Pre-WWII 2023 Draft Bio Thread

[BenchBrawl]

Post your bios.

Click to read more...

 

[jigglysquishy]

How frowned upon is it to take/ heavily borrow from earlier bios? There's some really strong ones already done

 

[seventieslord]

How frowned upon is it to take/ heavily borrow from earlier bios? There's some really strong ones already done

You should always start with what exists, and add to it if you can. Then your bio becomes the new "definitive" one.

 

[BenchBrawl]

How frowned upon is it to take/ heavily borrow from earlier bios? There's some really strong ones already done

As long as you give credit.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Slim Halderson, D/RW

6 ft 1 1/2
Right-handed shot
Plays the right side

The Victoria Daily Times, 27 Jan 1923:

(Transition to defence)

"SLIM" HALDERSON IS SHAPING UP LIKE A SECOND EDITION OF LES PATRICK, PEER DEFENCE MAN

Harold Halderson, better known across the continent as just plain "Slim," due to Nature stretching him all in one direction, is blossoming out as a second Lester Patrick, regarded by critics of ice capers as one of the greatest defence players that ever sneezed.

"Slim" is one of those haughty Icelanders from Winnipeg who helped bring the world's amateur hockey laurels to Canada in 1920. At the present moment he is as busy as a king bee trying to place the Stanley Cup, emblematic of the world's pro championship, within the sunny confines of Victoria.

There is no gainsaying in fact that "Slim" is busy. His showing since he was converted from a utility forward into a defence man has made all the difference in the world to Victoria's chances of getting into the world's series. While he was doing his trick on the line the club was a tail-ender. When he dropped back the club went up.

LOOK LIKE THE SAME

As a result of his sensational showing "Slim" is being hailed as a second Lester Patrick. In make-up, appearance, stick-handling, brains and cunning, "Slim" conforms with Lester. Every day in every way the resemblance, especially from the hockey angle, becomes more and more uniform for the simple reason that Lester is coaching the tall boy. He is teaching him all the tricks of the trade and is greatly pleased at the way his protege is coming along.

Lester and "Slim" both take the air at the same height. Their heads bump the beam at 6 feet 1 1/2 inches. They are both long-geared and angular. "Slim" tips the scales ready for action at 170 pounds, the same weight that Lester carried about with him when he was "Slim's age―sweet twenty-three. In disposition they stack up about the same, while each possesses a killer of a marcel wave, which gets as much nursing as a baby.

SOLE QUALIFICATIONS

In hockey ways they are much alike. When Lester was performing on the ice he was cool, deliberate and methodical. So is "Slim." Lester mixed his stuff and never went through a defence the same way twice in a row. Neither does "Slim." Lester had heaps of courage. So has "Slim." Lester was a marvellous stick-handler. So is "Slim." Lester knew how to block attacks. So does "Slim."

There is a slight difference in their skating. Lester was quicker on the break and skated with a shorter strike. He also had a little more power on his shot.

DIDN'T LOOK GOOD AT FIRST

When Halderson first broke into the headlines he was a forward, being part of Steamer Maxwell's famous combination, Goodman, Frederickson and Halderson. He was a right-wing man and a good one. When the Falcons broke up in 1920 Frederickson came to the Coast and Halderson hopped the rattlers to Saskatoon, where he had a fairly good season. The next year he shifted to Victoria, but his early starts made him look like a false alarm. One heavy body check and he was ready for the cradle. Towards the close of the season he was standing the wear and tear better, but he was still a long shot.

This season "Slim" came West with an extra fifteen pounds tucked away on his elongated frame. He showed better but he did not have the form to catch a place on the forward line because Eddie Oatman has no peer at right wing.

On December 23, 1822, Regina was billed to play in Victoria. Lester wanted to win that game as badly as a championship. All season he had been working on "Slim" to see if he would develop into a defence man. He wanted a right defence player because most of the goals obtained by opposing teams were coming off that side. Clem Loughlin was doing his duty well at the left side of the rink, but brother Wilf was falling down on the right. Lester rolled the bones and decided to take a chance on "Slim," green timber.

HALDERSON LOOKED GOOD AT START

The game was won by Regina but through no fault of the slim boy. Lester was convinced that the boy was right and from then on Halderson has camped at right defence. Victoria came right through with five straight wins, a record in the P.C.G.A., and the fans heave a bunch of the credit for such a performance right at "Slim's" koko. The Cougars have never shown such wonderful form in their twelve years of striving in this circuit.

Halderson will never get back to the line. He is to be a defence player from now on. His offensive work has improved and whether he goes in alone or in a two-man rush he is extremely dangerous.

Lester Patrick broke into the limelight in much the same manner. He started out as a forward with the Wanderers of Montreal, but things were not going well with the defence and the management hauled him back to where the heavy work is done. Lester made good with a rattle, and the Wanderers stepped out and won the Stanley Cup in 1906 and 1907. In the former year Lester beat Ottawa out of the championship single-handed. He scored all three goals for the Wanderers in the final game. Lester was twenty-three then.

EVERYONE HOPES HE WILL

Perhaps Halderson will be the means of pulling Victoria through to a championship and duplicating the feat of the man who hands him his pay cheques. He is the most popular player that has everp erformed in ictoria, and any rough opponent who dares touch "Our Slim" is liable to have several thousand wild-eyed fans clawing at his thatch. "Slim" is a quiet, unassuming chap who takes his hockey seriously and tries all the time. Despite the plaudits of the fans, his heads bothers him not at all. Halderson is now recognized as one of the best defence players on the Coast, and by the time he takes on a little more poundage and gains experience there'll be nothing in the country that will touch him.

From utility forwards to star defence player overnight―such is the record of one "Slim" Halderson".

--------------------------------

1925 STANLEY CUP FINALS

Victorias Cougars vs. Montreal Canadiens

Game 1 (Victoria wins 5-0)

Times Colonist 23 Mar 1925

"It was one of the hardest games the Cougars have been through this season and they were badly bruised in the heavy checking. Halderson had to have three stitches put over his eye, while Clem Loughlin winced when the club doctor put a stitch in his forehead. But the Cougars took it all and kept Canadiens out."

"The aggressive checking of the Victoria defense brought on the first free-for-all fight of the season. Joliat who was very aggressive all evening, tried to get through but was carried past the net and almost buried in the boards by the diminutive Anderson. Joliat resented the insult, and as soon as he could get near Jocko tried to fight with his stick. As soon as the rest of the players could reach the fight they jumped aboard and played sacks on the mill. Halderson was on the bottom of the heap and lost his hairnet."

"The goal scored by Halderson, the second in the first period, was the prettiest of the night. The two Icelanders, who helped the Falcons win the Allan Cup and Olympic championship in 1920, went through on their own, passed three times to get in a position to beat Vezina, who set himself for a shot from Fredrickson but was thrown out of position when, instead of shooting, the blonde centre passed to his teammate for a sure goal."

"Halderson through again, but Vézina saved. Morenz halted at blue line by Halderson."

"Halderson was laid on the ice by Cleghorn. The crowd was in uproar".

"Henderson* ruled off for cross-checking Cleghorn".

*Probably Halderson based on PIM stats of Second Period

Game 2 (Victoria wins 3-1)

Times Colonist 24 Mar 1925

"Walker, with his hook-check, stole the puck off Morenz's stick and fed it to Halderson who broke with Frederickson. The Icelanders pierced the Canadiens' defence and Vezina picked off Fredrickson's shot and Halderson's rebound but the French defence could not smother the fast stickhandling of the former Falcons and Halderson fed the puck back to Fredrickson in the goal-mouth and a goal was counted."

"Two penalties in succession did not help Canadiens, Coutu being sent off for trying to lift Halderson into the gallery and Boucher going off for his mean work against Walker."

"HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
******
Halderson may be careful how he keeps his hair combed but he doesn't care how the opposition tries to ride him. In the third period "Slim" wrecked a dozen Canadien rushes. In an effort to make him flinch the Frenchmen jumped into him, but fell off the long boy like raindrops. Coutu made one flying leap at Halderson but went crashing to the ice while Slim ran off with the puck. Upset in more was than one Coutu chased "Slim" and made a nasty check to draw a penalty. Morenz appealed to Ion several times when Halderson left him flat on the ice.
******
Just to show how the fans were swinging in their support Halderson halted Morenz twice in a row and the crowd booed as they thought Slim's checking was too vigorous. While the boos were still sounding the Icelander recovered the puck, went in alone, circled the net, played the Canadiens' defence and nearly got a goal. In an instant the boos changed to vociferous cheers."

Montreal Gazette 24 Mar 1925

"Both teams laid on the wood hard in this period, but there were no serious mishaps apart from bruised shins. Halderson, of Victoria, was a bad offender, but got away with a lot of unnecessary rough work."

"Halderson flashed up the right boards, and drove a bullet shot at Vezina. He recovered fast from the corner, passed it to Fredrickson who batted it through for the last count of the period."

Halderson off for checking Headley.

"Coutu was almost through when Halderson pushed him into corner."

"The game was stopped when Halderson knocked Morenz down. Morenz appealed to Ion, but play was resumed. Vezina stopped a long one from Loughlin. Morenz gave the fans a thrill with some fast skating. Halderson stopped him hard. Coutu came back and kicked at Halderson."

Game 3 (Montreal wins 4-2)

Times Colonist Mar 28 1925

Halderson penalized for cross-checking Morenz.

"Vezina came out and saved from Halderson, who got in for another shot."

Coutu off for dumping Halderson.

"The Cougars were all ahead gunning for a goal when Morenz got away with only Halderson to pass. His wide skating carried him around "Slim" and he made no mistake with his shot".

Game 4 (Victoria wins 6-1 and wins the Stanley Cup)

Times Colonist 31 Mar 1925

"Lester Patrick has under his control probably the best balanced club that professional hockey has ever seen. In Holmes he has a goalkeeper who needs doff his hat to no one in his particular line of business. He has three defense men, Halderson, Loughlin and Fraser, who are equal in effectiveness and ability. His forward line has Hart, Frederickson and Walker as one section and Meeking, Foyston and Anderson as the other shift.

Lester drives his men at top speed for five or ten minutes, then pulls them and throws his fresh men into the fray. Owing to the fact that the men are so equal there is never a letup either on the defense or attack.

Last night the Canadiens were pitted against this ten-man team at the peak of its form. Whenever the whistle blew for an offside or kicking the puck, Lester changed his line, four men going on quite often. It was little wonder that the Canadiens burned themselves out half way through, for they could not be expected to work against such an array for the full sixty minutes."

"Halderson scored after a sensational attack with Walker"

"Canadiens seemed lost in the third period in face of the unlimited speed of the Cougars. Loughlin, Hart and Frederickson appeared to have wings on their feet. Added to this were the cunning movements of Walker, Foyston and Meeking and the fearful long shots of Fraser, while Halderson threw the defence out of position by his wide stick-handling."

"Halderson went in on a great rush, upset Coutu, retained the puck, but shot wide"

"HIGHLIGHTS OF THE GAME
******
The Cougars' defence was again as hard to upset as one of those old German pill-boxes. The Canadiens tried plo0ughing into the Halderson-Fraser-Loughlin combination but they found the bumps hard to take. Particularly was this noticeable in the case of Morenz, who wasb rought up all satnding several times in the first period. These checks took the steam out of the flashy centre and he was not near as effective as in the previous games. The rushing of Victoria defence was also very brillant, Halderson doing some very fine stick-handling, Loughlin skating furiously and Fraser shooting dead on the tasrget many times.
*******
The Victoria defence far overshadowed the Canadiens' pair, Cleghorn and Coutu. Cleghorn is still a pillar of strength on the defence but he has slowed up greatly on the offensive and, not one during the series, was he dangerous on the attack. Coutu had to do most of the rushing for the visitors and was the star performer on the defence.
******
The furious back-checking of the Victoria forwards, coupled with the jazzing which the Victoria defence handed out to the Canadiens as they went in, spelled early ruin for the visitors.""

-----------------------------------

More on his toughness:

Victoria Daily Times 24 Oct 1925:

HALDERSON COMING BACK TO COUGARS FOR DEFENCE WORK

TALL BOY WITH ADDED WEIGHT WILL TIP ATTACKERS IF THEY GET SMART

Harold "Slim" Halderson, who in three years was converted from a mild quiet fellow on the ice into a roaring, bustling player, is to return to the Victoria Hockey Club and give the Cougars a hand in defending the Stanley Cup.

Lester Patrick, boss of the world's champions, announced this morning that he had settled everything satisfactorily with the tall boy, who boasts the best Marcel in organized hockey. "Slim", who gained the cognomen when he deserved it but who now is one of the biggest defence men in the game, will join the Cougars in Winnipeg and make jaunt to Montreal, Ottawa and Toronto.

Halderson looks for a big year. Last season saw him at his best on the defensive. He took nothing from nobody and bowled at the attackers over. Some of the big defence men on the other clubs tried to ride "Slim", but they always came out second best. This was particularly noticeable in the case of Billy Coutu, the Canadien heavy weight, but "Slim" never batted an eyelash.

"Slim" is a rattling good defence man. He worked well last year with Fraser and Clem Loughlin and if that old trio is back on the job this year the Cougars will be well fortified. Fraser has already signed and word is expected any time from Clem.

 

[rmartin65]

Is anyone opposed to me dropping the mini-bios that I created for the players in the HoH project in here, so we have them all consolidated into one place?

Also, for the AHAC/CAHL/ECAHA guys, I can send over stats/quotes for players if you want, just let me know.

 

[BenchBrawl]

Is anyone opposed to me dropping the mini-bios that I created for the players in the HoH project in here, so we have them all consolidated into one place?

Also, for the AHAC/CAHL/ECAHA guys, I can send over stats/quotes for players if you want, just let me know.

I 100% support this

Would be more convenient than using the schizophrenic search function trying to chase posts buried in deep threads.

 

[jigglysquishy]

Is anyone opposed to me dropping the mini-bios that I created for the players in the HoH project in here, so we have them all consolidated into one place?

Also, for the AHAC/CAHL/ECAHA guys, I can send over stats/quotes for players if you want, just let me know.

All my bios will be taking something from the work you put in. In the case of Russell Bowie, functionally written by you.

So post away.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Dick Irvin, C

5'9", 162 lbs, left-handed shot
1927 Hart voting - 4th place
1927 Lady Byng voting - 2nd place
HHOF Honoured Member - 1958

Points Finishes
NHL - 2nd (1927)
WHL/WCHL - 2nd (1926), 6th (1922), 9th (1924)
PCHA - 5th (1917)
SSHL - 1st (1920), 2nd (1921)
MHL - 1st (1914), 1st (1915), 1st (1916), 1st (1918)

---

Overview

Dick Irvin was one of the preeminent offensive centremen of the late 1910s into the 1920s. Most of his physical prime (which I would term as sometime from 1915 to late 1922) was spent playing amateur hockey in Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Highly sought after by the Coast league as an amateur, Irvin, who was almost certainly being well-compensated to retain his simon-pure status, agreed to turn pro with Portland of the PCHA, where he starred as an elite young talent with a bright future in pro hockey. The Great War beckoned, however - he returned to Winnipeg and was granted amateur status again to play in their 'war league' while awaiting deployment, and was soon off to Europe.

Upon returning, he remained an amateur until 1921, when 'professionalism' spread to Regina and Irvin was compelled to turn pro for good. A hard hit from Frank Patrick at the start of the 22-23 season led to back problems that lingered for the remainder of his playing career, rendering him as a player who retained the stickhandling and shooting of his prime, but without the skating or stamina that was required out of an elite centreman. Two big scoring years on middling teams in '26 and '27 were his last hurrah, and a skull fracture in late 1927 ended his time as an impactful player.

---

Spoiler: Playing Style

Irvin was primarily a goal-getting centreman who utilized his stickhandling, shot, and speed to worm through the defense and beat the goaltender from in tight.

Dick Irvin was the star of the game, scoring four of the five goals and the visitors simply could not stop him as time and again he skated through the whole bunch for a score. He took a lot of abuse, Heffernan and Gooch hooking or checking him in an attempt to stop the tricky centre player.

Dick Irvin, who has a specialty for pulling games out in the pinch, ended one of his dazzling cork-screw twists, by a beautiful score...

