I realized BBS's bio project was lacking one of Mike Grant, so I dug up one from Leafs Central that jarek made several years ago. So props to him on this one.
Mike Grant, D
Position: Defenseman
HT/WT: 5'10", 170 lbs
- inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.
- 4-time Stanley Cup Champion (1896, 1897, 1898, 1899)
- top-10s in points among defensemen in AHAC (3rd with 1 point (1895), 3rd with 3 points (1896), 3rd with 3 points (1897))
I wouldn't put too much stock into his point totals, as they were very low, and those were low scoring days back then. Most of what we know about him is purely anecdotal:
Ultimate Hockey
Best Skater of the Earlies
Most Consistent Player of the Earlies
Retro Norris (1895, 1896, 1897, 1899, 1899)
Retro Hart (1896, 1898)
Apparently he was a defensive mastermind:
In 1894, *** ********* and ****** ***** were added to the roster, as was defender extraordinaire Mike Grant. Although it was not easy to replace ******** on the blue-line, Mike Grant stood tall. An outstanding skater who at age 11 had won speed skating titles in three different age groups, he subbed for an injured ******** in a mid-January match against the MAAA. He made his first start on February 10 against the MAAA, an assignment in which he did anything but disappoint. One newspaper reporter spoke of a defender "impossible to get by." In his five starts in 1894, the Victorias went 4-1, allowing but eight goals. And four of these goals came in a February 24 loss to Quebec, a game in which Grant started at forward rather than at his usual cover-point position.
He seemed to be a tough customer as well:
... the Victorias were up 2-1 late in the second half when Grant was sent off for roughing.
In the end, he was a remarkable two-way performer:
The Victorias' combination play, or run-and-gun, came together in 1894. Solid forward play combined with Grant's consistent brilliance to provide a two-way punch.
Mike Grant's Ultimate Hockey bio:
Mike Grant was one of hockey's first celebrities. From what is known, he literally packed arenas across eastern Canada from the mid 1890s onward. He was the first player about whom newspapermen consistently wrote and, although **** ******** was probably the first of the pre-modern rushers, Grant was quite certainly the finest.
Grant showed great athletic ability early in life, winning speed skating titles in three different age categories. As a teen, he earned a solid reputation among Montreal's Junior hockey community. Several "seconds", or agents, for AHAC clubs approached the blacksmith's son, guaranteeing him a spot on their sides. He hung back, though, if only because he felt tied to his family's business. He was afraid his father would disapprove.
But just before the start of the 1892 hockey season, Grant was permitted to try out for the Young Crystals, the Montreal Crystals' junior club. He of course made the team and within a season was the captain. Grant was snatched up by the Montreal Victorias in late 1893. He would captain this fine club to Stanley Cup victories in 1895, 1896 and 1897. In 1901, Grant joined the Montreal Shamrocks before finishing his glorious career back with the Vics.
After a refereeing stint, Grant became the first Canadian ambassador for the game of hockey in the United States. He embarked on a number of goodwill ventures to America, playing in exhibition games and "giving much good advice on skating and hockey to our neighbors across the border."
As a player, Grant did much to popularize the rush. His skating ability, both in terms of flat-out speed and overall power, was in a class of its own. He had a roguish air to him that served to stoke his fans' imaginations. It's easy to picture him tearing up the ice on one of his patented rushes, his trademark handlebar mustache twitching in the cool night air.
Not that it has anything to do with hockey, but Grant's oldest son Donald, a wizard on Wall Street, ended up as a top executive with major league baseball's New York Mets in 1962.
Mike Grant was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.
His
bio on Legends of Hockey has much of the same stuff to say about him:
Here is some stuff courtesy of overpass. It describes his play later in his career.
From the first match, Toronto Star, January 30, 1901:
"Grant tried to body *******, but was a little slow and went into the fence. That was Grant's characteristic throughout the match. He did fairly well, but from his reputation on the old Victoria team the Shamrocks expected better.
Then ***** and ******* got into a snarl and were ruled off. Grant did some heavy body-checking, but evidently was not fast enough. **** scored by a pass from Bain."
"In the meantime a judicious change was made on the Shamrock defence. Grant was brought back to point, where his stops proved invaluable."
From the second match, Toronto Star, February 1, 1901:
On the Shamrock team Grant was sent to point and **** to cover."
Greatest Hockey Legends
Mike Grant was the premier defensive specialist of 1890s ice hockey, playing the ancient position of cover-point primarily for the Montreal Victorias of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada and the Canadian Amateur Hockey League.
