To say 1924 was a watershed year for pro hockey would be an understatement. A slew of backroom deals, betrayals and a literal murder all took place within the offseason months between the 1924 Challenge Cup Finals and the opening of the 1924-25 campaign.
The Transcontinental Hockey Association gave up the ghost in the immediate aftermath of the Challenge Cup series. But the Yeadons were far from done with hockey thanks to a series of events that culminated in a murder worthy of the most salacious of tabloids (of which there weren't many back in the 1920s).
George Yeadon had convinced his brother Bill that they approach the United States Hockey Association about moving the Pacifics and Capitals into the younger circuit - in new locations, both naturally in the United States. George had his work cut out for him and only his desire not to fade from the scene pushed him to overcome his own loathing of Jack Connolly and then persuade his brother to do the same. Connolly was the President of the USHA and both Yeadon brothers, like virtually everyone in both the TCHA and NAHC, despised the man. But he wielded a lot of power as the USHA had proven wildly successful in its first few seasons.
Preliminary discussions went nowhere. Connolly, largely out of spite, had decided to turn down the Yeadons, but was (by all accounts) prepared to string them along first. Then Connolly was "backstabbed" himself. The two most successful franchises in the USHA - the New York Shamrocks and Boston Bees - dropped out of the league and joined the NAHC.
1923-24 was an eventful season for professional hockey. The lack of artificial ice at the arena in Quebec caused the cancellation of a game between the Champlains and Dukes and since both teams were far behind Ottawa & Montreal the NAHC decided to not reschedule. This cancellation sparked renewed calls for all NAHC facilities to have artificial ice plants (Quebec and Ottawa did not yet have one). In the USHA the New York Shamrocks fell hard while rumors got into the newspapers that owner Samuel Bigsby was openly discussing taking his team into the NAHC for 1924-25 (he denied it). And out west, it turned out to be the swansong for the TCHA. Simple economics had caught up with the Yeadon brothers in the Pacific Northwest. Portland ran out of money despite being the league's best team and cancelled its season-closing tilt with Vancouver.
The Transcontinental Hockey Association was born in 1911 when Bill & George Yeadon used their family's wealth to start a league of their own (after being soured on the NAHC in large part due to Jack Connolly). The league was a big success for its first decade, though it did struggle at times (such as when the Victoria club lost its arena due to the Army needing it for wartime training). But now, with the "Roaring Twenties" in full swing, things were booming in Eastern Canada and especially in the United States, leaving the NAHC and USHA teams with much more capital to spend on players than the TCHA could afford. Portland was in the worst situation as its owner, George Wilson, did not have a family fortune backing him up. He had built a title-worthy team in 1923-24 as the Reds won 16 of 23 contests, easily finishing ahead of Victoria (11-12-1) to claim the TCHA title while former powerhouse Vancouver fell into last place.