NHL’ers who played another Pro Sport

[carjackmalone]

Tommy Burns former heavyweight boxing champion of the world played played pro Lacrosse and played in the Nationsl Hockey Association precursor to the NHL

 

[sr edler]

Lacrosse in Canada? I feel more likely to see Big Foot than it in my province.

Below is a decently sized BC crowd being enthusiastic over lacrosse. It's New Westminster in 1911.

From the October 7, 1911 issue of The Montreal Standard's Illustrated Supplement.

 

[VanIslander]

I have no doubt that lacross WAS popular
...

Just ...

when in the last half century one hasnt seen or heard a thing about a sport...

 

[57special]

Going back 100 years to the 1920s, Babe Dye was an NHL-leading goal scorer who spent his offseasons playing minor pro baseball as a 0.300 hitter with Buffalo of the International League.

Doug Harvey delayed the start of his pro hockey career so he could play top level Canadian football, and he continued to play minor league baseball in his first few NHL offseasons.

Johnny Quilty attended pro football and pro hockey training camps in Montreal after finishing high school. The Canadiens offered him more money, so he chose hockey.

Gump Worsley is remembered as a great goaltender but not a great athlete. And yet Gump played centre forward in soccer and captained a Montreal team to the senior amateur finals of Canada, where he scored a goal in a loss. He also scored a goal against Tottenham Hotspur in their 1952 tour of North America.

Milt Schmidt was invited to a tryout by the St Louis Cardinals and turned it down. There are probably many cases like this - for example, Gordie Howe often took batting practice with the Detroit Tigers, and the Tigers thought Howe could have played major league baseball.

I can see him out there with his knee socks, and smoking a cigar.