A very strong case can be made that Mike Grant was hockey's first true star; he was the first player to actually draw crowds that would sell out ice rinks all over Eastern Canada. He was also the first hockey player that newspaper reporters consistently reported on which helped popularize the game via the press.
Although there is no videotape of 1890s hockey, or Grant specifically, we do know a bit about his game. He was a tremendous leader of men, played a fine brand of defensive hockey, was most likely the quickest skater in the game, and he was the finest puck-rusher of early hockey by practically all accounts. In fact, it may have been Grant who influenced later puck-rushers like Art Ross and Lester Patrick to master this art. It is safe to assume that if a Norris Trophy was awarded back in Grant's era he would have earned perhaps four or five as he was the premier dominant defensive player of his time. Similarly, it could be easily argued that Grant would have won at least one Hart Trophy and maybe even a Conn Smythe Trophy had there been such awards.
The Trail, Vol. 1
1894:
Another great defence star of this era was Mike Grant. He made his bow with the Victorias on February 10th, against Montreal. This gentleman, sporting a generous moustache, was very prominent with his frequent rushes and boisterous play.
Feb. 10th Stanley Cup Challenge game in 1896:
... Capt. Mike Grant was a feature with his end-to-end rushes from defence but found ******** impossible to beat in the Winnipeg goal
.
1899 game against Ottawa:
The game at Ottawa between the same teams was a hotly contested one with Mike Grant standing out with his end-to-end rushes, on one of which he scored.
Seems like even the Trail supports him being a physical guy.
Here is a little statistical stuff to back up Grant's defensive play. As we know, players played practically the whole game during this era, so any change in personnel could be significant offensively or defensively to a team.
Grant's time with the Victorias, out of 5 teams:
1893 (year before he joined): 20 GF (5th), 35 GA (4th)
1894: 36 GF (1st), 20 GA (3rd)
1895: 35 GF (1st), 20 GA (1st)
1896: 41 GF (1st), 24 GA (3rd)
1897: 48 GF (1st), 26 GA (T-2nd)
1898: 53 GF (1st), 33 GA (2nd)
1899: 44 GF (1st), 23 GA (2nd)
1900: 44 GF (2nd), 55 GA (5th) - Grant only played 2 games this season, and clearly the team was hurting for it defensively!
1901: 45 GF (1st), 32 GA (3rd) - Grant played for the Shamrocks this season (30 GF (3rd), 25 GA (2nd)), but as evidenced by the difference in GA numbers, he was still a factor defensively, even though he was slowing down
1902: 36 GF (2nd), 25 GA (3rd) - Victorias numbers, he played 7 games for them this season, but again, he was pretty much done as a player, and the Victorias seemed to feel it in the stats!
Since we have specific information on 1894, I'd like to touch on it in more detail. In total, the Victorias allowed 20 goals that season. Of the 4 Grant played cover-point, only 4 of those 20 goals were allowed. He played one more game that season as a forward, where Victoria allowed 4 goals. Looking at it another way, Grant played 50% of the Victorias' games that season at cover-point, and in those games, only 20% of the total goals were allowed. In the other 50% of the games, of which he played 1 as a forward, the other 80% of the goals were scored. Looking at it in yet another way, of the games Grant played in as cover-point, the team allowed 1 goal per game. In every other game, the team allowed 4 goals per game. Clearly he was a defensive stalwart!
He did not play past 1902. As we can see from these stats, he was clearly a factor for his teams during his prime. He took them from 5th and 4th to 1st and 3rd in GF and GA immediately, and from then on, they never placed lower than 1st for scoring for the next 5 seasons, and never worse than 3rd (only twice) in GA during that same stretch. The numbers certainly support the anecdotes in this case.
To put it in a more broad perspective, of the 6 seasons we can say the team, and likely Grant starred in (1894-1899), the Victorias scored 257 goals. The next best team, Montreal, scored 177 goals. That is 80 goals fewer over that 6 year stretch! On the defensive side of the puck, during that stretch, the Victorias allowed 146 goals, tying Montreal for the fewest goals allowed. Ottawa allowed 161 for 3rd place. That is 15 goals fewer than the next most stingiest team. Grant clearly had a significant impact on both goals for AND against during his tenure on the Victorias!
Despite never scoring in a Stanley Cup match, Grant's rushing abilities are very highly spoken of. I think it's fair to say that he was likely an excellent playmaker of his day, but without assist totals for the years which he played, we may never know. I don't think this guy's rushing abilities would be spoken of so highly if he wasn't making plays for his teammates. Beyond all that though, he was clearly an elite defensive defenseman of his day, and likely a rough customer as well.