Dick Irvin, the muchly-touted centre forward, lived up to advance notices and is a dangerous man in front of the net.

Dick travelled at a fast clip and kept dodging in on the net, and lining shots at Jackson in his noted deadly style. Many of his shots were stopped, but he managed to bulge the net four times.

Dick Irvin proved the star of the evening. He is all that Frank Patrick claims for him, speedy, clever stickhandler and a wonderful shot. Irvin was the hardest working individual on the ice and although he was bodied heavily a couple of times nothing slowed him up.

Tommy Phillips, perhaps the greatest hockey player that ever put on steel blades, has the following to say about Dick Irvin, whom he saw play recently in Vancouver...

'The first time I saw him work, I formed an opinion that he was a second-rater, but that has been entirely wiped away after witnessing his exhibition last Tuesday night. He handles the puck beautifully. In fact, he's more than an ordinary hockey player at that particular item of work. He's a real artist in that respect. You noticed, no doubt, that when he has the puck, it seems glued to the stick, although all the time his stick is moving from one side of it to the other.

[Irvin] is playing centre, and playing it so spectacularly that he is touted the real find of the season. He plays clean hockey, too, and has a most deceptive method of wig-wagging his way through the best defences for a shot on the nets.

Dick Irvin gave life to Ypres by taking a pass from [his brother Chum Irvin] and stick handling past three opponents to draw Binney out and score.

Dick Irvin demonstrated that he is a 'wizard' both on the steel blades and with a hockey stick by starring in an individual play and engaging the whole forward line of the Somme team.

Dick Irvin was all over the place, and is worthy of all the praise that it is possible to hand out. He is fast, clean, and a clever stick handler, and has real hockey ability and brains. Time after time he went through the entire Saskatoon line without assistance. The fact that four of the seven goals are credited to him is proof enough of his ability.

Dick Irvin put up another great exhibition of hockey during the course of the match. His offensive work was grand and he was a marked man during most of the match. On defense, too, he was going strong all the way. The goal scored by Dick shortly after the match started was one of the best plays made during the entire season. Dick took a lot of bumps during the match and was badly used up, but was going strong when the final bell rang.

---

Spoiler: Star Power & Value

Irvin's name commanded great star power, not only because of his gaudy totals but also because of how valuable he was to his teams, thanks to his ability to generate offense as an individual talent.

UNDRAFTED sustained an injury to his collar bone last Thursday which made it impossible for him to stack up against the Allan Cuppers; since then Dick Irvin, star goal-getter of the Monarchs has taken sick and will be unable to play this evening... Dick Irvin's absence from the Monarch line causes a big gap as he is the greatest goal-getter in amateur hockey; this season he has scored twice as many goals as any other player in the league.

Dick Irvin sure was missed by the Monarchs. Last night's game again demonstrated that Dick is the pivot of the Dominion champs, for without him their attack is completely disorganized.

'Dick Irvin is the greatest forward who ever came into the Pacific Coast League and before the end of the season he will be one of the best players in the country. He's a natural-born goal getter, scores from almost any possible angle, and, what's more, he puts 'em where the other fellow doesn't happen to be at the right moment.'

Frank Patrick, president of the PCHA, delivered himself of this great boast about the former Winnipeg amateur upon his return yesterday from Seattle where he watched the Buds trim the Mets, 7-4.

Young Dick Irvin fulfilled all the nice things the advance notices have been saying about him. Right now he looks like the best prospect ever developed in the coast league and this includes the fair Mickey [MacKay], who has never shown any more class than the 'Peg youngster, although possibly he is faster than the Bud recruit.

Speaking of Dick Irvin, the sensational Peg amateur, [Gordon] Roberts says he is the class of the coast league.

Dick Irvin, who had failed to tally at all against the Somme, got 6 of the goals against Vimy, and showed that he is as dangerous as ever, even more capable of making his own opportunities than ever before...

Dick Irvin was again the big cause of the Ypres success. The brilliant centre player again demonstrated that he is head and shoulders above any puck chaser in this part of the country by dodging in on the opposing defence for 6 tallies.

Ypres and Sommes meet in a Military Hockey League struggle tonight at the Amphitheatre rink at 8:30 o'clock... It is worth the price of admission to see Dick Irvin perform.

Dick Irvin was on the bench when the game started and when he came on the ice, the fans gave him a great cheer which indicated the hold he has upon the fans of this city.

Dick Irvin is a power in himself. The Vics are certainly to be congratulated on the work of their peerless centre.

Dick Irvin made a lone rush and out-generalled both defence men to flip one of his famous back-hand shots into the net.

For the Vics, Dick Irvin again showed himself the peer of all forwards. It is very doubtful if there is another man on either team who could keep up for fifty eight minutes such a strenuous game as Dick played last night. He was watched and worried every minute of the time and was off only two minutes in the whole hour. Dick must be built like a steel bridge to stay with it and he required just as much attention from the Leafs at the end of the game as at the beginning.

Regina has Dick Irvin, one of the greatest centre players who has ever played hockey, performing at centre...

Regina's hockey teams have flashed forth some stars on the firmament in days gone by, but it is doubtful if ever a satellite shone with such undoubted brilliancy throughout an entire match as did Dick Irvin. He was a tower of strength to the team all through the game. His offensive work was above reproach, while on the defence he was a consistent thorn in the side of the Leafs.

It was conceded by everyone at the start of the season that Regina would have a might hard team to beat, a team as good as the team of 1920 or better. Through injury to Dick Irvin, who is half a team himself, and trouble with the paid coach of the team, Regina made a poor showing in the early part of the season... When Dick Irvin returned, Regina showed fifty percent greater strength.

It is said that one man doesn't make a hockey team, but take it from us, that man Dick Irvin sure helped put the Vics back in the running for the championship. It was mainly due to him that the Crescents experienced such a crushing defeat last night.

The Vics certainly have a great team with Dick Irvin as the king pin. Without this star centre they would be at a loss for scoring.

Dick Irvin, probably the greatest center ice man in western hockey, absolutely refuses to play for the Regina Caps, according to Owner Champ.

GREAT THRILLS, DICK IRVIN PLAYS HERE MONDAY (SOME FELLOWS FROM REGINA WILL BE WITH HIM).

It was mainly due to Irvin's ability that Regina won the Western Canada League championship.

Irvin's presence on any professional club is a big step toward a winning team. He is conceded by many to be the most valuable man in the game today and Regina will be solidly behind any fight to retain him.

---

Spoiler: Weaknesses

Irvin tended to 'loaf' defensively, which I gather means he liked to cherry pick. He was able to get away with this strategy partly because of having George Hay filling the 'defensive conscience' role on his wing for almost all of his post-war hockey.

To Dick Irvin primarily is due the major share of the credit for his victory, as his record of six goals would indicate. His work was sensational, although marred by a tendency to loaf.

Irvin was a little inclined to loaf and as the game progressed without the judge of play checking him up for this fault, he became worse.

Irvin was practically the whole of the formidable line, and was always dangerous. He has a habit of loafing offside which comes in mighty handy at times, and he used this habit to great advantage last night.

Additionally, we have this glimpse into his leadership capabilities:

Dick Irvin, captain, is a brainy and shrewd hockey player, but he is not the leader that Barney Stanley is.

Dick Irvin is one of the greatest hockey players in history. A truly deft and methodical player on the ice. But Dick is too easy going, too stolid to be a leader.

---

Overall, Dick Irvin brings a ton of individual offensive skill as the centrepiece of a scoring line, provided he's given a defensive winger to cover for his loafing. Primarily skewing towards goal-scoring, a playmaking wing by his side would be ideal as well.

Additional information/quotes can be found in my Dick Irvin posts for Vote 9 of the HOH pre-merger ranking project.

 

[rmartin65]

Chauncey Kirby​

Chauncey Kirby, the diminutive center of Ottawa HC for most of the 1890s, was one of my favorite players to follow over the course of my research. One of the few players to get numerous positive notes for his defensive play, Kirby clearly had a positive impact on both sides of the puck. I think that he was also a strong playmaker; I believe he led the 1890s in assists (EDIT: just double checked my spreadsheets, and it looks like he is third; Weldy Young and Shirley Davidson are 1 and 2 for the 1890s, unless I am forgetting another player). The fact that he was primarily a puck distributor, and less of an outright goal scorer (interestingly, the 1890s Ottawa HC seems to buck the trend of most of the AHAC (and, really, CAHL/ECAHA) teams in that their wingers were the primary goal scorers, as opposed to the other teams, where the center/rover usually did most of the scoring), as well as the fact that Ottawa HC players of this era are (I think) unduly harmed by split stats- with 2 more papers to cover the games, there was a higher likelihood that a writer thought a different player scored or assisted on a particular goal (although, to be fair- the added papers make it more likely an assist gets noticed and mentioned, so maybe it evens out)- makes me think that Chauncey Kirby has not been appropriately recognized and celebrated historically.

Selection of Quotes:

Spoiler

1890
Nothing noteworthy

1891
“For the Ottawas Morrel, Young and Kirby played a brilliant game”

“For the winning team, Young played a faultless game at cover point, while Kirby was the star of the forward play.”

1892
“C. Kirby played a wonderful game and was very noticeable on a team where all are stars”

“Herb. Scott, the flyer of the Quebec team, who played with a pink handkerchief round his head, is just about the same weight as Chancey Kirby. They are a great pair”

“The longer the match lasted, the livelier Bradley got. The Ottawas’ big boy only needs to follow his man back faster to be almost peerless. It is in this respect that little Kirby [almost certainly C. Kirby], the other end of the team, is invaluable”.

“The Ottawas were playing a much rougher game, especially Young and little Kirby”

“H. Scott, their rusher, is a star of the first water, and walked away even from young Kirby, and he it was scored the first game”

1893
“Bradley, Chauncey Kirby and Young played magnificently for Ottawa”

“Chaunce [Kirby] was everywhere and easily outplayed his man”

“Ritchie and Murray were the brilliant ones on the Crystal side. Bradley, Young and C. Kirby were the stars for the Ottawas”

“Bradley was very fast and at times seemed to own the ice and Kerr on the other side of the rink showed what a weeks’ rest had done him good. Halder Kirby was in great shape, but many thought that Chauncey had perhaps trained a little fine and that a few days rest would do him no harm. Weldy Young after the first three games rushed forward and took chances he never would have done had he not known the game to be a foregone conclusion”

“No team could stand such rushes as Bradley and the Kirby brothers made”

“Of the visitors front rank, Bradley showed up well, as did the Kirbys, but their back division had plenty of work cut out for them”

“Their wing men, Hodgson and Low, were not effectively checked or pursued, although the Kirbys, particularly Chauncey, followed back in splendid style”

“‘Chaunce’ and Halder Kirby never played better, but they had more than their fair share to do of the work”

“Russell and Kerr of the Ottawas did not seem up to their usual form, but the two Kirbys were in it from start to finish”

“What the Ottawas require however to make their team perfect is a strong point player and another forward with Bradley and Halder and Chaunce Kirby”.

1894
“Russell proved himself a first class man in the forward line, and, as usual, Chauncy Kirby was all over the ice. The back division left nothing to be desired, although Young was not very well”

“... the new men on the visitors’ team showed that they were nearly the equal of the men they replaced. Watters and Grant, the new men of the Ottawas, played fairly well, demonstrating that with practice the former will be perhaps superior to Kerr. It was evident, however, that Russell was the only one of the forwards in really good condition. Chauncey Kirby played well, but will play much better with more practice. Morel was o.k. In goal, and Young as reliable as ever at coverpoint”

Little C. Kirby and Watson apparently got into a fight. The spectacle was amusing, as Watson was described as being “a foot the taller”. Big brother Halder Kirby stepped in “before any damage was done”.

“C. Kirby and Russell played magnificently forward”

“In the centre Chancey Kirby showed all his old time vim, and like Russell not only played a great rushing game forward but followed back like lightning and often came in to the Ottawa defence in the nick of time”

“The teams were evenly balanced, and with the possible exception of Kirby, whom many will acknowledge to be the star of the hockey world, all seemed to do equally good work”.

“Chancey Kirby played about the best game of his life, and that means about the best hockey that can be played. He and Russell did great rushing”

“The play of Kirby and Russell was immense. On the defense Morel and Young were grand. Young especially distinguished himself by his coolness and good judgment. He never missed a chance.”

“Kirby and Russell for Ottawa played great hockey as did the rest of the team but these two showed up the most brilliantly”

“Kirby put up a plucky forward game, but his efforts were always fruitless, as his assistants lacked that determination so necessary for a hard match. He frequently carried the puck up, only to lose it.”

“Weld. Young and Chaunce Kirby showed that they are probably the two best hockey players in Canada. It was they who bore the great brunt of the fierce onslaughts of the Montreal besiegers. Their checking was grand, and could not be improved upon. Not only did they stand firm to stop the rush of the heavy Montreal line which gathered greater impetus as they swept along the keen ice, but often did Ottawa’s white-shirted players charge also. And it wasn’t the white shirts that gave away the most times in these collisions, for often they would not only repel the onslaught, but take the puck and attack in return”

“Chaunce Kirby, and Weld. Young put up, as stated before, a phenomenal game for the Ottawas; Joe McDougal and Pulford played well, and Russell did good work at times”.

“Joe McDougal and Chancey Kirby played a wonderfully strong game, the former’s checking disturbing the Quebecs a lot.”

“Kirby’s amazing dodges”

“the play of Young and Kirby was simply phenomenal. Young in the opinion of many put up the finest defence game ever witnessed in hockey. He was everywhere and always in the right place; nothing could pass him if he had half a chance at it, and apparently throughout the game he never missed or misplaced a lift. Kirby was the star of the forward lines on both sides, although Hodgson and Barlow of the Montrealers did splendid work”

1895
“The star of the Ottawa team was Kirby, than whom no player on the ice did better work. Light as he was, he was the most effective check the Ottawas had, and if he missed the puck he blocked the man. And he was always on the puck on his own side”

“Ottawa was minus the services of Kirby and Pulford and this probably accounted for their defeat”

“Archie Hodgson said that if C. Kirby had been on the Ottawas would have won”

“[n]icer forward combinations between Russell, Kirby, and Smith was never witnessed on the rink”

“The Ottawas need Kirby on the forward line”

“Chauncey Kirby was badly needed last night. If he had been on the team Ottawa would not have lost”

“Russell and Kirby were the two stars of the forward lines, and the former did an immense amount of heavy work”

“Then Kirby got in one of his pretty runs down the centre by jumping over the opposing sticks”

“Kirby and Russell were particularly conspicuous among the forwards, but all did well”

“All of the Ottawa men played well, Chauncey Kirby probably outshining the others”

“Kirby was too well covered to do much effective work, but he played a good game”

“Kirby played in his usual dashing style”

“A.D. Scott is a plucky player but he had too good a cover in Kirby to be able to show up much.

“Davidson, McDougall and Capt. Grant of the Vics were conspicuous for their good work. On par with them was the superhuman efforts of Smith and Kirby of the Ottawas”

“Kirby seemed in almost better form than he ever was, and certainly he was faster than at any previous match this season”

“But Young in his position put up a game none the less good. He probably played better than he ever did before. Russell, Kirby and Chittick also played well, and Pulford and Westwick put up a fairly good game”

“Kirby could have done no better than he did”

1896
“Smith is, admittedly, the finest forward in Canada, while Westwick and Kirby come in but a little lower in the scale of merit”

“Kirby and Smith played the star game for the Ottawas”.

