would damage the reputation of the MAAA. It was believed that the people who were in charge of running their team were, in fact, not representative of the team itself, and when the hockey club asked for a loan of $175 in start-up expenses for the 1894 season, it was flatly refused (the first time the MAAA refused anything to the hockey club). Inexplicably, the hockey club reversed its position, and the next few months saw a gradual schism between the MAAA and the club. Indeed, the inscriptions on the Cup when it was successfully defended in 1894 only stated "Montreal HC". The MAAA, at one point, considered the hockey club to have seceded from the organization that bore them. The issue would be finally resolved in later years, after various attempts at reconciliation. Dissolution At the annual meeting in December 1897, the Ottawa Capitals applied to join the AHAC but were turned down by the AHAC executive. The Capitals applied again at the annual meeting held in Montreal on December 10, 1898, leading to "a cataclysm in the hockey world." This time, the AHAC executive voted in favour of admitting the Capitals for league membership. The Globe noted that the Capitals were "questionably amateur", referring to the paying of players. This led to the representatives of the Quebec Bulldogs, Montreal Victorias and Ottawa Hockey Club opting to withdraw from the association. The representative of the Montreal Hockey Club asked the group to reconsider but was declined, after which point Montreal HC also withdrew. The withdrawing teams then met at the Windsor Hotel the same day. On December 14, the group met again and organized the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL), adding the Montreal Shamrocks for a complete conversion of the AHAC into the CAHL. The new league adopted the existing constitution of the AHAC, with the exception that new teams required unanimous approval of the CAHL executive in order to join the league. Teams † Stanley Cup winner Under the challenge system, the league championship would change hands until the end of the playing season. Under the series system, the league championship was only determined at the end of the season by best overall record or playoff. Source Information According to Arthur Farrell's book of 1899, "Hockey: Canada's Royal Winter Game", Montreal Crystals are recorded as champions in 1887, and the Montreal Hockey Club is recorded as the winner