Position: RW
Size: 5'11, 170 pounds (big for his time)
Shoots: right
Jersey Number: 4 (with Maroons), 18 (with Habs)
Consistency
In 1st 11 of his 12 seasons, Ward missed 21 of 491 games.
Ward was a consistent scorer. 10g every season except his last ('39) and '35. in '35, he scored 9g, but missed 7 games with a severe concussion.
During his 1st 11 seasons ('28-'38), Ward was 15th in goals, 21st in assists, and 17th in points.
Jimmy Ward is the Maroons' all time leader in games played (491), and is 2nd in goals (143), assists (124) and points (267).
Speed
Calgary Daily Herald: 3-17-1928 said:
Jimmy Ward, a sturdy ex-amateur star, and X give the Montreal team a pair of heavy but fleet wings.
Leader-Post: 12-14-1932 said:
Jimmy Ward, fleet right winger for the Maroons, was too fast for the Red Wings. He cut through their defence for 2 goals and assisted in another, while Baldy Northcott, his high-scoring partner at left wing, counted 3 goals and was a consistent scoring threat.
Montreal Gazette: 3-26-1928 said:
Kilrea took his last whirl at the speed skating test and the $400 offered for the winner and left the fans gasping after a terrific onslaught of the 17 second mark held jointly by Siebert, Ward, Oatman, Morenz and Gizzy Hart which found him making every stride count perfectly for a mark of 16 2-5 seconds, which is liable to stand for a long time. Morenz had been announced as ready to skate against time, but after Kilrea's feat, even the meteoric Morenz was willing to conceded the honors to the Ottawa flash.
in a
1934 poll of writers and editors, which i posted over 1 year ago in the player intangible sticky thread in the history section, Ward was 5th for fastest skater, behind Morenz, Busher Jackson, Hec Kilrea and Mush March.
from an article about that poll:
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix: 3-13-1934 said:
Kilrea, March and Ward have been regarded as exceptionally fast skaters over a period of years. But, for one reason or another, Jackson's ability to get there faster than the other fellow has received remarkably little attention. Even Toronto fans have considered Kilrea and Boll to be the fastest on the Leafs.
Shot
in that same poll from 1934, Ward was one of 3 players who got votes for hardest shot. Charlie Conacher dominated the voting (32 votes). Ward and Lionel Conacher got 1 vote each.
Eugene Register-Guard: 2-27-1933 said:
George Hainsworth, goalie of the Montreal Canadiens, thinks Charlie Conacher of the Toronto Leafs shoots the hardest puck in hockey, Bill Cook of the Rangers the trickiest, and Jimmy Ward, Maroons, the most deceptive.
Saskatoon Star-Phoenix:10-30-1934 said:
Tommy Gorman tried each player at the same penalty shot. Jimmie Ward, Maroon 1st stringer, and the amateur, X, were good at the most recent National Hockey League innovation.
Montreal Gazette: 3-2-1936 said:
For it was the curly-haired right winger with the explosive shot who was the main point in Maroons' argument as he lashed three third period goals past Wilfred Cude to defeat the Habitants 4-2.
2 way forward
Maroons played a defensive style of hockey, and Ward often played on a checking line with Northcott and Hooley Smith. He often matched up against star LW's.
'28 playoffs, when Ward was a rookie:
Ottawa Citizen: 3-28-1928 said:
If one player stood out more than any other on the winning team, it was Jimmy Ward, the fair-haired right winger from Fort William. Ward played an exceptionally strong game from start to finish, his stick-handling was superb and his great flight of speed very much in evidence.
...
Jimmy Ward played one smart game on right wing for the winners. The sorrel-topped recruit from Fort William showed a dazzling all-around game and hung to his cover like a leach (sic). His stick-handling was superb and his back-checking every bit as effective. Yes, Ward was one of the big stars of the Maroon team.
...
Hec Kilrea had a hard time breaking away from the persistent checking of Jimmy Ward, but nevertheless, worked in for some dangerous shots on Benedict.
Montreal Gazette: 4-2-1928 said:
Jimmy Ward played himself into exhaustion holding down Joliat and at the same time maintaining enough reserve to keep up with the Maroon rushes. He was always on the spot.
...
Morenz and Joliat carried the brunt of the forward play for Canadiens and with little relief. They were closely watched by Hooley Smith and Ward, but at that, led those who sniped for goal, testing Benedict steadily with vicious shots which forced the Maroon goalie to his best hockey to clear.