“Kirby and Westwick were fast and always with the puck”

“There can be little doubt that the best team won, although the game throughout was a toss up, and the unruly tempers of Smith and Young had considerable to do with their team’s defeat. Capt. Kirby also decorated the fence, but Chauncey is so seldom guilty of foul play that his case is more excusable”

“Otherwise they [Ottawa] put up a splendid game, Kirby and Westwick being simply splendid in their play”

“Smith’s work on the forward was not up to his standard. Russell, Kirby and little Westwick played well”

“Smith and Kirby were particularly aggressive and effective”

“Westwick and Kirby filled their posts valiantly and unlike Smith, they played a thoroughly unselfish combined game”

1897
Didn’t play

“Spittal, Alf. Smith, and Kirby were off. Spittal is said to be sick; Smith, according to Ottawa reports, has thrown in his lot with the Capitals and it does not look as though he would turn out with the senior aggregation again, but we shall have to wait and see. As for Kirby, he went off in a huff the other day and says he won’t play again. Of course he may be induced to change his mind”

1898
Didn’t play

1899
“Kirby played the best game on the Ottawa forward line and has lost none of his old-time dash”

“Chauncey Kirby has not lost a bit of his old time dash”

“Kirby got the face in nearly every instance”

“Rogers, a new man on the Ottawa forward line, played one of the best games on the ice, and with Kirby, the Ottawas have a great pair of cenre forwards”

“Captain Kirby played with dash and is as good a forward as ever, while Nolin was more effective than in the Montreal game”

“Captain Kirby was an improvement over a week ago. He did his share with a will, and very often showed an inclination to be in two or three places at once”

“The referee had to warn the Ottawa forwards several times for loafing off side, Kirby being the most at fault, but Montreal did a little of this too. Chittick, in poles for Ottawa, put up a grand game, and with Young, Kirby, and Nolan, were by far the hardest workers for Ottawa”

“Capt. Kirby worked as he never worked before. He put up the best game on the forward line, but he was very roughly treated by Charlton.”

“Kirby was the best of the forwards, but all did good individual work”

“Capt. Kirby performed a lot of hard conscientious work”.

“The Ottawas put up a game fight, but the entire team, with the exception of Fred White and Chance Kirby were away off color”

“The work of the Ottawa team was pretty evenly balanced, but Kirby and White did the most effective work on the line. Kirby was knocked about, bodied, slashed and checked, but he never flinched and was in the game until the last”

Another Montreal paper called out Kirby for “loafing offside”.

“Henry particularly put up a great game, and was one of the best forwards on the ice. The Montreal people were asking the Ottawa crowd who the kid was, and his dashes were repeatedly applauded. Hod Stuart on the opposite wing put up a good, fast game as did White and Kirby in the centre”

“Every man on the Shamrock forward line played well, but Wall at cover point put up a very dirty game. Wall weighs about 170 pounds, and it is not to his credit that most of his attacks were mane on Kirby, the smallest man on the Ottawa team. Kirby may be small, but he is no easy proposition”

Stats

Spoiler

Here is a table with all the stats I have from Chauncey Kirby, counting split points:

Year	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
1890	Ottawa HC	Goal	1	0	0	0
1891	Ottawa HC	Forward/Goal	3	1	0	1
1892	Ottawa HC	Forward	6	3.5	0	3.5
1893	Ottawa HC	Forward/Center or Rover	9	9.5	0	9.5
1894	Ottawa HC	Forward/Center/Center or Rover	9	9.16	5	14.16
1895	Ottawa HC	Forward/Center	7	6	1.5	7.5
1896	Ottawa HC	Forward/Center	8	3.5	5.5	9
1899	Ottawa HC	Forward/Center	7	5	4	9
		Totals	50	37.66	16	53.66

As I mentioned earlier, I think Kirby leads the 1890s in assists (EDIT- like I corrected above, it looks like he trailed Weldy Young (18.67 assists) and Shirley Davidson (16.5 assists)). Now, like any arbitrarily chosen time periods, that may not be as impactful as it sounds, but it is still a good indicator of the type of player he was.

Season-by-Season stats (not counting any non-AHAC regular season games).

1890 (AHAC)- No points in 1 game, not a significant scoring season.

1891 (AHAC)- 1 goal in 3 games, not a significant scoring season.

1892 (AHAC)- 3.5 goals in 6 games, not a significant scoring season.

1893 (AHAC)- No Split Points

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	12	0	12
2	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	11	0	11
3	Reginald Bradley	Ottawa HC	1	10	1	11
T-4	William Murray	Crystals	1	9	1	10
T-4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	5	5	10
T-6	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	1	8	0	8
T-6	Dave Brown	Crystals	2	8	0	8
T-6	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	7	1	8
9	Bunny Lowe	Montreal HC	3	5	2	7
T-10	H. Home	Quebec HC	2	4	2	6
T-10	Norman Rankin	Victorias	2	4	2	6
12	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	3	3	2	5
T-13	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	4	0	4
T-13	S. McQuisten	Crystals	3	3	1	4
T-13	F. Stephens	Victorias	3	2	2	4
T-13	Allan Cameron	Montreal HC	4	0	4	4

1893 (AHAC)- with split points

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Reginald Bradley	Ottawa HC	1	12.17	1	13.17
2	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	13	0	13
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	11	0	11
4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	6	5	11
5	William Murray	Crystals	1	9.5	1	10.5
6	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	8.5	0	8.5
T-7	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	1	8	0	8
T-7	Dave Brown	Crystals	2	8	0	8
T-7	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	7	1	8

1894 (AHAC)- no split points

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
T-1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	8	4	12
T-1	Bert Russell	Ottawa HC	1	8	4	12
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	9	2	11
4	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	5	4	9
5	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	2	6	1	7
T-6	K. Davidson	Quebec HC	T-2	6	0	6
T-6	Norm Rankin	Victorias	1	6	0	6
T-6	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	3	4	2	6
T-6	A.E. Scott	Quebec HC	T-3	3	3	6
10	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	4	5	0	5
T-11	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	T-2	4	0	4
T-11	Alex Kingan	Montreal HC	4	4	0	4
T-11	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	T-2	4	0	4

1894 (AHAC)- with split points

Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Bert Russell	Ottawa HC	1	9.5	4	13.5
2	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	8.5	4	12.5
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	10	2	12
4	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	6.83	4	10.83
5	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	2	7	1	8
6	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	3	4.5	2.5	7
T-7	K. Davidson	Quebec HC	T-2	6.5	0	6.5
T-7	A.E. Scott	Quebec HC	T-2	3.5	3	6.5
9	Norm Rankin	Victorias	1	6	0	6
T-10	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	T-2	5	0	5
T-10	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	T-2	5	0	5
T-10	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	4	5	0	5
13	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	3	1	3.5	4.5

1895 (AHAC)- no split points

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	15	1	16
2	Bob MacDougall	Victorias	1	10	1	11
T-3	Graham Drinkwater	Victorias	2	8	2	10
T-3	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	5	5	10
T-5	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	8	1	9
T-5	Norm Rankin	Victorias	3	7	2	9
7	Herb Russell	Ottawa HC	1	8	0	8
T-8	Fairbairn	Crystals	T-1	5	0	5
T-8	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	4	1	5
T-8	Sam McQuisten	Crystals	T-1	4	1	5
T-8	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	T-2	4	1	5
T-8	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	4	3	2	5
T-8	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	T-2	3	2	5
T-8	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	T-2	3	2	5

1895 (AHAC)- with split points

Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	17.5	1	18.5
2	Bob MacDougall	Victorias	1	11	1	12
3	Graham Drinkwater	Victorias	2	9.5	2	11.5
T-4	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	9.5	1.5	11
T-4	Norman Rankin	Victorias	3	9	2	11
T-4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	6	5	11
7	Herb Russell	Ottawa HC	1	9.5	0	9.5
8	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	5.5	2	7.5
T-9	Fairbairn	Crystals	1	6.5	0	6.5
T-9	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	4	4.5	2	6.5
T-11	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	4.5	1.5	6
T-11	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	T-3	5	1	6
T-11	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	T-3	3.5	2.5	6

1896 (AHAC)- no split points

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	11	1	12
2	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	8	2	10
3	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	6	2	8
T-4	Pat Doyle	Quebec HC	5	2	7
T-4	Graham Drinkwater	Victorias	5	2	7
T-4	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	4	3	7
T-4	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	4	3	7
8	C. McKerrow	Montreal HC	6	0	6
T-9	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	5	0	5
T-9	Dave Gillellan	Victorias	5	0	5
T-9	Dave Brown	Shamrocks	4	1	5
T-9	R.J. Davidson	Quebec HC	4	1	5
T-9	Aubrey Mussen	Montreal HC	4	1	5
T-9	Cam Davidson	Victorias	3	2	5
T-9	Mike Grant	Victorias	2	3	5
T-9	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	1	4	5

1896 (AHAC)- with split points

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	12.5	1.5	14
2	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	8.5	2.5	11
3	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	6.17	4.5	10.67
4	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	7.83	2.5	10.33
5	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	4	5.5	9.5

1899 (CAHL)- No split points

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Harry Trihey	Shamrocks	16	0	16
T-2	Clare McKerrow	Montreal HC	10	0	10
T-2	Cam Davidson	Victorias	5	5	10
T-4	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	8	1	9
T-4	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	5	4	9

1899 (CAHL)- with split points

Rank	Name	Team	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Harry Trihey	Shamrocks	18	.5	18.5
2	Cam Davidson	Victorias	7.5	5.5	13
3	Clare McKerrow	Montreal HC	11	0	11
4	Russell Bowie	Victorias	10.5	0	10.5
T-5	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	8	1	9
T-5	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	5	4	9

Mentions Tracking (minus 1899, as I have not gotten that far yet). These may incorporate stats/mentions from non-AHAC games (such as play-off games or other high-level exhibition games).

Spoiler

Standard disclaimer- these were originally never meant to be shared, but after talking with a couple people here, it seemed like there was some interest. First, these are unweighted numbers. A goal is worth 1 positive mention, just like a successfully completed pass, a positive mention for defensive play, being named a star of the game, etc. Additionally, I attempted to not count the same play multiple times (since different sources covered the games, the same play gets talked about occasionally). It is quite possible- almost a certainty- that I have made errors here. However, I think they are relatively few, and don’t alter the general trend. But because of all the above, I think that these numbers should not be taken as gospel. They are interesting (to me, at least), and I think shed some light on who may have had the most star power/impact on the games, but I don’t think splitting hairs over a difference in a couple positive mentions is a way to determine whether one player was necessarily better than another or not.

As always, I’m happy to answer any questions of make any corrections as they are pointed out to me.

1890

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Frank Jenkins	Cover	1	2	0	0	2
Thomas Green	Forward	1	1	0	0	1
Chauncey Kirby	Goal	1	1	0	0	1
T. Dey	Point	1	0	0	0	0
Jack Kerr	Forward	1	0	0	0	0
Halder Kirby	Forward	1	0	0	0	0
Jack Kerr	Forward	1	0	0	0	0
Weldy Young	Forward	1	0	0	0	0

1891

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
W. Young	Cover	3	7	0	0	7
C. Kirby	Forward/Goal	3	4	3	0	7
H. Kirby	Forward/Rover	2	5	1	0	6
Morel	Goal	2	5	1	0	6
C. Smith	Forward/Wing	3	5	0	0	5
R. Bradley	Wing	1	4	1	0	5
P. Ross	Forward/Center	3	4	0	0	4
J. Kerr	Point/Forward	3	3	0	0	3
Grant	Point	1	1	0	0	1

1892

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
H. Kirby	Forward	6	26	1	2	29
J. Kerr	Forward	7	25	3	0	28
H. Russell	Point/Forward	7	24	1	2	27
R. Bradley	Forward	7	21	2	2	25
C. Kirby	Forward	6	20	1	1	22
W. Young	Cover	7	18	3	1	22
A. Morel	Goal	7	16	2	0	18
Grant	DNP	DNP	1	0	0	1
F. Jenkins	Point	2	1	0	0	1
C. or H. Kirby	N/A	N/A	1	1	0	2

1893

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Bradley	Forward/Wing	9	63	4	2	69
Young	Cover	9	50	6	0	56
C. Kirby	Forward/Center or Rover	9	43	4	0	47
H. Kirby	Forward/Center or Rover	9	34	3	0	37
Kerr	Forward/Wing	7	19	6	2	27
Morel	Goal	9	20	6	0	26
Russell	Point/Forward	9	13	6	6	25
Dey	Forward	1	5	2	0	7
Grant	Forward/Point	2	1	2	0	3
C. or H. Kirby	N/A	N/A	1	0	0	1

1894

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
W. Young	Cover	9	88	21	1	110
C. Kirby	Forward/Center/Center or Rover	9	71	7	0	78
H. Russell	Forward/Wing	9	67	8	3	78
J. McDougal	Forward/Wing	8	37	5	4	46
Pulford	Point	7	24	11	5	40
S. McDougal	Forward/Center or Rover	7	22	9	3	34
A. Morel	Goal	9	25	5	1	31
D. Watters	Forward	1	8	0	0	8
H. Kirby	Forward	1	3	3	0	6
R. Bradley	Forward	1	3	1	0	4
E. Grant	Point	2	3	1	0	4
J. or S. McDougal	N/A	N/A	3	0	0	3
J. Kerr	N/A	DNP	0	1	0	1

1895

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
W. Young	Cover	9	69	20	5	94
H. Russell	Forward	9	80	11	2	93
A. Smith	Forward	9	69	14	6	89
C. Kirby	Forward/Center	7	60	9	2	71
H. Pulford	Point	8	28	9	5	42
H. Westwick	Forward/Goal	7	26	11	5	42
F. Chittick	Goal	7	30	8	0	38
Smellie	Forward	2	4	4	3	11
J. McDougal	Forward	4	5	2	2	9
D. Watters	Cover	2	4	1	0	5
S. McDougal	Forward	1	2	1	0	3
A. Morel	DNP	DNP	0	1	0	1

1896

Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Smith	Forward	8	71	20	18	109
Young	Cover	8	43	12	8	63
Kirby	Forward/Center	8	47	12	2	61
Westwick	Forward	8	46	8	1	55
Chittick	Goal	8	42	7	0	49
Russell	Forward	6	36	7	6	49
Pulford	Point	8	31	7	0	38
White	Forward	2	11	8	5	24

Great selection, @BenchBrawl !

 

[rmartin65]

Rod Flett​

Roderick ‘Roddy’ Flett was the longtime point of the powerhouse Winnipeg Victorias of the 1890s and very early 1900s, and, in my opinion, the second most important player on those teams after Dan Bain. In fact, I believe that the rise and fall of the Victorias as serious Stanley Cup challengers coincides with his career; Winnipeg takes hold of the cup in 1895, just Flett’s second full season in Senior competition, then stays among the contenders until Winnipeg’s final unsuccessful challenge in 1903. The other Winnipeg Victoria greats came and went, and the team still saw success; Higginbotham passed away in 1896, Whitey Merritt retired in 1900, and Dan Bain retired in 1902, but the Victorias maintained relevancy until Flett retired (Gingras wasn’t on the early Winnipeg SC winning team, Armytage retired before the later games,as did Howard and Campbell).

What surprised me the most when digging into Flett was that he was called the “best Point in Canada” as early as 1896, and stayed in that conversation until near the end of his career. This, incidentally, happens to coincide with Pulford’s slow-developing career arc, where I noted that Pulford didn’t really hit his stride until 1900 at the earliest. Even in 1903, when he was clearly not at his peak, Flett’s status for SC games was constantly monitored in the newspapers of the day (Winnipeg’s final challenge of 1903 being a particularly good example- he almost missed the the first game, and the saga was covered for several days), and his value to the team was often noted.

A physical player with exceptionally lifting ability, Flett profiles as a stay-at-home defender. I unfortunately don’t have any stats or mentions compiled, as I haven’t dug into the Western leagues all too much; the following quotes were compiled as a result of me seeking out information on Flett, not the team itself.

