refilled arenas on both sides of the border, fueling hockey’s next boom.
From Victoria to the Motor City
Even in the good times, some things went literally and figuratively south.
The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, placed franchises in small markets and could not match the NHL’s capital or growth pace. In 1925, the Victoria Cougars captured the Stanley Cup, but the WCHL was already teetering.
When the league collapsed in the spring of 1926, the NHL seized the moment, purchasing player contracts and expanding into three U.S. cities: Detroit, Chicago, and New York. Detroit’s investors acquired both the rights to the Victoria roster and the Cougars' nickname.
Geography made the Motor City an easy choice. The city sits near the Canadian border and lies on a nearly straight line with Toronto and Montreal, ideal for train travel among what would become the Original Six.
On‑ice success proved elusive. After three lean seasons, the club landed in court‑ordered receivership and, in 1930, rebranded as the Detroit Falcons, likely as an attempt to distance itself from losses and garner local support.
Norris and the Name Change
Grain magnate James E. Norris Sr. bought the franchise out of receivership in 1932. A former player with the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association’s Winged Wheelers, Norris adopted their emblem, a wheel with a wing on each side. He then recolored it red to echo Detroit’s “Motor City” identity, and so began the Detroit Red Wings.
Norris’s deep pockets and general manager Jack Adams quickly turned the team around. In their first season as the Red Wings (1932‑33) they tied for the league lead with 58 points and reached the Stanley Cup semifinals. By 1937 Detroit had already appeared in three Finals and claimed two Stanley Cups.
Norris would ultimately hold stakes in four of the six clubs that survived into the post‑1942 Original Six era, but Detroit remained his crown jewel—its winged wheel an enduring symbol of the city’s industrial might and hockey passion.
Six Survivors
It stands to reason that the “Original Six” term would mean the first six NHL teams. However, that is not the case. When the NHL was founded in 1917, it had four teams and Detroit was not one of them. The league comprised of Canadiens, Wanderers, Toronto Arenas, and the Ottawa Senators. Rather, the term refers to the six franchises that survived the league’s contractions, fold‑ups and wartime turmoil, and it distinguishes those clubs from the new batch of expansion teams that arrived in 1967.
The Lasting Legacy
World War I’s upheaval, the auto boom, and one savvy post‑war expansion combined to land Detroit in the NHL. From a borrowed roster and two failed nicknames grew a franchise that would dominate the 1950s and become an essential pillar of hockey history. Today, the Red Wings’ origins remain a testament to timing, tenacity, and the power of a bold rebrand.