Montreal Gazette: 4-4-1928 said:
Joliat was watched closely by Jimmy Ward and Lamb, and the little fellow tired under the grueling, but he was ever a threat on goal and Clint Benedict is the authority for the statement that a shot by Joliat in the second period, one of the fastest he has ever known Joliat to drive, was the most dangerous he was called upon to handle all night.
game 1 of '28 finals:
Montreal Gazette: 4-6-1928 said:
Bill Cook flashed in the early stages of the game but lost steam towards the end, while Brother Bun was too closely guarded by the pair of speedy Maroon right wingers, Jimmy Ward and X to be a real threat.
Calgary Daily Herald: 3-2-1934 said:
Baldy Northcott, the Calgarian, who made the Canadian Press All-Star team last season, but has not been able to reach his old form yet this year, stood out in the Maroon attack with Jimmy Ward. Each got a goal and an assist, and broke up Detroit's attacks with clever back-checking.
in a comparison of Maroons and Habs:
Ottawa Citizen: 4-3-1928 said:
Jimmy Ward uncorks more speed than Aurel Joliat, his check.
Montreal Gazette: 11-25-1930 said:
Manager Munro is expected to start the same line-up that opened against Americans Saturday. That means X, Dave Trottier and Jimmy Ward will be opposed to the Frank Boucher-Cook brothers' array.
Montreal Gazette: 1-20-1933 said:
There were other things the Maroon fan could be thankful for beside that 20 minutes of scoring. One was the performance of Jimmy Ward on right wing. Jimmy dazzled with all the sparkle of three years ago (his Maroon MVP season?) as he accounted for 3 of the Maroon goals and gave a skating and close-covering exhibition of much effectiveness.
Montreal Gazette: 3-28-1935 said:
Manager Gorman does not propose to change his tactics against the Rangers, believing that the close-checking methods that were so effective against the Hawks will work just as well against Rangers. Baldy Northcott, who found time to get the winning goal last night while tying up the Hawks' little bundle of dynamite, Mush March, will be put on Bill Cook tomorrow night. X, one of the stars of the series, will cover Frankie Boucher, and Jimmy Ward will get the job of looking after Bun Cook.
after game 1 of '35 finals:
It appears to be a question of whether the Toronto scoring aces, Chuck Conacher and Harvey Jackson, can again be blanketed by the tireless backchecking of Baldy Northcott and Jimmy Ward.
If they can score, Toronto seems to have a good chance to win.
game 2 of '35 finals:
Calgary Daily Herald: 4-5-1935 said:
Stars Handcuffed
Northcott went back to his job of handcuffing Charlie Conacher, Ward kept track of Jackson. Between them, Conacher and Jackson only had 4 dead on shots.
game 3 of '35 finals:
Ottawa Citizen: 4-10-1935 said:
Score Short-handed
In the last minute of the 1st period, Lionel Conacher took a penalty for tripping Red Metz (Nick Metz), and Connie Smythe rushed 5 fowards on the ice. They were struggling around the Maroons' goal when Jimmy Ward trapped them. He raced for Hainsworth's end. Charlie Conacher caught up with him, but Ward got a shot away. Baldy Northcott picked up the rebound and shot again. Again there was a rebound and Ward hammered it home for the 1st goal.
....
"Busher" Jackson evaded his shadow, Jimmy Ward, long enough for a long shot from the corner.
....
(description of the SH goal from later in the report)
Jimmy Ward stole the puck from Joe Primeau, as Leafs ganged with 5 men up the ice. He bounced the puck off the boards and was away clear. He banged a hard shot on Hainsworth, who tried to drop on the rebound. Northcott swung at the puck again. Hainsworth stopped it, but Jimmy Ward scooped up the puck and poked it into the empty cage.
...
The 1st lines came back again, and Hooley Smith and his poke check bottled Leafs up at mid-ice. For 3 minutes straight, Smith, Northcott and Ward held Leafs, including Primeau, C. Conacher and Jackson on the harmless side of the Montreal blueline.
Leader-Post:4-9-1935 said:
Jimmy Ward and Baldy Northcott shared the honors, not only holding the Toronto bombers, Charlie Conacher and Busher Jackson, scoreless, but scoring a goal and assist each.