Spoiler: Quotes

1894
“Although at first Flett also, seemed out of his element, and unable to handle the puck as was needful, he eventually proved his capability of sustaining the position entrusted to his charge”

“For the Vics, Flett made an excellent substitute for McCulloch, insomuch that the champion’s absence was hardly felt”

1895
“Flett is not to be tempted from his post at point, and his safe steady play is more useful in that position than at cover, where an occasional run is not only permissible, but advantageous”

1896
“The Vics as the score shows, played a winning game. They owe their large margin to the magnificent defence game exhibited by Higginbotham, Flett and Merritt”

“For the Vics, one can hardly discriminate, perhaps Armytage played the hardest game. But, Bain, Campbell and Howard worked like Trojans, while Higginbotham at cover point and Flett at point made a defense that the Winnipegs could not defeat. Merritt in goal was all that could be desired”

“Flett proved the usual tower of strength at point”

“Higginbotham at cover point is simply in his glory. The man that passes him will have to be very, very smart; suppose, though, for an instant that he is passed, the one who passes him has in Flett, the Vics’ point, a man who can and will check anything that comes his way”

“Flett, by his wonderful lifts made the spectators open their mouths in amazement”

“Flett and Merritt were simply impregnable, and it is freely admitted in Montreal that their equals have never been seen”

“Merritt, in goal, displayed all his old form of last year, while Roddy Flett was not to be caught napping, and he is very sour on the puck”

“‘Roddy’ Flett is a Manitoban by birth and is twenty-three years of age. He has ever been a lover of sport from the time he first commenced to toddle. As a football player it is doubtful if Manitoba has his peer as a fullback on the association field. At lacrosse he has also made his mark, played with the old Winnipegs in the palmy days. He has curled some, played baseball, and was always recognized as a good base slider, and he has also quite a reputation as a Rugby football player. In rowing he is one of Manitoba’s hard, and will probably be one of the seniors for Henley next year. He has been playing hockey about four years, but he took to the game like a duck to water, and to-day he holds the enviable position of being probably the best man at point in the Dominion. He has been east twice with the boys, and on both occasions gave his opponents good cause to remember him”

“Here Flett and Merritt were simply superb, and they turned the repeated rushes of Montreal like a stone wall. Hot ones were fairly rained on Merritt at times, but he stopped them all. To the defence belong the credit of the victory”

“Davidson was splendid; Flett and Armitage showed great combination tactics, and Howard showed himself a hard checker”

“That the number of goals which the Winnipegs were defeated by was not larger is owing to the brilliant defence game put up by Merritt and Flett. Merritt was a grand goal keeper. Some of the shots he stopped were simply marvellous. He has certainly not lost his reputation because he played on a losing side, but he has added to it, for he stopped every shot that it was possible for a mortal to stop. ‘Roddy’ Flett, as point, has not a peer in Canada. He played the star game of the team last night, his work throughout the whole game was almost perfect. He was indefatigable in his efforts. He was here, there and everywhere, and always there when wanted first. He stopped many a deadly rush on goal last night, and spoilt many a combine. He was not caught napping at any stage of the game, and when he was called upon to fill cover point position, he was of inestimable value to the forward rank while playing in that position”

1897
“Johnston played a star game on the defence, as also did Flett”

“Flett and Johnston exchanged their positions at different stages of the game, both of them, however, were well on to the puck, and spoilt many a good attempt made by their opponents to score”

“...the Stone-wall ‘Roddy’ Flett”

“‘Roddy’ Flett showed up well, and more than one remarked that they hoped ‘the doctor’ would play for his club this season whenever it was found possible to do so”

1898
Played, but no really good quotes

1899
“Flett, the star point of the Victoria hockey club, has absolutely refused to accompany the team to Montreal on their trip in quest of the Stanley Cup. His action has greatly disappointed the club and their supporters”

“... his place will be taken by ‘Roddy’ Flett, the best all-round athlete in Westwen Canada. Montrealers will remember Flett, for he played point for the westerners when they wrested the cup from the Victoria’s in 1896. The celebrated Fred. Higginbotham was in front of him, and between them they prevented the Victorias from getting a goal at close quarters. Flett is a much more effective player than Benson, and should strengthen the defence a good deal”

At point is ‘Roddy’ Flett, the finest stick handler in the Dominion”

1900
“It now transpires that Rod Flett, the star point of the Victoria team, has suffered more severe injury than was first supposed”

“Rod Flett is ‘the power behind the throne’, which means that he comes immediately after Johnstone in the path of the Stanley cup defenders. When you see a handsome man with a black moustache who skates gracefully and always looks you square between the eyes you may reckon that it is Flett. When you watch the match you won’t see any splutter under his red tunic. Neither will you see his skates in the air and his stick travelling on the ice for he has a grip of steel and has a faculty of keeping his feet something after the fashion of the terrible turk. What you will most likely see is the puck rising suddenly into mid air and you will hardly notice that the young man who ‘rose’ it has as much as bent his back. Its strange how he does it but he does”

“Flett is also a marvel, and was time and again applauded for his neat, clean lifts and cool-headed work”

“Winnipeg’s defence in close, confined, haphazard work are unbeatable. Johnstone and Flett are the strongest and hardest pair ever standing before a hockey goal”

“Their defence was good, and Johnston played a particularly good game. Flett seemed to have fallen off a bit, but ‘Whitey’ Merritt exhibited his usual skill”

“Johnstone and Flett are a splendid pair to have in front of a goal, and they stood off the Shamrock attacks as no other team has done”

1901
“So far as Rod. Flett is concerned, of course he cannot be improved upon in any city. He is as good now at point as ever he or perhaps any hockey player for many years to come will be”

“‘The greatest point player in Canada’ is an appellation often bestowed on Rod Flett, and probably no man in hockey today would say that it was too high a title. For five years he has plyed his position through all the battles of the Victoria team and always with great credit to himself. He is most original in his methods of play and brilliant as a puck lifter. To see him relieve a hot scrimmage around his goal is a treat to any admirer of the game. His play is always characterized by good judgement, ad he probably is the best example of a man who uses the least amount of physical energy to the greatest possible advantage. This is artistic, scientific play, and in this lies the secret of his strength. He makes no aimless or unnecessary moves and never miscalculates his play. In his hand the duty of defending the Winnipeg goal against the rushes of the Shamrocks may be safely allowed to rest”

“The defence was equally as strong. The Flett Brothers’ combination was a happy hit of Armytage, and worked to perfection. By all reports Rod put up the greatest point game in a superlatively great career while Brown, in goal, well deserves the name ‘wizard’”

“As for the Winnipeg defence, it was magical. Brown is the equal of anything ever seen here. The two Fletts work well together. Magnus takes care of the men and Rod handles the puck. They checked the ‘Green’ men so closely that it was impossible to score. They never lifted very far or made any of those startling shots on goal which used to distinguish Charlie Johnstone at cover and which Wall and Grant still practice. The day for long lifting seems to be over. It does no good and simply wearies the team for nothing”

“...to much credit cannot be given to the good judgment of Roddy Flett”

“Roddy Flett is mentioned as the captain of the senior team in succession to Bain, and it is altogether likely he will be elected to that position at tomorrow night’s meeting. No one understands the game better than the peerless point man”

1902
“At point, the captain of the team, Roddy Flett, put up gilt-edged hockey. He was forced into some hard places, but always emerged smiling, and his mistakes were few in number”

“Rod Flett at cover played a fine game, but made a fluke at the start. He attempted a little grand stand play by holding the puck a little too long. Instead of lifting it down he attempted a rush, but it resulted disastrously”

“Rod Flett made a pretty rush but failed to score”

“Magnus Flett, at cover-point, can give cards and spades to any man in the Dominion and beat them out, and Roddy, captain of the team, who plays point, is as good as they make them”

“Rod Flett and Agnus played their usual good game on the defence, Magnus being especially conspicuous”

“Everybody knows that the two Fletts are made of iron, and had it not been for that they Wellingtons would have played ragtime on the Winnipeg goal”

“Their defence is simply impregnable, and the Flett brothers are strong, hard checkers”

“The defensive game played by the Vics gave Roddy and Magnus Flett plenty of exercise, and plenty of opportunity to show what sort of a defence they could put up. It is needless to say what that was. Roddy, though he appeared almost a shade dilatory at times displayed admirable quickness and soundness of judgment, in addition to his ability as a check and stickhandler”

“Roddy Flett at point played a remarkably effective game”

“The two Fletts and Brown, by cool and clever work, time and again prevented Liffiton and Marshall from scoring”

“The two Fletts, Brown, and Gingras were the stars. Scanlan was out-matched by Liffiton. The latter and Marshall were the stars of the Montrealers. Their splendid work kept Boon somewhat in the background in the last half, but when his services were required he was never found wanting”

“[Magnus] Flett, at cover point, failed in his checking and did not get rid of the puck quickly enough. Roddy, at point, played a good game, but Brown, in goal, although he stopped a number of good shots, weakened toward the finish”

“R. Flett, at point, played close in on the poles, and blocked and cleared in the manner which has given him his big reputation”

“Roderick M. Flett needs no introduction to the sporting public for he has been an active follower of hockey and other athletic sports for several years. He is the point player of the champions and their captain. Rod is the only one of the champions now in the game who played when they first won the cup from the Victorias of Montreal in 1896. He has been playing with the Victorias since he started with them a young lad in 1894. As a defence player he has no superior in Canada to-day, combing as he does brawn with brain. He is a man of splendid physique, and weighs when in condition about 180 pounds”

1903
“It is settled that Roddy Flett will figure on the defence of the Victoria team when it goes east after the Stanley cup. This was practically the reason for bringing out the great point man from his voluntary retirement”

“”It is expected Roddy Flett will be back in his old place at point. He is not in the best of condition, but even at that it is felt he would strengthen the team with his experience and rare ability as a defense man”

“Roddy Flett made his first appearance in a match this season in a Vic uniform, and his work was as ever, cool and heady. While he does not attempt that dashing aggressiveness assumed by Bole on the Rowing club defence, he was there every time when there was a dangerous rush on the nets, and many times did he turn aside cleverly attempted plays by the opposing line”

“In the first place Roddy Flett, the veteran defence man of the seven, may not reach Montreal in time to go on the ice. At present he is on his way from Winnipeg, and is due to reach Montreal at 6.30 this evening, but the liability of the train to be behind time makes the presence of Flett on the ice doubtful. A railway ride half-way across the continent is not calculated to leave an athlete in the best condition, but the Winnipeggers say Flett’s presence is essential”

“The position of point was played by the old timer, Roddy Flett, but this player is dropping away, and his work, while aggressive, was, at its best, only fair. He did not appear to realize the situation, and his blocking was not too rapid. He was a disappointment to his friends and possibly he realized the fact at times”

“Though Roddy Flett got off the train from a 1,500 mile trip just two hours before the match, he played with remarkable judgment, and was, in fact, the strong man of the seven throughout”

“The Winnipeg defence, to quote from the small boy, was a ‘mark’, even the redoubtable ‘Rod’ Rlett failed to stop that irresistible attack showered upon his citadel”

“It was a hard task for a man to do [play after the 1,500 train trip], and while Flett, no doubt, played as good a game at point as it was in him to do, the evidence of his long and tedious journey were only too plain, and when the youth of Magnus Flett failed in front, the experience of the older man was exerted to withstand the press for a while, but then the strain told and in the end he was down and out, so to speak. But even then the strong spirit showed itself, and many a rush was attempted, but nature’s demands were more powerful than those of the spirit and it was all in vain”

“The two Fletts did a good deal of talking and coaching but at times when it was really necessary to play, seemed bewildered, and lost their opportunities, and incidentally their goals”

“However, it is was then that the Flett boys and Oleson came to the rescue, and the excellence of their work save the Victorias from what seemed like certain defeat”

“Rod Flett showed up in better form then on his first appearance, and Magnes Flett played a steadier game at cover. He was in the game all the time helping out the forwards, backing up and down with the puck, and proved a valuable and useful man”

“The defence on both sides was wonderful. Oleson, the white-haired boy of the Victorias, played twenty two times better than he did on Thursday, and the two Fletts did not talk, but attended strictly to business. Rod had evidently got over the fatigue of his hurried journey, and Magnus, in addition to holding his position at cover efficiently, did some effective bodying, which must have helped to physically wear out some of the men who came in contact with him”

“The two Fletts played a star game and formed an almost impassable bulwark in front of the nets”

“The Victorias played a wonderful defence game, and Oleson should have his name mentioned in the despatches for a distinguished service order. He played a fine game in front of the net, stopping many stiff shots, and he picked out a few puzzling drives in a manner that compelled admiration from friend and opponent alike. The two Flett boys showed that they could go under pressure, and both of them played steadily throughout, and were always watchful and wary. Winnipeg’s victory was won by these three men, rather than the forwards”

“Hodge did his best, but Rod Flett more than recovered from the fatigue which made him an uncertain quantity on Friday, was perfectly cool and collected, and with his fine well-fitted-out form, his red jersey, his white well-fitting knickerbockers, and his long black stockings, which in the distance through the haze that prevailed looked almost like long-legged boots, and with his immaculate white gauntlets, he looked like Life Guard in undress uniform”

 

[jigglysquishy]

@rmartin65 put a whole bunch of research together on Alf Smith (both in PMing me, and in the pre-merger project) and I'm consolidating it here and combining it with some own research and the 2012 ATD bio put together by Dreakmur.

Alf Smith

1873-1953

Point finishes are all updated as per @rmartin65 's season by season tracker (starting here.)
Point finishes: 3rd (1905), 3rd (1896), 3rd (1907), 4th (1906), 5th (1897), 5th (1908), 8th (1895), 9th (1904)
Assist finishes: 1st (1905), 1st (1906), 1st (1907)
rmartin all-star team: 1896, 1905, 1906 (likely 1907 and 1908 as well)
Stanley Cup: 1904, 1905, 1906

Ultimate Hockey's "Best Corner Man of 1900-1909
Ultimate Hockey's "Most Able Instigator" of 1900-1909
Ultimate Hockey's "Best Fighter" of 1900-1909
Ultimate Hockey's "Dirtiest Player" of 1900-1909
Ultimate Hockey's "Most Hated Player" of 1900-1909
Ultimate Hockey's RW for the All-Star team of 1900-1909

Alf Smith was the greatest playmaker of his era and arguably the toughest forwarded of his era too. He peaked highly in 1896 and 1897, being the best player on a strong Ottawa team. Alf Smith has the unfortunate distinction of being banned from hockey from 1897 through 1903 (24-31 years old) due to him accepting a bonus from a across team he played for. When he returned in 1903 he immediately jumped back into elite scoring company, being the second most value forward of the Ottawa Silver Sevens behind Frank McGee.

He racked up three years in a row leading in assists (1905-1907) while playing on a monster Ottawa Silver Sevens team. The team owned the Cup from 1903-1906, with Smith playing in 18 Cup games.

Silver Seven (1903-1906) Stanley Cup Totals (from @rmartin65)

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	20	55	19	74
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW/Cover	18	25	33	58
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	19	20	19	39
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point/Cover	19	2	14	16
Harry Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	5	13	0	13
Fred White	Ottawa HC	LW	2	3	9	12
Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	10	3	7	10
Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	RW/LW	6	6	3	9
Dave Gilmour	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	2	4	6
Hamby Shore	Ottawa HC	LW	1	1	0	1

We can see that Alf Smith is the clear cut best playmaker on the team, despite McGee getting all the goal-scoring glory.

Smith lead Ottawa in scoring in 1896 and 1897, while finishing 3rd in 1895.

The Ultimate Hockey said:
Alfred Smith was possibly the meanest, most vicious hockey player of the early era. He was exceedingly expert with the sick, both for scoring and for head-cracking. He was an outstanding all-around player, a fortress of strength on the dynasty Silver Seven. The one-two offensive punch of Smith and "one-eyed" Frank McGee was often lethal and capable of burying the enemy in a game's first 10 minutes.

Greatest Hockey Legends said:
Born in Ottawa in 1873, Alf Smith became a hockey legend in the nation's capital. That was never more so evident than in the early 1900s, when Alf helped the Ottawa Silver Seven win three consecutive Stanley Cups - in 1904, 1905 and 1906.

Alf was noted as a bruising player, "the toughest, meanest player ever to call Ottawa home," according to the great book Kings of the Ice. While Ottawa fans probably loved Smith's exuberance and bravado, not to mention how much open ice he created for the rest of his team, it is easy to see how fans elsewhere saw him as one of hockey's early great villains.

Smith loved to play the body, and he did so with reckless abandon and with calculated thought all at the same time. He knew his hard hitting play was the key to both his success and his teams. He never got a lot of credit for being a good scorer or a good two-way player. He was Mr. Crash And Bang, perhaps like the modern day Rick Tocchet or Milan Lucic. Perhaps Claude Lemieux is the better comparison, with their Stanley Cup success.

Smith and Ottawa may have found even more success if he was not barred from playing the game at the turn of the 20th century. No, it was not for rough play. He was suspended from all of amateur sport for taking a $100 payment to play lacrosse. As a result he stayed off the ice in 1899 and 1900.

He also found controversy for his physical play, of course. In 1907 he faced two months in jail or a total of $39 in fines for hitting Hod Stuart with his stick. And in 1908 Pittsburgh hockey fans didn't know what to think of this roughian. Pittsburgh Duquesne (WPHL) outright released him because of his physical play. He was picked up by the Pittsburgh Bankers, of the same league, two days later, but less than 2 weeks later he was released for being too physical, again.

Selection of newspaper quotes

rmartin65
1895
“Smith made an effort that will go down into hockey history as one of the bravest attempts of a hockey player”

“Smith was the bright star of the fourteen. He outshone all others and elicited great admiration. His playing was commented upon and praised by everybody”

1896
“Smith is, admittedly, the finest forward in Canada”

“Smith, acknowledged as the greatest of hockeyeists"

1897
“Smith mostly played his old brilliant game, although hanging back from the corners as usual”

“Smith was the star of the Ottawas”

1904
"Alf. Smith’s hockey was of the brilliant order, he playing his position consistently"

1905
“Alf. Smith was the best forward on the ice”

“Smith probably played the best game on the ice"

1906
“Once he [McGee] scored neatly from a timely pass by Alf. Smith than whom there is no more unselfish player”

“ Alf Smith again clearly proved his title to being the most unselfish forward playing the game,and it was apparently impossible to stop him when he started along the side”

1907
“Alf Smith again demonstrated that he is the peer of right wing men”

Quotes from our ATD team

rmartin65
Alf Smith has a lot of things going for him here- he has a high peak, an exceedingly long career for his time (he played regularly until he was 35!), he won championships, and was a strong overall player whose primary offensive contributions probably hurt him in in the VsX tables.

Smith was very, very good for a very, very long time. His scoring exploits may not have as high a peak as those of Dunderdale or Tommy Smith, but I think he was much more of an offensive driver than those guys, in addition to being a strong all-around player (at least in the back half of his career).

seventieslord
Smith was good defensively and a punishing and intimidating physical player.

Star power. Peak. Longevity. He's older so one would use his generation as a question mark but he played right into the next couple of generations and excelled. Goal scoring. Playmaking. Defense. Physicality. Leadership. Winning. Played in a lot of very big games. Offensive numbers look decent enough for this round before you consider that he had a higher proportion of assists, and missed essentially 7 opportunities to compile numbers from age 24-30.

Smith was the toughest player of his time, an excellent leader, a two-way player, very good scorer, and played both wings.

Kyle McMahon
Alf Smith's scoring exploits are not nearly so impressive, but he was a catalyst on the Silver Seven dynasty. He had enough skill to be a decent scorer, and was constantly mixing it up with his rough and dirty play. Presumably got under the skin of his opponents, and more often than not went down the ice and scored a goal just to rub it in. Think of Claude Lemieux in his Conn Smythe-winning playoff season, and span it out over the course of several seasons, and that probably describes Alf Smith.

 

[seventieslord]

@rmartin65

I'd be interested in seeing the totals for the Silver Seven with the inferior challenges omitted. Way too much statistical noise in those games.

 

[rmartin65]

@rmartin65

I'd be interested in seeing the totals for the Silver Seven with the inferior challenges omitted. Way too much statistical noise in those games.

Here they are by series; I'll leave it up to each individual person to decide which challengers were inferior or not.

1903 Series against Rat Portage

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Dave Gilmour	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	2	4	6
Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	4	1	5
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	4	1	5
Billy McGimsie	Rat Portage	Center	2	2	1	3
Roxy Beaudro	Rat Portage	RW	2	1	0	1
Si Griffis	Rat Portage	Rover	2	0	1	1
Martin	Rat Portage	LW	2	0	1	1
Brown	Rat Portage	Point	2	0	0	0
Dulmage	Rat Portage	Goal	2	0	0	0
Hooper	Rat Portage	Cover	2	0	0	0
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	0	0	0
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	2	0	0	0
Maybe Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	0	1	1
Maybe Billy McGimsie	Rat Portage	Center	2	0	1	1
Beaudro or McGImsie	Rat Portage	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
D. or S. Gilmour	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1

1903-04 Series against Winnipeg Rowing Club

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	3	3	4	7
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	3	4	2	6
Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	3	1	3	4
Breen	Winnipeg	Center	3	2	1	3
Bawlf	Winnipeg	RW/LW	3	1	1	2
Borland	Winnipeg	LW	2	1	1	2
Alf. Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	1	1	2
Hall	Winnipeg	Rover	3	0	2	2
Hamber	Winnipeg	Cover	2	0	1	1
Bennest	Winnipeg	RW	1	0	0	0
A. Brown	Winnipeg	Goal	3	0	0	0
P. Brown	Winnipeg	Point	3	0	0	0
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa HC	Goal	3	0	0	0
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	3	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover	3	0	0	0
Richards	Winnipeg	Cover	1	0	0	0
Maybe Bawlf	Winnipeg	RW/LW	3	1	0	1
Maybe Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	RW	1	0	1	1
Maybe Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	3	0	1	1
Maybe Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	0	1	1
Bawlf or Breen	Winnipeg	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Bawlf or Hall	Winnipeg	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
B. or S. Gilmour	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
McGee or Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
McGee, Smith, or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1

1904 Series against Toronto Marlboros

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	7	2	9
Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	2	3	5
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	2	2	4
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	2	1	3	4
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	1	3	4
Birmingham	Toronto	Center	2	2	0	2
Tommy Phillips	Toronto	Rover	2	1	1	2
McLaren	Toronto	RW	2	0	2	2
Earls	Toronto	LW	1	1	0	1
Charlton	Toronto	Point	2	0	0	0
Geroux	Toronto	Goal	2	0	0	0
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	0	0	0
Winchester	Toronto	LW	1	0	0	0
Wright	Toronto	Cover	2	0	0	0
Maybe McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	0	1	1
Maybe McLaren	Toronto	Center	2	0	1	1
Maybe Phillips	Toronto	Rover	2	0	1	1
Possibly Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	0	1	1
Birmingham, McLaren, or Phillips	Toronto	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Gilmour or McGee	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Gilmour, McGee, or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Gilmour or Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Moore or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1

1904 Playoffs vs Montreal Wanderers

Team	Goal Scorer	Assist	Assist
Wanderers	Leahy	N/A	N/A
Ottawa	S. Gilmour or W. Gilmour	F. McGee	Westwick
Ottawa	W. Gilmour	F. McGee	N/A
Wanderers	Gardner	N/A	N/A
Ottawa	F. McGee	N/A	N/A
Wanderers	Blachford	Gardner	N/A
Ottawa	Westwick	N/A	N/A
Ottawa	Smith or Westwick	N/A	N/A
Wanderers	Mallen	N/A	N/A
Wanderers	Marshall	N/A	N/A

1904 Series against Brandon Heat City

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	5	5	10
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	6	0	6
Hanna	Brandon	Cover	2	2	0	2
Brodie	Brandon	Center	2	1	1	2
Laidlaw	Brandon	RW	2	1	1	2
Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	0	1	1
Bright	Brandon	LW	2	0	1	1
Jim McGee	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	0	1	1
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	2	0	1	1
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	0	1	1
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
Morrison	Brandon	Goal	2	0	0	0
Lester Patrick	Brandon	Point	2	0	0	0
G. Smith	Brandon	Rover	2	0	0	0
Maybe Brodie	Brandon	Center	2	0	1	1
Maybe Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	0	1	1
F. McGee or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Bright or G. Smith	Brandon	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Brodie or Laidlaw	Brandon	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
S. Gilmour or F. McGee	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1

1905 Series vs Dawson City

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	15	6	21
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	7	11	18
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	6	7	13
Fred White	Ottawa HC	LW	2	3	9	12
Hector Smith	Dawson	Center	2	2	1	3
Kennedy	Dawson	RW	2	1	2	3
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	1	0	3	3
McLennan	Dawson	Rover	1	1	0	1
Fairbairn	Dawson	Rover	1	0	1	1
Watt	Dawson	LW	2	0	1	1
Allen	Ottawa HC	Point	1	0	0	0
Finnie	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
Albert Forrest	Dawson	Goal	2	0	0	0
Lorne Hanna	Dawson	Cover	2	0	0	0
Johnstone	Dawson	Point	2	0	0	0
A. Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1

1905 Series against Rat Portage

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Tommy Phillips	Rat Portage	LW	3	6	1	7
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	3	4	1	5
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	2	3	5
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	3	2	2	4
Si Griffis	Rat Portage	Rover	3	2	1	3
Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	1	2	3
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	3	0	3	3
Hamby Shore	Ottawa HC	LW	1	1	0	1
Bellefeuille	Rat Portage	Cover	3	1	0	1
Hooper	Rat Portage	RW	3	0	1	1
Horace Gaul	Ottawa HC	Center	1	0	0	0
Brown	Rat Portage	Point	3	0	0	0
Finnie	Ottawa HC	Goal	3	0	0	0
Eddie Giroux	Rat Portage	Goal	3	0	0	0
Billy McGimsie	Rat Portage	Center	3	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover	3	0	0	0
Maybe Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	2	0	1	1
Maybe Griffis	Rat Portage	Rover	3	0	1	1
Maybe McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	0	1	1
Maybe Phillips	Rat Portage	LW	3	0	1	1
Griffis or Phillips	Rat Portage	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Hooper or Phillips	Rat Portage	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Hooper or Griffis	Rat Portage	N/A	N/A	1	1	2
Gaul or Shore	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Gilmour or McGee	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Griffis or McGimsie	Rat Portage	N/A	N/A	1	0	1

1906 Series vs Queen’s University

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	6	0	6
Harry Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	2	5	0	5
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	4	1	5
Marty Walsh	Queen’s	Rover	2	3	2	5
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	4	0	4
George Richardson	Queen’s	LW	2	3	0	3
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	1	1	2
B. Sutherland	Queen’s	Center	1	1	0	1
Crawford	Queen’s	Center	2	1	0	1
Dobson	Queen’s	RW	2	1	0	1
Hague	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
McDonnell	Queen’s	Point	2	0	0	0
Mills	Queen’s	Goal	2	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Point	2	0	0	0
E. Sutherland	Queen’s	Cover	2	0	0	0
Maybe A. Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	0	1	1
A. Smith or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	4	0	4
Crawford or Dobson	Queen’s	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
McGee or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Dobson or B. Sutherland	Queen’s	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Dobson or Walsh	Queen’s	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
McGee or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Richardson, B. Sutherland, or Walsh	Queen’s	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
H. Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1

1906 Series vs Smiths Falls

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	9	1	10
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	1	6	7
Harry Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	1	2	0	2
May	Smiths Falls	LW	2	2	0	2
Serviss	Smiths Falls	RW	2	2	0	2
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	2	0	2
Armstrong	Smiths Falls	Cover	2	1	1	2
Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point	2	0	2	2
Brown	Smiths Falls	Point	2	1	0	1
Ross	Smiths Falls	Rover	2	1	0	1
Tommy Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	1	0	0	0
Hague	Ottawa HC	Goal	2	0	0	0
Percy LeSueur	Smith Falls	Goal	2	0	0	0
May	Smiths Falls	LW	2	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	0	0	0

1906 Series against Montreal Wanderers

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Lester Patrick	Montreal	Rover	2	3	5	8
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW	2	1	6	7
Harry Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	2	6	0	6
Ernie Russell	Montreal	RW	2	4	2	6
Pud Glass	Montreal	Center	2	3	3	6
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	2	1	2	3
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	1	2	3
Moose Johnson	Montreal	LW	2	1	1	2
Rod Kennedy	Montreal	Cover	2	0	1	1
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Cover	2	0	1	1
Hague	Ottawa HC	Goal	1	0	0	0
Percy LeSueuer	Ottawa HC	Goal	1	0	0	0
Henri Menard	Montreal	Goal	2	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Point	2	0	0	0
Billy Strachan	Montreal	Point	2	0	0	0
Maybe Patrick	Montreal	Rover	2	0	1	1
Johnson or Patrick	Montreal	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
McGee or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
A. or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1
Kennedy or Patrick	Montreal	N/A	N/A	0	1	1
McGee or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1
McGee or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1

Silver Seven (1903-1906) Totals

Name	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	20	55	19	74
Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW/Cover	18	25	33	58
Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	19	20	19	39
Harvey Pulford	Ottawa HC	Point/Cover	19	2	14	16
Harry Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	5	13	0	13
Fred White	Ottawa HC	LW	2	3	9	12
Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	10	3	7	10
Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	RW/LW	6	6	3	9
Dave Gilmour	Ottawa HC	Rover	2	2	4	6
Hamby Shore	Ottawa HC	LW	1	1	0	1
Bones Allen	Ottawa HC	Point	1	0	0	0
Horace Gaul	Ottawa HC	Center	1	0	0	0
Percy LeSueuer	Ottawa HC	Goal	1	0	0	0
Tommy Smith	Ottawa HC	LW	1	0	0	0
Jim McGee	Ottawa HC	Point/Cover	3	0	0	0
Billy Hague	Ottawa HC	Goal	4	0	0	0
Dave Finnie	Ottawa HC	Goal	5	0	0	0
Bouse Hutton	Ottawa HC	Goal	10	0	0	0
Art Moore	Ottawa HC	Cover/Point	18	0	0	0
Maybe Frank McGee	Ottawa HC	Center	20	0	3	3
Maybe Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW/Cover	18	0	2	2
Maybe Billy Gilmour	Ottawa HC	RW/LW	6	0	2	2
Maybe Suddie Gilmour	Ottawa HC	LW	10	0	1	1
Maybe Rat Westwick	Ottawa HC	Rover	19	0	1	1
Possibly Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	RW/Cover	18	0	1	1
A. Smith or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	4	1	5
A. Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	3	1	4
F. McGee or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	3	1	4
F. McGee or H. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	3	0	3
B. or S. Gilmour	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
S. Gilmour or F. McGee	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Gaul or Shore	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
B. Gilmour or F. McGee	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
S. Gilmour, F. McGee, or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
S. Gilmour or A. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
F. McGee or A. Smith	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
F. McGee, A. Smith, or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
Moore or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
H. Smith or Westwick	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	1	0	1
D. or S. Gilmour	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1
F. McGee or Pulford	Ottawa HC	N/A	N/A	0	1	1

As always, please point out any errors or omissions you notice. I'll be glad to take another look at the source documents and see where the discrepancies are, and to then fix any mistakes there may be.

 

[jigglysquishy]

I mean, Smith looks strong there still. Obviously, the Dawson City stats are ridiculous, but he doesn't run away with that series more than McGee does.

The Wanderers have to be the best team they play in that stretch, right? And he lead the team in scoring.

Tommy Phillips looks really strong too.

 

[rmartin65]

Archie Hodgson​

Archie Hodgson was a long-time member of the Montreal HC teams that dominated the 1897-1895 time frame (though it should be noted he did not play in 1890, 1891, and only played 1 game in 1892. The 1892 game is interesting, though, as it was the deciding game of the season, and Hodgson scored the only goal of MHC’s 1-0 victory- Montreal HC’s only victory and Ottawa HC’s only loss that season). I currently have him having played at least 46 high level games, whether those were AHAC games, exhibition games against AHAC teams with the regulars playing, or Carnival or Tour games. As far as I can tell, he was primarily a RW; a Montreal Gazette article from the 1930s that looked back into hockey during the 1890s described him as a RW, and he was described as a wing (side not designated) in games in 1893 and 1894, with George ‘Bunny’ Lowe, the other wing in the 1893 game, having been called a left wing in another 1893 game. In the interest of full disclosure, I’ll add that I do have him listed as a center or rover in 1887 and as a cover in 1 or two games from 1888.

My read on Hodgson was that he was a similar player to Alf Smith, minus the awesome physicality. That is to say that Hodgson was a strong defensive player who was among the best playmakers of his day. There are only 3 seasons of his career where I’d say that I have anything resembling decent assist data (1893-95, his last three seasons), and if I look at just the AHAC data in order to keep the games played numbers relatively equal, Hodgson leads in total assists, leading the league in 1893 and 1895. His 12 combined assists for those years double the guy in second place (Chauncey Kirby, the Ottawa HC center).