Ward described how Maroons played against TML:
Jimmy Ward said:
We held them best when we were into their end and checked them. We had a bad few moments when we let them come at us. Anyway, we made it 3 straight, and it's all over.
Ottawa Citizen has a boxscore of final game of '35 finals. Ward led Maroons with 6 shots. Ottawa Citizen says "Wentworth was hailed as the hero of the series." maybe he should have been awarded the retro smythe?
in 1933, 31 of 32 sports writers voted the Bread Line the best line in the NHL. Other vote was for Northcott, Smith and Ward, which was called the Red Line. Maroons also had a Blue Line and a Green Line. I think they were named for their roles, not their players. Red Line had different C's, but seems to have had usually, or possibly always, Northcott and Ward. I think the Red Line was the checking line.
According to columnist Marc McNeil, Ward and Northcott played with 11 different C's in '37, and 8 different C's in '38.
Montreal Gazette: 10-30-1935 said:
Gorman is banking on his "red line" of Hooley Smith at centre, Baldy Northcott at left wing and Jimmy Ward at right. These veterans rose to the heights last spring to hold in check two of the most famous lines in hockey in the playoffs--New York Rangers' Cook-Boucher-Cook trio and Toronto's "Kid Line."
I think Ward was very probably weaker defensively than Smith and Northcott.
All Star Record
Hockey Outsider posted some incomplete AS voting from '30s. i found some more votes in newspapers.
'31: 1 1st place vote for LW, 1 2nd place vote for RW
'32: 1 vote for 2nd RW.
'33: Bill Cook got 28 votes for RW. Ace Bailey, Charlie Conacher, Baldy Northcott (who was voted 1st AS LW) and Jimmy Ward got 1 each. Conacher was 2nd AS, but i don't know why. possibly b/c he got more LW votes than Ward or Bailey.
'34: Conacher was nearly unanimously picked as 1st RW (33 of 35 votes). Bill Cook won 2nd RW. "Larry Aurie and Jimmy Ward also contended for the 2nd RW spot."
'35: none
'36: none
'37:
First team: Larry Aurie 20, Cecil Dillon 1, Dit Clapper 1,
Jimmy Ward 1. (23 total)
Second team: Cecil Dillon 6, Johnny Gagnon 5,
Jimmy Ward 3, Mush Marsh 3, Dit Clapper 2, Larry Aurie 2, Aurel Joliat 1, Herbie Lewis 1 (23)
'38: ?
'39: ?
'31 Maroons MVP
Vancouver Sun: 3-18-1931 said:
Jimmy Ward Gets Maroon Prize Award
Between periods of the game between Montreal Maroons and New York Americans, the Mappin and Webb Trophy, awarded to the most useful player on the Maroon team, was given to Jimmy Ward, hard-working young sub right winger. Ward joined the Maroons about 4 years ago from Fort William.
Ward was also mentioned when Babe Siebert won this award in '28.
Border Cities Star: 3-26-1928 said:
Babe Siebert Named As Most Valued Maroon
Babe Siebert, who broke into hockey prominence while a member of the Niagara Falls senior OHA team 4 years ago, has been awarded the Mappin and Webb Trophy as the most valuable player on the roster of the Montreal Maroons.
Siebert, who until mid-season had been a star at left wing, was switched to the defence where he starred while teaming up with "Red" Dutton. Siebert is one of the stiffest body-checkers in hockey, has a great burst of speed, is a good stick-handler, and the possessor of a dangerous shot.
Siebert was selected over such stars as Hooley Smith, Nelson Stewart, Dutton and Jimmy Ward by Montreal sport writers.
Ottawa Citizen: 1-28-1931 said:
STRONG SILENT MAN OF THE WEST
Jimmy Ward, forward for the Montreal Maroons, is certainly stepping out these days. In the last few weeks Jimmy has been doing such splendid work for Dunc Munro and the Maroons that he is taking up good space in the sporting pages of newspapers. During the last visit of the Maroons to Ottawa, he worked so fast that Alex Connell, in the nets for Ottawa, didn't know what it was all about. Taking the rebounded for a smashing shot by Hooley Smith, Jimmy shot it into the net before Alex could even say boo. Ward is worth watching as his game should provide plenty of excitement for the fans during the rest of the season.
an example of the kind of play that may have won the award in '31:
Montreal Gazette: 12-10-1930 said:
Shining through the smoke of the miniature war were the figures of Harry Oliver, Eddie Shore and George Owen for the Bruins and Jimmy Ward for the Maroons. Yet it was not their goal-scoring activity that marked them as the outstanding men on the ice (Ward, Oliver and Owen scored goals; Shore had an assist). They were the most dangerous men at all times, fleet and hard shooting on the offense and enthusiastically and vigorously effective in the defensive department.