Selection of Quotes

Spoiler

1887
“To their list this year they have added Allan Cameron, the reliable point, J. Findlay, a splendid and gritty forward, and Archie Hodgson, a new man, brother of W.C. Hodgson, a rattling fine skater and cool headed player. When they can afford to put such men as R. Smith and F. Barlow on reserve the strength of the team can be easily reckoned”

“On the M.A.A.A. side Virtue played a most brilliant game, and the two Hodgsons showed up well”

1888
“Low and Hodgson, by splendid passing, brought the puck to their opponents’ goal”

“Hodgson and Lowe were playing well together, the former forcing the pace”

“For the victors Cameron, Hodgson, Virtue and Low all played a grand game. It was no fault of Lee, Elliott, McDonald and McQuisten that their side lost”

“For the winners Paton, Virtue, Lowe and Hodgson played well, as did Elliott, McQuisten and Lee for the losers”

“For the winners, Lowe, Hodgson, and Findlay played well, and for the losers, Hamilton, Shanks, and Walsh showed the best form”

“Campbell, Ashe and Barlow (the latter especially) played a rushing and plucky game all thorough; while, on the other hand, Hodgson, Cameron, Virtue and Lowe did all that was possible to avert defeat”

“Hodgson, who was playing a grand game, sent in a couple of hot ones”

“Ashe got it and sent it back to Campbell, who, seemingly, did not expect it and before he realized where he was Hodgson swooped down upon it and with a splendid run wound up by scoring the first game for his side”

“...treated to a nice piece of passing by Virtue, Findlay and Hodgson”

“Shearer, Ashe, Barlow and Hodgson now were all playing a fine game”

“For the victors all played well, especially Campbell, Ashe, Shearer and Barlow. For the M.A.A.A. Cameron, Hodgson, Lowe and Virtue were the most conspicuous”

“On the winners side all played well, but the play of Barlow, Campbell, Kinghorn and Harris, and the goal keeping of Crathern was very fine. Campbell made some brilliant runs and Harris worked ‘the lift’ to great advantage. On the side of the loser, T.L. Paton, in goal, and Lowe and Hodgson, forwards, showed up well”

“For the victors, A. Hodgson played a magnificent game”

“One of those grand runs for which Campbell was famous was spoiled by a hard check from Hodgson, Campbell’s wrist being struck and he losing his stick; it seemed a certainty of goal for the Vics”

“One of Hodgson’s fine rushes was the turning point in the game”

“The Hodgson brothers did some wonderful playing”

“Virtue and Lowe and A. Hodgson played well and the goalkeeping of T. Paton was very fine”

“Campbell made several fine attempts, but he was too closely attended to by Hodgson to do anything effective”

1889
“...where it remained for some time through the fine play of Brown, Lee and McQuisten, who would certainly have scored had not Stewart made some almost impossible stops, assisted by Archie Hodgson, who was like lightning in his movements”

“Archie Hodgson and Cameron were as cool as possible and did their work thoroughly well as did others of the M.A.A.A. so far as they could with the stars still before their eyes caused by terribly heavy ‘checks’”

“Hodgson and McNaughton played grandly all through and Stewart too saved his side repeatedly from the dashing attacks by Brown and Lee”

“Arnton got it and started to travel don the ice, first Finlay was passed, and Barlow and McNaughton together, now he was near Hodgson, who was like a flash at checking, but he collided and went down while Arnton staggered for only an instant”

1892
Stewart and Cameron swooped around after the puck in admirable style, but the forwards, especially Lowe, McNaughton and Hodgson, were the heroes of the night. They almost continually had the puck and dodged in and out of the many scrimmages with remarkable agility”

“The team showed that three important changes had been made by these champions since their last visit, Cameron replacing Barry at cover point and Lee and Irving being replaced by Hodgson and McNaughton, the changes evidently binding strength to the visiting team. The champions early made up their minds to play their supposed invincible team with that sterling player, F.W.S. Jenkins, who replaced J. Kerr in Toronto, in reserve”

“The combination of Lowe and McNaughton will be a hard one to get over. Each knew exactly where the other was, and Archie’s keen lacrosse eye rarely led him adrift. Hodgson also put up a fast and sure game”

“The Montreal team, as will be seen, was composed mainly of crack lacrosse players, Paton, Cameron, McNaughton and Hodgson, beautiful skaters, all of the noted for their agility, display the best of judgment, were in their best form, and made up such a powerful combination”

1893
“Lowe and Hodgson fell short every time they rushed matters, but their shots were well directed, and Moral ws kept at his work all the time. Routh and Irving rendered valuable assistance also”

“Their wing men, Hodgson and Low, were not effectively checked or pursued, although the Kirbys, particularly Chauncey, followed back in splendid style”

“Hodgson is the fastest forward who plays hockey”

“Hodgson and Barlow were the pick of the front row. Routh put in some hard work also, but Iriving cannot undertake to fill Lowe’s place”

1894
“Russell’s body checks and speed bothered Hodgson so badly that the magnificent player was not half so dangerous as usual”

“One thing is sure that Hodgson did not play his generally admitted strong game. Routh likewise seemed to be out of the run and Barlow seemed to be in the same boat”

“Hodgson did grandly along the sides, and did more to break the Ottawa defence than any other man on the team. Barlow did likewise. His speed told seriously against Ottawa. He was generally in the right place and scored nearly all of the goals. In James the Montrealers had a cool cover point who held up his end magnificently, and Cameron and Collins proved themselves worthy of the positions they occupied”

“Hodgson and Routh played a particularly fine game for Montreal and did some great rushing and passing”

“Routh, Hodgson, Mussen and Collins played the strongest game on the M.A.A.A. team. Hodgson was rather rough at times, but he played a hard game”

“Barlow and Hodgson worked like horses, and won the game for Montreal”

“The second game was a beauty from a hockey point of view, and one of the men who is deserving of particular credit is Hodgson, who played a magnificent game and made things particularly uncomfortable for the visitors. In fact, it was only the incomparable goal keeping of Morrell that saved Ottawa from a more decisive defeat”

“Hodgson’s repeated runs, brilliant and clean as they were, Young’s artistic stops, Kirby’s amazing dodges, and Barlow’s neat clever play were noticeable”

“Kirby was the star of the forward lines on both sides, although Hodgson and Barlow of the Montrealers did splendid work. Joe McDougal’s headlong charges demoralized Mussen on one wing, but on the other Russell had his hands almost more than full with Hodgson, although the big Ottawa player showed splendid hockey too”

1895
“They did not have on their strongest team, playing one or two new men. Should Hodgson and Cameron come out [to play] it will make a vast difference”

“For the Montrealers, Barlow, Routh, and Hodgson were doing wonders”

“In the forward division Hodgson and Routh were the bright particular stars”

“Hodgson, Barlow, and Cameron were the stars for Montreal, the latter playing one of his old time defence games. For Quebec, Swift, Watson, and Davidson put up the best game”.

“Westwick’s showing was wonderfully good for a new man. He completely outplayed the great Hodgson”

“Russell, Pulford, and Chittick on the Ottawas were the only men of any weight, and when it came to bodying, which was liberally indulged in, it was surprising how the light weights of the Ottawa forward line stood up against such experts of the art as Routh, Archibald and Hodgson”

“Hodgson made some splendid runs, but after carrying the puck the length of the rink it frequently happened that there was no one to pass it to and there was the whole of the Victoria defence to contend against”

Stats and Mentions

Spoiler

Total Individual Stats (using split points), looking at all top-level games

Year	Team	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
1887	Montreal HC	3	0	0	0
1888	Montreal HC	7	5	1	6
1889	Montreal HC	8	5	0	5
1892	Montreal HC	1	1	0	1
1893	Montreal HC	9	6.5	5.5	11
1894	Montreal HC	10	7	4	11
1895	Montreal HC	8	7	6	13
Total	Montreal HC	46	31.5	16.5	47

Mentions and Team Stats
As a couple of you know, I’ve been slowly going back over the scans tracking mentions and putting them into 3 bins- positive, neutral, and negative. These are currently unweighted; that is, a goal is worth the same as a player being noted as playing a star game, is worth the same as a player completing a pass, etc. There is also a very real chance I made an error somewhere in the effort to not double count the same play covered in different papers, so I wouldn’t take these mentions as anything definitive. In other words, I wouldn’t split hairs and necessarily think that a player with 1 or 2 more positive mentions than another player had more star power. Like anything, I think this metric requires context.

I also think that it should be noted that I believe this metric favors goal scorers a bit, as there were several games with not much description of play, but the scorers were provided. Perhaps this is a good thing, as goal scoring is kind of important, but it is something I try to keep in mind when I look at these.

I have also made the choice to not pool this data into one large table, as teams played a different amount of games, and certain teams received more coverage than others. Comparing players against their teammates and then comparing that across teams strikes me as the best way to account for coverage differences by team. I also think converting these to a per-game metric is a losing proposition; not only did different teams get different levels of coverage, but the coverage varied wildly from game to game, even among games between the same teams.

The stats in this section will look different than those in the AHAC section (post after this section) due to what I previously described; the inclusion of non-official AHAC, but still high-level games.

These numbers will likely continue to evolve as I come across new sources, but what is in the spoiler below is up-to-date as of today.

1887

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Exhibition Game #1	6 Jan 1887	Montreal Victorias	4	0	Win
Game #3	21 January 1887	Montreal Victorias	2	5	Loss
Pre-Carnival Exhibition	7 February 1887	Montreal Victorias	0	2	Loss
Carnival Game #1	21 February 1887	Montreal Crystals	1	0	Win
Carnival Game #3	25 February 1887	Montreal Victorias	1	0	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Billy Hodgson	Point/Forward	5	4	0	4
Jack Findlay	Forward	5	1	0	1
UNK	N/A	N/A	3	0	3
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Billy Hodgson	Point/Forward/RW	5	6	1	0	7
James Stewart	Point	4	3	0	0	3
James Virtue	Centre/Forward.LW	4	3	0	0	3
Allan Cameron	Cover	4	2	1	0	3
Archie Hodgson	Center or Rover	3	2	0	0	2
John Findlay	Centre/Forward	5	1	0	1	2
Tom Paton	UNK	2	1	0	0	1
D. McIntyre	Forward	3	0	1	0	1
A. McIntyre	Forward	1	0	0	0	0
William Hutchison	Goal	4	0	0	0	0
G.S. Lowe	UNK	1	0	0	0	0

1888

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Game #1	13 January 1888	Montreal Crystals	4	1	Win
Game #3	23 January 1888	McGill University	5	0	Win
Game #5	3 February 1888	Montreal Victorias	1	3	Loss
Game #7	15 February 1888	Montreal Crystals	3	1	Win
Game #9	27 February 1888	Montreal Victorias	2	1	Win
Game #10	3 March 1888	McGill University	8	0	Win
Championship	15 March 1888	Montreal Victorias	2	1	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
James Virtue	Forward	7	8.5	2	10.5
Archie Hodgson	Forward/Cover	7	5	1	6
Billy Hodgson	Forward	4	5.5	0	5.5
George Lowe	Forward	7	4	0	4
Archie McNaughton	Cover/Forward	1	1	0	1
Jack Findlay	Forward	4	1	0	1
Tom Paton	Goal	7	0	1	1
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Archie Hodgson	Cover/Forward	7	32	2	0	34
James Virtue	Forward	7	27	2	0	29
George Lowe	Forward	7	23	3	0	26
Allan Cameron	Cover	5	23	2	0	25
Tom Paton	Goal	7	15	6	0	21
Billy Hodgson	Forward	4	13	2	0	15
James Stewart	Point	7	10	3	1	14
Jack Findlay	Forward	4	6	0	0	6
A. or B. Hodgson	N/A	N/A	1	2	0	3
Archie McNaughton	Forward	1	1	0	0	1

1889

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Exhibition Game #1	15 December 1888	Montreal Victorias	3	1	Win
Exhibition Game #3	18 January 1889	Montreal Crystals	2	1	Win
Game #1	2 February 1889	Montreal Crystals	2	3	Loss
Exhibition Game #5	4 February 1889	Montreal Victorias	1	2	Loss
Exhibition Game #8	25 February 1889	Halifax	6	1	Win
Game #2	1 March 1889	Montreal Crystals	4	0	Win
Game #3	7 March 1889	Quebec HC	3	2	Win
Game #4	12 March 1889	Montreal Victorias	6	1	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Archie McNaughton	Forward	8	6.5	1	7.5
Archie Hodgson	Forward	8	5	0	5
Jack Findlay	Forward	8	3.5	0	3.5
George Lowe	Forward	6	3	0	3
UNK	N/A	N/A	8	0	8
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Archie McNaughton	Forward	8	18	5	0	23
Archie Hodgson	Forward	8	18	1	0	19
Tom Paton	Goal	8	10	4	1	15
Jack Findlay	Forward	8	8	5	0	13
Allan Cameron	Cover	7	5	5	0	10
Fred Barlow	Forward	2	5	1	0	6
George Lowe	Forward	5	4	0	0	4
James Stewart	Point	8	3	1	0	4
Learmonth	Point	1	1	1	0	2
James Kinghorn	Forward	1	0	0	0	0

1892

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Game #1	8 January 1892	Ottawa HC	3	4	Loss
Game #3	21 January 1892	Ottawa HC	2	10	Loss
Exhibition Game #2	29 January 1892	Montreal Shamrocks	1	2	Loss
Exhibition Game #4	3 February 1892	Britannia	2	2	Tie
Game #5	11 February 1892	Ottawa HC	1	3	Loss
Game #7	7 March 1892	Ottawa HC	1	0	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
George Lowe	Forward	6	2	1	3
Archie Hodgson	Forward	1	1	0	1
Kinghorn	Forward	1	1	0	1
Billy Barlow	Forward/Point	2	1	0	1
Alex Irving	Forward	5	1	0	1
Archie McNaughton	Forward	1	0	1	1
D.A. Elliott	Forward/Cover	2	0.5	0	0.5
Sam Lee	Forward	4	0.5	0	0.5
UNK	N/A	N/A	3	0	3
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Tom Paton	Goal	5	14	2	0	16
George Lowe	Forward	6	14	1	1	16
Archie McNaughton	Forward	1	12	4	0	16
Archie Hodgson	Forward	1	8	0	0	8
Allan Cameron	Cover	1	6	1	0	7
James Stewart	Point	4	4	1	1	6
Sam Lee	Forward	4	3	1	1	5
Alex Irving	Forward	5	3	0	2	5
Alex Kingan	Forward	2	1	2	1	4
Barry	Cover	3	2	0	2	4
D.A. Elliott	Forward/Cover	2	2	0	1	3
Billy Barlow	Forward/Point	2	1	0	2	3
Harry Shaw	Goal	1	1	2	0	3
James Kinghorn	Forward	1	2	0	0	2
Haviland Routh	Forward/Cover	3	2	0	0	2
George James	Point	1	0	0	1	1

1893

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Game #3	14 January 1893	Ottawa HC	2	4	Loss
Game #7	23 January 1893	Montreal Victorias	7	5	Win
Game #9	28 January 1893	Quebec HC	3	2	Win
Game #12	10 February 1893	Quebec HC	9	2	Win
Winnipeg Tour Game #6	15 February 1893	Combined Winnipeg	7	4	Win
Game #15	18 February 1893	Ottawa HC	7	1	Win
Game #17	3 March 1893	Montreal Crystals	2	2	Win
Game #18	4 March 1893	Montreal Victorias	6 or 8	1	Win
Game #19	10 March 1893	Montreal Crystals	2	1	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Haviland Routh	Forward/Center	8	14	0	14
Archie Hodgson	Forward	9	6.5	5.5	12
Billy Barlow	Forward/Point	8	9.5	0.5	10
George Lowe	Forward	6	7	2	9
Allan Cameron	Cover	9	0	5	5
Alex Kingan	Forward	4	1	1	2
UNK	N/A	N/A	6	0	6
Disputed UNK	N/A	N/A	2	0	2
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Archie Hodgson	Forward	9	50	6	0	56
Haviland Routh	Forward/Center	8	45	5	0	50
Billy Barlow	Forward/Point	8	43	1	0	44
Tom Paton	Goal	9	34	8	0	42
Allan Cameron	Cover	9	31	5	3	39
George Lowe	Forward	6	34	1	1	36
James Stewart	Point	8	9	1	0	10
Alex Kingan	Forward	4	4	1	0	5
Alex Irving	Forward	2	3	1	1	5