Scoring placements
'28: --
'29: 8th in goals and assists, 9th in points
'30: --
'31: just outside top 20 in goals
'32: 10th in goals and assists, 11th in points
'33: 12th in goals, 16th in assists and points
'34: 19th in goals
'35: --
'36: 7th in assists, 15th in points, just outside top 20 in goals
'37: just outside top 20 in goals, assists and points
'38: probably around 25th-30th in goals, assists and points
'39: --
scored a hat trick vs Ottawa on January 19, 1933.
scored 4g, 3 unassisted, on March 7, 1933 vs Toronto.
scored a natural hat trick in the 3rd period vs Habs on March 1, 1936.
Physicality
Ward was apparently not a physically imposing player, but he was gritty and was a willing fighter.
Maroons were unexpectedly very physical in game 1 of '35 finals.
Calgary Daily Herald: 4-5-1935 said:
Little fellows like X and X, welterweights of the stature of Baldy Northcott, Jimmy Ward, X and X suddenly became fearless bouncers. They spilled the Leafs like nine-pins in a spectacular 2nd period, ranging all over the mid-ice zone to attack the champions.
....
Ward Flattens Horner
Ward flattened Horner with a mighty hip and the big redhead got it all back by sloughing both Ward and Hooley Smith.
Montreal Gazette: 1-11-1937 said:
All through, the tilt was a tangly, bumpy sort of affair, contested at a fast pace that threatened every now and then to break into open warfare. Jimmy Ward and Earl Robinson, particularly, were in no mood to be trifled with, and were laying about them, and were being laid about, at and by all and sundry of the Rangers. Ward feuded mainly with the sprightly old Butch Keeling and the youthful Phil Watson.
In the latter case, toward the end of the game, Mr. Ward proceeded to push Mr. Watson around the ice and ask him, "What about it?" But Phil wasn't having any part of Jimmy in a fight as he wanted to stay on the ice. Great was his dismay, then, when he found himself motioned toward the penalty bench along with Ward, anyway.
Montreal Gazette: 12-29-1937 said:
X did some devastating bumping in the Canadien cause, but encountered 2 Maroons who bowled him over: sturdy Jimmy Ward and hefty X.
Ottawa Citizen: 3-30-1928 said:
On the forward line, Jimmy Ward (who was a rookie) was again the star, though Hooley Smith was not far behind in effectiveness. Ward gave Kilrea much trouble in their battle along the boards.
but earlier, the report says Kilrea broke through the D several times:
Time after time (Kilrea) got through the Maroon forces for wicked drives on the net, and except in one instance when he beat Benedict, his efforts were foiled by superior net-guarding.
Kilrea scored a goal in that game, after getting away from Ward.
Jimmy Ward fought Ebbie Goodfellow, Bert Connolly, Sylvio Mantha, Ray Getliffe, Jerry Shannon, Larry Aurie, Andy Blair, Bill Thoms, Eddie Wiseman, a fan in Detroit and Red Horner at least twice.
Captaincy
Montreal Gazette: 3-8-1933 said:
Captain Jimmy Ward on the other wing had a field day and tallied 4 goals as the Maroons rode roughshod over Maple Leafs 7-2, in the teams' final meet of the regular NHL schedule.
Calgary Daily Herald: 3-18-1938 said:
There wasn't a let-up in Canadiens play until the late minutes when Captain Jimmy Ward broke through for 2 of Maroons' goals.
Calgary Daily Herald: 2-24-1939 said:
Canadiens have men like Jimmy Ward and Babe Siebert and M'sieu Jules Dugal, secretary and acting manager, believes either would make an excellent leader.
Jimmy Ward was a coveted prospect after his play in the '27 Allan Cup.
Montreal Gazette: 8-30-1927 said:
MAROON RECRUIT IS HIGHLY RATED
Jimmy Ward, Fort William Right Winger, Expected to Star in Pro Hockey
When President James Strachan signed Jimmy Ward, of Fort William, last Friday to play for Montreal Maroons in the National Hockey League, he brought into his camp a player who was rated one of the smartest pro hockey prospects among the amateurs last winter. A right winger weighing 160 pounds, Ward is believed to possess all that is necessary to the make-up of a pro hockey star. The curly-headed lad from the lakehead has speed, power and a vicious shot. He revels in the heavy going and can carry a big load alone when a team is faltering.
Before going to Fort William last season, Ward was with the Kenora Thistles. He starred with this speedy mid-western combination. It was with Kenora that Ward developed tendencies as a "lone star," but last year at Fort William, he changed into a clever combination player. Still in his teens, Ward was one of the bright stars in the Allan Cup series at Vancouver last spring, when 40000 attended the 4 games between Fort William and the University of Toronto. Connie Smythe, manager of the University of Toronto team then, but now leader of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League, was the first to approach Ward with a pro contract last spring, but the Fort William player was not prepared to commit himself at that time.
Ward is noted as a 60 minute player and a clean-living athlete who neither drinks nor smokes.
Ottawa Citizen: 12-6-1927 said:
Another recruit to Big Time hockey this season that looks like the real thing is Jimmy Ward, the flaxen-haired boy the Maroons secured from Fort Wiliam's Allan Cup finalists. Jimmy is also a right wing player, and appears to possess all the qualifications of a star. He has size, weight and speed in addition to being a very clever stickhandler.
i found a column which mentions salaries of Ward and other Maroons. apparently, Maroons paid high salaries.
Calgary Daily Herald: 12-7-1928 said:
According to reports, Dave Trottier is the highest-priced player in the game today. No one seems to know what Trottier is receiving in cash, but the fact that he refused a flat $5000 for signing plus $5000 a year from the Toronto Leafs would make it obvious that the Maroons are paying him, directly of otherwise, a sum in excess of $20000 for the next 3 years. In some pretty well-informed quarters, the amount which Trottier is getting in one way or another from hockey is set as high as $10000 a season.
Maroons have never skimped when it came to paying for talent, and have spent more money in bringing in high-classed amateurs to the club than any other team that ever existed. Dunc. Munro, signed by the Maroons, after he had captained the Toronto Granites to the Olympic Championship, cost the club around $8000 a year. Jimmy Ward was given $5000 when he signed and $20000 for 3 years. Hooley Smith was bought for $22500, plus what salary he is getting, which is not likely less than $6000 a year. Trottier is worth $30000, spread over 3 years, a total of nearly $125000. This shows how hockey salaries have soared.
a column on Ward by Marc McNeil of the Montreal Gazette:
Montreal Gazette: 1-16-1935 said:
Minor league hockey had no place in the scheme of things for Jimmy Ward when he turned professional. He was then a raw kid from the Head of the Lakes, who never saw a pro game until he played in one, who didn't know exactly what he was getting himself in for, and who was not quite sure what it was all about--except for one thing. When he was signed by Maroons, they told him he might expect to be farmed out. But on this subject, Jimmy had other and definite ideas. Young Ward was perfectly certain in his own mind that he would need no seasoning in the minors--and he was right. Jimmy has stayed with Maroons uninterruptedly since the time he joined the club for the 1927-28 season.
One factor that was instrumental in keeping Ward up in the big league in his first year caused him the biggest thrill he ever experienced in sports. It was on the night of January 21, 1928, with the Forum packed to its fullest to watch one of those epic Canadien-Maroon battles when the rivalry was at its bitterest. The flaming Canadiens were sizzling through the schedule like a forest fire and had laid 15 victories and 3 ties end-to-end for an unbeaten sequence of 18 games when they went into action against Maroons that night. And the Flying Frenchmen were stopped 1-0 that night by Jimmy Ward, the rookie who got the only goal of the game and so won himself a regular berth with Maroons and at the same time won the adoration of all Maroon supporters.
Four Goals in One Game
This feat, of all the things Jimmy has done in sports, takes first place in his estimation. Next to it, he rates the "kick" he derives from whipping 4 goals past Lorne Chabot a few years back when lanky Lorne was with Toronto Maple Leafs. Ward, of course, keenly recalls the finish to his last season of amateur hockey, 1926-27, the year Fort William's great Thundering Herd reached the Allan Cup final only to lose out to Varsity Grads in overtime in an extra game. That was the series in which Dave Trottier and Ward played opposite each other and got 3 goals apiece.