1894

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Game #1	5 January 1894	Quebec HC	7	0	Win
Game #4	13 January 1894	Montreal Victorias	4	3	Win
Game #6	18 January 1894	Montreal Crystals	3	1	Win
Game #9	27 January 1894	Ottawa HC	1	4	Loss
Game #11	4 February 1894	Quebec HC	2	3	Loss
Game #13	10 February 1894	Montreal Victorias	1	2	Loss
Game #15	24 February 1894	Ottawa HC	5	1	Win
Game #17	2 March 1894	Montreal Crystals	2	1	Win
PO Game #1	17 March 1894	Montreal Victorias	3	2	Win
PO Game #2	22 March 1894	Ottawa HC	3	1	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Haviland Routh	Forward	10	8	4.5	12.5
Billy Barlow	Forward	10	11	1	12
Archie Hodgson	Forward	10	7	4	11
Alex Kingan	Forward	4	4	0	4
James Stewart	Point	4	0	2	2
Clare Mussen	Forward	4	1	0.5	1.5
Toad Waud	Forward	1	0	1	1
Allan Cameron	Point/Cover	7	0	1	1
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Archie Hodgson	Forward	10	47	5	1	53
Billy Barlow	Forward	10	39	2	1	42
Haviland Routh	Forward	10	27	2	4	33
Allan Cameron	Cover/Point	7	21	3	1	25
Herb Collins	Goal	10	18	4	0	22
Alex Kingan	Forward	4	6	5	1	12
Clare Mussen	Forward	4	9	2	0	11
George James	Cover	6	6	4	1	11
James Stewart	Point	4	5	3	0	8
Eddie O'Brien	Point/Cover	3	3	1	0	4
Toad Waud	Forward	1	2	1	0	3
Alex Irving	Forward	1	0	0	0	0

1895

Game Number	Date	Opponent	Goals For	Goals Against	Win/Loss
Game #2	5 January 1895	Quebec HC	2	4	Loss
Game #4	11 January 1895	Montreal Crystals	9	1	Win
Game #6	19 January 1895	Ottawa HC	3	2	Win
Game #9	26 January 1895	Montreal Victorias	5	0	Win
Tour Game #2	4 February 1895	Winnipeg Victorias	1	5	Loss
Game #11	9 February 1895	Quebec HC	6	3	Win
Game #12	16 February 1895	Ottawa HC	3	4	Loss
Game #15	23 February 1895	Montreal Victorias	2	4	Loss
Game #17	2 March 1895	Montreal Crystals	3	4	Loss
SC #1	9 March 1895	Queen's University	5	1	Win
Name	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Haviland Routh	Forward	10	20.5	1	21.5
Archie Hodgson	Forward	8	7	6	13
Billy Barlow	Forward	9	4.5	2.5	7
Aubrey Mussen	Forward	8	3.5	0	3.5
Clare McKerrow	Forward	1	1	0	1
Clare Mussen	Point/Cover/Forward	5	1	0	1
Herb Collins	Goal	10	0	1	1
Charles Archibald	Forward	3	0.5	0	0.5
Name	Position	Games	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Total
Archie Hodgson	Forward	8	47	12	0	59
Haviland Routh	Forward	10	47	7	3	57
Herb Collins	Goal	10	39	7	4	50
Allan Cameron	Cover	9	32	6	10	48
Billy Barlow	Forward	9	37	7	0	44
Clare Mussen	Cover/Point	5	7	9	0	16
Frank Bickerdike	Point	6	13	1	1	15
A. or C. Mussen	N/A	N/A	5	1	1	7
Charles Archibald	Forward	3	5	1	0	6
Aubrey Mussen	Forward	8	3	0	0	3
Norman Dawes	Forward	1	1	0	0	1
George James	Cover	1	1	0	0	1
Clare McKerrow	Forward	1	1	0	0	1
Toad Waud	Forward	1	0	1	0	1

AHAC Stats
1887- Not a significant offensive season

1888

Rank	Name	Team	Position	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Virtue	Montreal HC	Forward	8	2	11
T-2	Elliott	Crystals	Forward	8	0	8
T-2	Campbell	Victorias	Cover	7	1	8
4	Ashe	Victorias	Forward	5	1	6
T-5	W. Hodgson	Montreal HC	Forward	5	0	5
T-5	Kinghorn	Victorias	Forward	5	0	5
T-5	A. Hodgson	Montreal HC	Forward	4	1	5

1889- no split stats

Rank	Name	Team	Position	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Archie McNaughton	M.A.A.A.	Forward	5	1	6
2	Archie Hodgson	M.A.A.A.	Forward	5	0	5
3	Jack Findlay	M.A.A.A.	Center/Forward	4	0	4
5	Lee	Crystals	Forward	2	1	3

1889- with split stats

Rank	Name	Team	Position	Goals	Assists	Points
1	McNaughton	M.A.A.A.	Forward	5.5	1	6.5
2	Hodgson	M.A.A.A.	Forward	5	0	5
3	Findlay	M.A.A.A.	Center/Forward	4.5	0	4.5
4	Lowe	M.A.A.A.	Forward	3	0	3
5	Lee	Crystals	Forward	1	1	2

1890- Did not play

1891- Did not play

1892- Only played 1 game, but this is significant. 1892 was the year that Ottawa HC ran over everyone all season, until the final game of the year against Montreal HC (Montreal HC was yet to win a game all season, and had already lost to Ottawa HC 3 times; 3-4, 2-10, and 1-3). For this final game of the year, Hodgson, McNaughton, and Cameron came out to play for MHC, and MHC won 1-0. Hodgson scored the goal, with McNaughton getting an assist. This is the season that finally killed the challenge-type seasons, and ushered in the more traditional format we know today.

1893- no split stats

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	12	0	12
2	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	11	0	11
3	Reginald Bradley	Ottawa HC	1	10	1	11
T-4	William Murray	Crystals	1	9	1	10
T-4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	5	5	10

1893- with split stats

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Reginald Bradley	Ottawa HC	1	12.17	1	13.17
2	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	13	0	13
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	11	0	11
4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	6	5	11
5	William Murray	Crystals	1	9.5	1	10.5

1894- no split stats

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
T-1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	8	4	12
T-1	Bert Russell	Ottawa HC	1	8	4	12
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	9	2	11
4	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	5	4	9
5	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	2	6	1	7
T-6	K. Davidson	Quebec HC	T-2	6	0	6
T-6	Norm Rankin	Victorias	1	6	0	6
T-6	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	3	4	2	6
T-6	A.E. Scott	Quebec HC	T-3	3	3	6
10	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	4	5	0	5
T-11	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	T-2	4	0	4
T-11	Alex Kingan	Montreal HC	4	4	0	4
T-11	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	T-2	4	0	4

1894- with split stats

Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Bert Russell	Ottawa HC	1	9.5	4	13.5
2	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	8.5	4	12.5
3	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	10	2	12
4	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	6.83	4	10.83
5	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	2	7	1	8
6	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	3	4.5	2.5	7
T-7	K. Davidson	Quebec HC	T-2	6.5	0	6.5
T-7	A.E. Scott	Quebec HC	T-2	3.5	3	6.5
9	Norm Rankin	Victorias	1	6	0	6
T-10	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	T-2	5	0	5
T-10	Robert MacDougall	Victorias	T-2	5	0	5
T-10	A.D. Scott	Quebec HC	4	5	0	5
13	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	3	1	3.5	4.5

1895- no split stats

League Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	15	1	16
2	Bob MacDougall	Victorias	1	10	1	11
T-3	Graham Drinkwater	Victorias	2	8	2	10
T-3	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	5	5	10
T-5	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	8	1	9
T-5	Norm Rankin	Victorias	3	7	2	9
7	Herb Russell	Ottawa HC	1	8	0	8
T-8	Fairbairn	Crystals	T-1	5	0	5
T-8	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	4	1	5
T-8	Sam McQuisten	Crystals	T-1	4	1	5
T-8	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	T-2	4	1	5
T-8	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	4	3	2	5
T-8	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	T-2	3	2	5
T-8	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	T-2	3	2	5

1895- with split stats

Rank	Name	Team	Team Rank	Goals	Assists	Points
1	Haviland Routh	Montreal HC	1	17.5	1	18.5
2	Bob MacDougall	Victorias	1	11	1	12
3	Graham Drinkwater	Victorias	2	9.5	2	11.5
T-4	Dolly Swift	Quebec HC	1	9.5	1.5	11
T-4	Norman Rankin	Victorias	3	9	2	11
T-4	Archie Hodgson	Montreal HC	2	6	5	11
7	Herb Russell	Ottawa HC	1	9.5	0	9.5
8	Chauncey Kirby	Ottawa HC	2	5.5	2	7.5
T-9	Fairbairn	Crystals	1	6.5	0	6.5
T-9	Shirley Davidson	Victorias	4	4.5	2	6.5
T-11	Billy Barlow	Montreal HC	3	4.5	1.5	6
T-11	Alf Smith	Ottawa HC	T-3	5	1	6
T-11	Weldy Young	Ottawa HC	T-3	3.5	2.5	6

Among players who debuted in the 1880s, Archie Hodgson is second (albeit a distance second) to Dolly Swift. Here are the Top 5 by points (and goals, actually, now that I am looking at it)-

Name	Seasons	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Dolly Swift	12	60	56	8	64
Archie Hodgson	7	46	31.5	16.5	47
Dave Brown	10	50	30	8.5	38.5
Herbert Russell	8	45	27.16	10.17	37.33
A.D. Scott	9	48	27.16	7.5	34.66

And here are the Top 5 by Assists-

Name	Seasons	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Archie Hodgson	7	46	31.5	16.5	47
Herbert Russell	8	45	27.16	10.17	37.33
Dave Brown	10	50	30	8.5	38.5
Dolly Swift	12	60	56	8	64
A.D. Scott	9	48	27.16	7.5	34.66

As always, I’ll be happy to correct any errors or inconsistencies people point out.

 

[Dr John Carlson]

Billy Burch, C

6'0", 200 lbs, left-handed shot
Hart voting - 1st (1925), 5th (1924), 6th (1927), 11th (1926)
Lady Byng voting - 1st (1926), 2nd (1927)

Points Finishes
NHL - 4th (1924), 8th (1927), 10th (1925), 10th (1926)

---

EagleBelfour's original ATD bio on Billy Burch focuses mainly on his offensive ability, but I think Burch was stronger on the other side of the puck. So, I'll be focusing mainly on defense in this bio.

Burch was regarded as an excellent defensive centre, even before he turned professional in 1923:

White's speed had them all lashed to the mast, and Billy Burch's poke check at mid-ice had them about bewildered.

On the forward line Billy Burch stood out. His poke check wrecked many the Granite raid, and he slammed no less than 19 shots at the Granite net. One landed behind Collett.

[Aura Lee] will enter the contest minus the services of Stewart Hogarth, their right defense player, who has been ill for some time. 'Billy' Burch will be moved back from centre to fill the gap left by Hogarth, and the Red and White's defenses will not be weakened to any noticeable extent. Burch is rated as one of the cleverest exponents of the game, and his famous poke check is expected to work havoc with the efforts of the Granite puck-carrier... either Billy Burch or Lionel Conacher will be appointed captain of Aura Lee.

When $1,500 a season for two seasons and a $1,500 bonus for signing up failed to inveigle Lionel Conacher and Billy Burch, the Aura Lee stars, out of amateur ranks, Percy Hambly, the chief emissary of the St. Patrick's pros., tossed his hands up in despair. 'Might as well try to get friendly with a wildcat while leading a bulldog,' he remarked in exasperation to-day. 'Guess we will have to try a new tack.'

Billy Burch's famous poke-check was in evidence in centre ice, and his dashes on the Varsity goal were always dangerous.

For defense relief or in case of accident, Aura Lee is rather the best off, for they can drop Billy Burch back, and he makes a superb defenseman, while Granites are weakened a bit defensively when either Romeril or McCaffery goes back. Neither one is a high-class defenseman... Billy Burch is considered the best centre ice man in Toronto, and both he and [Dalton] Meeking are superb stick handlers and tricky around the nets. Burch has plenty of speed and is a hard worker... Meeking does not back check as hard as Burch – or as hard as he could.

Don't laugh - Billy Burch is a mighty sweet defence man, and he likes playing there.

[Burch] didn't get any goals, but he was mixed up in a lot of snappy stuff and was a big factor in the victory. When he poke-checked he almost invariably lassoed the puck. The [Granites] must have thought he was using a fishing-rod the way he hooked the bun away from their sticks.

Billy Burch pulled off two or three high-class bits of work and landed a pretty goal, but he lost a lot of friends by his mean checking.

During his Hart season, the voters clearly had another wonderful defensive centre in mind when they watched Burch play:

Up on the forward line Billy Burch and Frank Nighbor had a great battle for the honors – and it looked like a saw-off between those two great stickhandlers.

The playing of Billy Burch has been a sensational feature of Tigers recent game. No player in the league approached Nighbor in the potency of his hook check as Burch does. He is a polished performer, and his tilt with Nighbor is full of possibilities.

If 'Billy' Burch's injury to his hand is as bad as reported the Hams will miss him just as much as Ottawa do one Francis Nighbor.

^ This hand injury was a real killer. At the time, Hamilton was clear in first place with a record of 15-4-1. After Burch missed some game and then came back with what the papers described as something close to an aluminum sheath underneath his glove, the Tigers finished 4-6 over the remainder of the season. That was still good enough to win the league championship, but sadly their season faded from memory when the Green brothers, along with Burch, went on strike as their contracts did not include provisions for the extra playoff games. The team was suspended from the playoffs, the Hamilton franchise wound up folding, and the players' contracts were sold to the new Americans club.

On Iain Fyffe's website, he opines that Billy Burch was undeserving of his 1925 Hart win. It's not clear to me why he believes that, when Burch provided decent offense alongside elite defense for the league's top team - the same formula Nighbor used to win the previous year's Hart. In addition, the Montreal Star published the full voting record for Burch's Hart, and he was the only player who received substantial support from every voter, finishing in the top 6 of each ballot.

A few more quotes...

[Regina Capitals owner Wes Champ] admitted that he had been negotiating with the Hamilton club to buy 'Billy' Burch, star centre of the league and who was handed the award as the most useful player in the eastern professional circuit this year.

'I'd give plenty for him,' said Champ, when asked the price named. This offer is stated to be somewhere around $10,000.

Billy Burch and Frank Nighbor two of the most polished players in the game renew acquaintance again tomorrow evening. Burch always maintained that Nighbor was the hardest man in hockey to play against. Two years ago Nighbor won the Hart trophy and Burch won it last year. They are both very much in the running for the honor this year.

Nighbor and Burch are certain to furnish pleasing entertainment in their sector of the ice. Burch, who usurped the place held by Nighbor last year, will have to show local fandom that he is a better man than the Ottawa centre ice player.

The work of Captain Billy Burch in leading his team to victory with an attack that was new to the the 10,000 New York fans who witnessed the game reached its climax when Burch scored the fifth tally after the neatest bit of hockey strategy yet seen here. With two of his men on the penalty bench, Burch waited until the Canadiens had sent a four-man forward line close in on Forbes. Then, checking the puck away from Morenz, Burch went racing through the Canadien backs, drew Goalie Rheaume out with a circling play and banged the rubber into the unattended cage.

Billy Burch, New York centre, netted the one goal of the game in the first period and after that the Americans gave a masterly exhibition of defensive hockey that robbed the famous Boston attack of all its sting.

Showing the best form they have displayed here this season, the Madisons played a fast game in the early stages, with Burch and the two Greens displaying the short passing attack that made them famous in other years.

Looks like Burch and the Green brothers were nearly prepared for a second strike:

Announcing the lowering of temperature in the rink, Tommy Gorman, manager of the New York Americans, said that following a recent contest in the rink Shorty Green and Billy Burch, two of the Americans, had fainted as a result of the heat in the artificial ice house. He said that the Americans had threatened to strike unless the temperature was reduced...