James William Ward was born on September 1, 1907 (actually 1906, i found a contemporary newspaper in which someone asked a columnist, saying there was some confusion about Ward's date of birth, and the writer said 1906.) in Fort William and at an early age moved with his family to Kenora. A big creek ran right in front of the home in Kenora and it was on its frozen surfaces that Jimmy learned to skate and play hockey when he was about 7 years old, following the example of his older brother, Benny, now with the London Tecumsehs in the IHL. Always a forward, playing right wing and centre in midget, juvenile and junior leagues in Kenora and at 16 was centre with the Kenora junior team that lost out in the semi-finals of the play-downs to Owen Sound Greys, then on their way to their first Memorial Cup in the 1923-24 season. Kenora was the only team to beat the Owen Sound squad that year, for the Greys included such budding players as Cooney Weiland, Butch Keeling and Teddy Graham in their line-up.
Ward played senior hockey after that in Kenora, until he returned to Fort William to take his matriculation and join that Thundering Herd which galloped full-tilt as far the Dominion final and then was roped into submission by the Grads.
Four Pro Offers
Following that series, the pro teams were hot on Jimmy's trail. He had offers from Maroons, Toronto, Rangers and Detroit. Ward, rather in a haze about it all, went from club to club: but he was not so dumb. He would tell one team what another had offered and immediately the ante would be raised. Finally he landed with Maroons. It was rather a coincidence that Connie Smythe had been so keen about both Ward and Trottier; and that both of them should end up with Maroons.
Before he became a pro, Jimmy tried his hand at "everything" in athletics, he says. He rowed at fours and eights at Kenora and Fort William. He played 3rd base in baseball and pitched a bit, too. Ward, by the way, is very proud of pitching 4 hitless innings last summer in the charity game against the War Veterans team here. He also played football as a flying wing at school in Fort William and as a member of the Swedish soccer team in Kenora.
Jimmy has a gold medal for winning a four-mile road race at Kenora. He was not a track man, but used to run to condition himself for hockey, and he entered this particular race for spite. The runner favored to win--so much so that his opposition wasn't even considered--was a chap Jimmy didn't like. So Master Ward participated in the event only in order to beat his rival--and won, much to his satisfaction and the chagrin of the favorite.
Jimmy is married and has a two-year-old son. He sells coal and fuel oil in the off-months, plays golf when in the city to keep in shape in the summer, and swims and plays tennis at the Morin Heights farm of his wife's parents when he is vacationing.
Ward got a slight concussion and an arm injury from sliding into the boards on November 15, 1934 vs Chicago.
Ward missed games in '35 after Eddie Shore crushed him with a clean check. Ward's head hit the ice, causing a concussion, and a stay in a hospital. Doctors used a lumbar puncture to relieve pressure on Ward's brain.
a bad back injury ended Ward's '39 season.
after retiring from the NHL, Ward was appointed player-coach of IAHL's New Haven Eagles. Ward played D.
Montreal Gazette: 10-18-1939 said:
IN THE NICK OF TIME
Just two days ago, Jimmy Ward was down on his luck. Not that he was complaining about it for he is not that kind of man. But things had gone badly for Jimmy, all because of the war and its effect on sugar supplies.
You see, Jimmy went into the soft-drink business some time ago, and his company was producing a beverage that was gaining rapidly in popularity. Early this summer, business was brisk and encouraging. Jimmy was out and around, here, there and everywhere, on the alert for business. He worked hard, selling his product and creating good will for his company.
About that time, Jimmy was given his release by Canadiens, but he calculated that he was good for a couple more years in the NHL and was planning to hook up with another big-league club for a fling at the defence. But if it didn't pan out, he still had his business.
Then came the war. He could not get sugar in the quantities he needed it for soft-drink manufacturing, and the result was inevitable. The business folded not long ago. All Jimmy managed to salvage out of the venture, into which he had put a lot of his money, were his trucks. He has put them to a use which brings him some revenue, but the loss of his business was a serious blow to him, and thus far, he has not been able to sell his services to another NHL club.
That was the situation on Monday. Ward was in the Canadien dressing-room at the Forum that day and had been telling some of the boys about how things had fared with him.
As Ward left, Jimmy McKenna, Canadiens' veteran trainer, piped up with a word of encouragement and said, "Don't worry, Jim, something's bound to turn up."
McKenna's remarks were singularly prophetic, for Jimmy had not been gone five minutes before the 'phone rang in the dressing-room. The ringing of that 'phone, it developed, was the something in the very act of turning-up--just like that. It was a case of a good break coming with the perfect timing that usually occurs only in books.
The voice at the other end of the line asked for Jimmy. Informed that Jimmy had just left, the voice advised that every effort be made to locate him, for it was important.
The voice at the other end of the line was Pete Lepine's. Pete and Jules Dugal had just suggested to Nathan Podoloff, president of the New Haven Intam club, that Jimmy Ward was the man he needed to fill the vacant post of coach for the Eagles. Podoloff had never met Jimmy, but promptly agreed to see him.
They finally reached Ward, and Jimmy sped down for his interview with the New Haven club's president. As you know, he got the job, and it couldn't have come at a more opportune time for the veteran right winger. It was the happy ending at the psychological moment, and it couldn't have happened to a better fellow than Jimmy Ward.
Jimmy was ever a prime favorite with hockey fans in Montreal, but the tip-off on how really grand a personality he has was the manner in which he was idolized by the kids in this town. Jimmy was always their hero; their ideal of what a dashing hockey player should be.
Like all rookies, Ward broke in keen and eager. But like few players, he always retained that keenness and eagerness in his play. Through the days of swashbuckling Maroon glory down to the club's drab demise, through victory or defeat, Jimmy always gave everything he had. Nobody ever saw Jimmy give up the ship even in a hopelessly lost cause. Nobody ever saw him soldier on the job, or let down as long as he was able to skate.
When Ward was signed by Maroons, they figured that as a youngster fresh out of amateur ranks, he would require a certain amount of seasoning in the minors before he was ready for the NHL. But Jimmy had other ideas on the subject. He was confident he could play major-league hockey and that he would never go to the minors. He showed them he was right and stayed with Maroons as long as Maroons lasted. Then he joined Canadiens.
He is confident, as he goes to the minors for the first time, not however, in the role of worn-out big-leaguer, but as a manager, that he can handle his new coaching assignment. We have a hunch he'll be right again. He said when he was appointed pilot of the Eagles that he would try to bring some of the old spirit of the bruising, rampaging Maroons to New Haven because he has the nucleus of a big club. If Jimmy can only impart his own spirit of eternal try, conscientiousness, hard work and fast, relentless skating to his charges, big or little, then New Haven will have a pretty good team, even should they lack the bump, bluster and burning color of the old Maroons.
Popularity
Montreal Gazette: 4-11-1928 said:
Jimmy Ward played himself further into the hearts of Maroons supporters with as clever and battling game as he has shown since he joined the Maroons last fall.
similar energetic play, plus something funny:
Montreal Gazette: 3-24-1930 said:
No comments on the match would be complete with a mention of the work of Jimmy Ward, curly-haired right-winger who was in the thick of the fray every moment he was on the ice. (Tiny) Thompson had some anxious moments watching this youth and on several occasions it seemed a miracle that he was there in time to stop brilliant shots. Ward received a nasty cut from Eddie Shore's stick just at the close of the first period, but he got it patched up all right. He amused those nearby by coming out at the start of the second period with his skates in his hands, but he had them on before his period in the penalty box came to an end.
Leader-Post: 11-6-1934 said:
Hooley Smith, one of the cagiest centres in the league, master of the poke-check, will start off between his old linemates, Baldy Northcott, rawboned and speedy, and Jimmy Ward, one of the most popular men ever to wear a Maroon uniform.
Babe Siebert's daughters, Judy and Joan, were big fans of Ward and wished he would be traded to the Habs. Ward was soon sold to the Habs as the Maroons were being disbanded.
Comments:
- My grandfather (a Maroons fan) says that Ward was a great player. Nice to see him get a few votes at RW.
Jimmy Ward appeared in advertisements for Phillip Morris cigarettes and Palmolive shaving cream.
Personal
Born on September 1, 1906, in Fort William, Ontario.
His family moved to Kenora when he was young.
Married Maud Campbell, of Morin-Heights, on June 4, 1931.
Le Petit Journal: 6-7-1931 said:
Mariage de Jimmy Ward
Jimmy Ward, le jeune ailier des Maroons de la NHL, s'est marié avant-hier à Morin Heights, Québec, avec Mlle. Maud Campbell de cette place. Le couple est parti pour un voyage à New York qui sera suivi d'une excursion dans l'ouest canadien.
They had a son, born in 1932 or 1933.
Jimmy Ward died on November 15, 1990.