---

Billy Burch makes for a strong bottom-six centre in the ATD, either as the defensive conscience between two offensive wingers or as the anchor of a checking line... just make sure his contract includes provisions for postseason games. Wish I hadn't missed out on him!

 

[rmartin65]

Jack Findlay
​

Jack Findlay played for two of the better Montreal clubs of the 1880s- first the Crystals from 1884-1886, then he was part of the exodus that went from that club to the Montreal HC (M.A.A.A.) team prior to the 1887 AHAC season, along with, most notably, Allan Cameron. Interestingly, in a newspaper article talking about the new arrivals to the Montreal HC team, it seems like Findlay was considered the biggest pickup; “To their list this year they have added Allan Cameron, the reliable point, J. Findlay, a splendid and gritty forward, and Archie Hodgson, a new man, brother of W.C. Hodgson, a rattling fine skater and cool headed player. When they can afford to put such men as R. Smith and F. Barlow on reserve the strength of the team can be easily reckoned”.

Findlay was a man of the times, meaning he saw time at a variety of positions. He broke into Senior hockey as a goalkeeper, which was quite different than the position we know today. He also spent a little time at point, but the bulk of his career was at forward- likely as a rover or center, based on a couple lineups and looking at the players surrounding him. It was largely at forward where Findlay racked up at least 15.5 points over 43 games, good for 10th (his 14.5 goals are 9th) among all players who debuted in the 1880s. Additionally, @jigglysquishy noted that Ultimate Hockey awarded Jack Findlay with 3 Selke trophies (1888, 1889, 1890), suggesting that Findlay may have brought some off-the-puck play to support his teams.

Selection of Quotes

Spoiler

1886
“Findlay, Cameron, and McGoldrick were conspicuous for the home team and did excellent work”

“Findlay and McGoldrick were the next to cause a cheer, as they, by very unselfish play, took puck down to the Montreal goal”

“Findlay, who seemed all over the ice at this time, got puck and cleverly shot it through the posts”

“At last Findlay took the ball away from Smith, and passed to Virtue…”

“Virtue, Findlay, and Cameron now attacked the M.A.A.A. goal with conspicuous zeal”

“Findlay and Virtue drew down some applause for some marked good play- the latter being specially deserving”

Findlay at last got possession, and judging a fast shot, sent the rubber spinning through the posts”

“Foul play was shown by Findlay during the game, which was properly checked by the referee”

“Findlay, Cameron and McGouldrick were conspicuous for the home team and did excellent work”

“At length Findlay got hold of the rubber near the centre of the rink, and closely passing a couple of opponents, lifted it neatly through the goals knee high past Tom Arnton”

1887
“J. Findlay, a splendid and gritty forward”

1888
“For the winners, Lowe, Hodgson, and Findlay played well, and for the losers, Hamilton, Shanks, and Walsh showed the best form”

“...treated to a nice piece of passing by Virtue, Findlay and Hodgson”

Stats

Spoiler

Individual Stats

Year	Team	Position	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
1884	Montreal Crystals	Goal	2	0	0	0
1885	Montreal Crystals	Goal/Forward	3	0	0	0
1886	Montreal Crystals	Forward/Point	8	4.5	0	4.5
1887	Montreal HC	Forward	5	1	0	1
1888	Montreal HC	Forward	4	1	0	1
1889	Montreal HC	Forward	8	3.5	0	3.5
1890	Montreal HC	Forward	9	4	1	5
1891	Montreal HC	Forward	4	0.5	0	0.5
		Total	43	14.5	1	15.5

Points in comparison with other 1880s-debut players (Top 15)

Name	Seasons	Games	Goals	Assists	Points
Dolly Swift	12	60	56	8	64
Archie Hodgson	7	46	31.5	16.5	47
Dave Brown	10	50	30	8.5	38.5
Herbert Russell	8	45	27.16	10.17	37.33
A.D. Scott	9	48	27.16	7.5	34.66
Archie McNaughton	5	24	23.5	3	26.5
George Lowe	8	38	22	4	26
Jack Campbell	6	33	19.5	2	21.5
S. McQuisten	9	39	13	3	16
Jack Findlay	7	43	14.5	1	15.5
R.J. Davidson	9	28	11.5	4	15.5
A.E. Scott	7	21	9.66	5.5	15.16
Halder Kirby	8	26	13	2	15
D.A. Elliott	7	37	13.5	1	14.5
Jack Kerr	7	24	11.25	2	13.25

 

[rmartin65]

Charlie Liffiton​

Charlie Liffiton is one of those players that I think - regrettably - has been largely forgotten by time. Never a particularly high scorer (at least in the CAHL- my next project is to look into the WPHL and I(P)HL, maybe there is something there), Liffiton was nevertheless very highly thought of during his career; I think the selection of quotes I’ve compiled below shows that he was probably the second most valuable man on those 1900-1902 Montreal HC teams (Boon being the main star of those teams), and there there are some off-ice things that I think illustrate his value.

For starters, he left Montreal HC in 1903 after just one game (which they won 10-0). Montreal HC proceeded to then go 3-3 over the remaining six CAHL season games, a noticeably worse record than their 6-2 record in 1902, despite returning Boon, Nicholson, Marshall, and Gardner, and adding Tommy Phillips for half the season. He landed in Pittsburgh, where he then helped the Bankers’ to win the league championship that year.

Liffiton did not play regularly in 1904 due to his non-hockey career. However, there was a “will-he/won’t-he” play type of coverage in the papers; indeed, one of the advertisements for an upcoming game in the Pittsburgh Post (22 January 1904) had “Liffiton Plays To-Night” written on it.

In September 1904, it looked as though Liffiton was returning to Canada. On 13 September 1904, the Montreal Star had a column on Liffiton’s expected return, stating that “For years Liffiton has been one of the stars of the hockey world”. However, it was not to be, and Liffiton was soon reportedly negotiating to turn professional again. His expected loss was described as “a great loss to the Wanderers”. Liffiton would play one game for the Wanderers (the Wanderers having sent “a special train to bring him to Ottawa and not interfere with his business hours”- this cost the club a reported $114) before signing with Houghton. Interestingly, the Ottawa Journal (11 January 1905) claimed that Liffiton left the Wanderers because he was “discharged” by his employer because Liffiton had signed up to play for the Wanderers and not Montreal HC.

I haven’t been able to start my research into the WPHL and I(P)HL, so I don’t have a ton of quotes from there, but I did a very basic search in newspapers.com and pulled out some interesting notes. Of particular interest is that I have come across an all-star team from 1905-

From the Pittsburg Gazette through the Toronto Star (17 March 1905, Page 10)

Goal: Winchester, Pittsburg
Point: Gibson, Houghton
Cover: H. Stuart, Calumet
Center: Mallin, Calumet
Rover: A. Sixsmith, Pittsburg
RW: Liffiton, Houghton
LW: Gardner, Calumet

Also of note for the 1905 season is that the Winnipeg Tribune (28 March 1905) noted that “The highest paid player in the league was Liffiton”. Now, I’ll concede that being the highest paid player doesn’t necessarily mean he was the best player (and in a league with Hod Stuart, he was almost certainly not the best player), but he had to have been held in very high esteem.

Unfortunately, I’m not coming across much for 1906 and 1907. I believe he managed a team of Canadian players that had been banned from the O.H.A for being professionals in 1906, but I haven’t been able to track down much more than that. It looks like he was then supposed to manage and play for Calumet for 1906-07, but the Toronto Star reported in November 1906 that he was taking a place on the Toronto Hockey Club, which was to play an independent schedule. I came across a couple games, perhaps the most interesting being an exhibition game on 11 March 1907 against the Montreal Wanderers. The Wanderers played what looks like their mostly usual (Blachford was the usual RW) lineup (Hern in goal, L. Patrick at point, Hod Stuart at cover, Glass at rover, Russell at center, Johnson at LW, and Chipchase at RW), and ended up winning 12-10. Liffiton scored 4 goals in Toronto’s losing effort, so it appears that he was still playing at a high level.

Selection of Quotes:

Spoiler

1900
“The whole Montreal team was considerably lighter than their opponents, and with the exception of Liffiton, none of the forwards were as speedy as the aVictoria men. But they managed to get the puck down the ice in good shape and they hustled the Victoria defence around in good style and made Grant and McRobie work their hardest”

“Little Liffiton is also fast and a game little man.”

“Liffiton deserves credit for the game he played, and he made his opponents hustle in great style”

“For Montreal, Boon at cover and Desse Brown and Liffiton on the forward division did yeoman work. The latter, especially, deserves great credit for his persistent following up and good rushing. Boon’s work was much admired”

“Liffiton on the forward line was the particular star [of the Montrelers] and did some hustling work but was closely watched by Henry of the home team”

“Liffiton was Montreal’s star forward, but he inclined to foul work”

“Christmas and Liffiton were the Montreal forward stars”

“Brown and Liffiton, on the Montreal forward line, are good players, and they required the closest kind of watching”

“Liffiton’s speed kept Shamrock’s wing guessing”

1901
“Liffiton worked in splendid style”

“In the second half Montreal seemed to totally collapse, Liffiton and Boone being about the only men who played up to their form”

“However, the great play of Liffiton and Campbell in the forward line, and M. Boon at cover point, and Nicholson at goal, almost won a victory. Liffiton and Campbell did great work together, and performed some of the prettiest plays of the match”

“For the Ottawas, Roger and Sixsmith played the most effective game, and for the Montreals Liffiton and Boone did decidedly good work”

“The Montreal defence occasionally proved themselves adept at blocking tactics. Boon was specially prominent in his work. Liffiton and Campbell played a clever and hard game on the forward line and it took a good man to get the better of them”

“A chance shot or two might have rolled into the net just as well as not. But they did not, owing to the rare skill displayed by Nicholson, who was the right man to stop all attacks. He was kept busy, at times resembling a certain toy as he leaped into the air, squatted, or spun around. This means praise for Quebec, and praise for Montreal's goalkeeper. He did all that was required of him. So did Liffiton, the ubiquitous forward, who was always slashing around the net, or pushing the puck into it. His work was of the star order. It was almost a constellation. No wonder all New York opened their eyes to see him play”

“Quebec’s big defence did not seem to bother him [Liffiton] too much. When they tried to use the body he was usually out of the way”

“Vallance was the weakest man on the Montreal team. He tried hard, but did not manage to do much. The others all played strong. Campbell was the equal of Bruce Stuart in brilliant runs, and Liffiton played as if his Satanic Majesty was after him at times”

1902
“The forward players of the Montreals worked like Trojans. They are as fast a quartet on the ice as has been seen for some time. And three of them are good shots, Hooper, Marshall and Liffiton”

“They took advantage of this, and Hooper and Liffiton particularly distinguished themselves, while Gardner’s work was steady and painstaking”

“On the forwards Jack Marshall was the bright particular star, and he was ably supported by Liffiton and Hooper, who rushed effectively. Gardiner was not up to the mark of the other players, although he woke up in the second half and made some sure dashes. The effect of Liffiton’s work was spoiled to a great extent by his being ruled off”

“ Liffiton always seemed to be on hand to pick up the puck and dash up on all occasions, being dangerous and assisting materially in each of the goals scored”

“Liffiton was the bright particular star of the Montreal team and was the speediest man on the ice”

Liffiton, the right forward, and Gardner on the left side, put up a remarkably good game and were speedy and tricky. They were given good support by Marshall, the centre payer, and by Hooper, the rover”

“For the victors, Dickie Boone at cover point was worth two or three. His efforts were ably seconded by young Liffiton, who is certainly a small-sized wonder”

“As usual, Gardner and Liffiton, on the forwards, were always in the game. They skated and shot well, but combination play was lacking”

“Liffiton and Gardner were both fast and played good hockey”

“Marshall and Liffiton played a fast and steady game, but they seemed to lack the combination plays looked for, and which they must have to win the championship”

“Boon and Liffiton were the only men on the team who seemed to be playing the game, the one doing all the defence work and the other all the offensive. Liffiton was all over the ice, and was the bright particular star of the fourteen men”

“Liffiton and Gardner made a number of brilliant rushes”

“Blakchaired Liffiton, who looked like a little fiend as he was rushing about”

“Charlie Liffiton and Jack Marshall simply couldn’t be stopped”

“Liffiton is a remarkably swift, skillful, and tireless player, though, one regrets to say, a little illegitimate at times in his style of play”

“Liffiton, the right wing man, was easily the best among the forwards. He is a stylish player and is possessed of great speed. He worked all the way, hard and clearly aoutpointed Scanlan, whom he was checking”

“Scanlan had a hard row to hoe in checking Liffiton”

“Scanlan was out-matched by Liffiton”

“The second hal commenced decidedly fast with both Boon and Liffiton, the two Montreal stars, on the fence”

“Hooper was undoubtedly the star of the line. As rover he put up a magnificent game. His shooting was accurate, his checking was strong, and when he got the puck he never failed to gain ground. Liffiton, as right wing, is the speediest man of the quartette; he was checking Scanlan, and while he did not break through as often as in the first match, he was dangerous all the way and played brilliant hockey”

“Liffiton, Boon and Hooper were the stars of the Montreals”

“He [Liffiton] ws marked apparently as a good subject for bodying and got more than his share of it. Nevertheless he not only kept track of the cleverest Vic player, Scanlan, but was a host of strength to Boon, Marshall and Hooper”

“That man Liffiton is a little wonder and a game sport”

1903
“Liffiton and Gardner on the wings played fast hockey”

“Liffiton also played well, but Marshall and Hooper couldn’t make it go”

“The Montrealers were weakened by the absence of Liffiton, who is playing hockey in Pittsburgh. Smith, who replaced him on the forward line, is a gritty little hockeyist, but he is not yet in Liffiton’s class”

“Liffiton, the star from Montreal, Canada, who was on the Bankers’ line, put up a great game. The way that boy skates is a wonder. He is like a whirlwind, and when he gets the puck it is a hard matter to catch him”

“Liffiton again put up a star game, as also did Stuart. These two players deserve credit for the Bankers’ victory”

‘The Victorias have had it easy all season, and until the Bankers were reinforced by Liffiton, were well in the lead”

“Both sides fought hard, and the Victorias tried desperately to keep their defeat from being a whitewash, but their efforts were in vain, with such players as Hod Stuart, Roberts and Liffiton to buck against”


1903-04
“The man who will be authorized to collect the team will be Charley Liffiton, who, when in Pittsburgh last year, was such a tremendous success there”

“Charlie Liffiton, of Montreal, whose sensational work for the Bankers last season helped them win the championship…”

“Charlie Liffiton, the popular right wing of last season’s Bankers…”

“Even without Liffiton, who was the most popular player in Pittsburg last season…”


1904-05
“For years Liffiton has been one of the stars of the hockey world”

“His work with the Montreal team gave him his first reputation. Then circumstances were such that business interests induced him to visit the United State, and he played some games in Pittsburg, where his skill, his endurance, and his speed made a name for him in the United States”

“Charlie Liffiton is again negotiating, or has been, with some of the professional teams of the United States. If he decided to turn professional again it would be a great loss to the Wanderers”

“It was lucky for the Wanderers they had Liffiton on the team, as he was of immense use to them, and he held down Alf. Smith in fine shape, and his following up in the Ottawa defence spoiled many good returns, and was a source of considerable worry to Moore, though the Ottawa man generally got the better of the impact”

“Liffiton was already a celebrity, but he now enjoys the distinction of being the only hockey player for whom a special train was chartered”

“Charlie Liffiton, the debonair hockey player…”

“... this brilliant young player…”

“Charlie Liffiton arrived from Montreal and played right wing for Houghton… He inspired the Copper Country team with confidence and they displayed ginger throughout. Liffiton figured in many rushes resulting in games. He also followed back in grand style”

Summer 1905
“Charlie Liffiton, the famous hockey player, arrived in Montreal yesterday…”

1907
“Gardner, the new wing, and an old favorite with the Garden patrons, will be in the lineup, as will Liffiton [Ernie], a brother of Charley Liffiton, who has few, if any equals as a hockey player”