1917/18 – First NHL-season – A deeper look at the players & incorrect facts

[Robert Gordon Orr]

I took a deeper look at those who played in the inaugural 1917/18 NHL season.
Out of the 45 players, more than 40% are Hall of Famers.

To my surprise I see that there are numerous of incorrect personal facts both on the Hockey Hall of Fame and official NHL site (as well as the English Wikipedia for that matter).

Anyone working for the HHOF or NHL reading this? If so, can you please see to it that these mistakes are corrected once and for all (See separate note column below).

Name	1917/18	Pos	Born	Died	Occupation	Parents	Grandparents	Heritage
John "Jack" James Adams*	Tor	C	June 14,1894, Fort William, ON	May 1, 1968, Detroit, MI, USA	Elevator Weightman	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
James "Art" Arthur Brooks	Tor	GK	Feb.4,1889, Guelph, ON	Jan.1,1962, Toronto, ON	Bookkeeper Accountant	Canada	Canada England Ireland	Canada England Ireland Spain
Harold "Harry" Hugh Cameron*	Tor	DF	Feb.6,1890, Pembroke, ON	Oct.20, 1953, Vancouver, BC	Clerk	Canada	Canada Scotland Ireland	Canada Scotland Ireland
John "Jack" Joseph Coughlin	Tor	RW	June 21,1892, Douro, ON	June 21, 1969, Peterborough, ON	Machinist	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Samuel "Rusty" Russell Crawford*	Tor Ott	LW	Nov.7,1885, South Mountain, ON	Dec.19,1971, Prince Albert, SK	Farmer	Canada Ireland	Ireland	Canada Ireland
Charles "Corb" Corbett Dennenay	Tor	C	Jan.25,1894, Osnabruck, ON	Jan.16, 1963, Toronto, ON	Labourer	Canada	Canada	Canada Ireland
Samuel "Sammy" James Joseph Hébert	Tor	GK	Mar.31, 1893, Ottawa, ON	July 23, 1965, Ottawa, ON	Piano tuner	Canada	Canada	Canada England
Harry "Hap" George Holmes*	Tor	GK	Feb.21, 1888, Aurora, ON	June 27, 1941, Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA	Constructor	Canada	England Scotland	Canada England Scotland
John "Jack" Joseph Marks	Tor Mtl W.	RW LW	Feb.8, 1880, Belleville, ON	Aug.19, 1945, Toronto, ON	Inspector	Canada England	England Ireland	Canada England Ireland
Henry "Harry" Arthur Meeking	Tor	LW	Jan.10, 1894, Barrie, ON	Dec. 13, 1971, Toronto, ON	Bank clerk	Canada	England Scotland	Canada England Scotland
Harold "Harry" Mummery	Tor	DF	Aug.25, 1889, Chicago, Ill, USA	Dec.9, 1945, Brandon, MB	Locomotive Engineer	Canada England	England	Canada England
Edward "Reg" Reginald Noble*	Tor	C	June 23, 1896, Collingwood, ON	Jan.19, 1962, Alliston, ON	Manager	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Kenneth "Ken" Fenwick Randall	Tor	RW	Dec.14, 1887, Kingston, ON	June 14, 1947, Toronto, ON	Plumber	Canada England	England Ireland	Canada England Ireland
Alfred "Alf" Skinner	Tor	RW	Jan.26, 1894, Toronto, ON	Apr.23, 1961, Toronto, ON	Machinist	Canada	Canada	Canada England
Stephen "Clint" Clinton Benedict*	Ott	GK	Sep.26, 1892, Ottawa, ON	Nov.12, 1976, Ottawa, ON	Stenographer	Canada England	Canada England	Canada England USA Ireland
John "Buck" George Boucher*	Ott	DF	Aug.17, 1895, Ottawa, ON	Oct.17, 1960, Ottawa, ON	Printer	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Morley Callendar Bruce	Ott	DF	Mar.7, 1894, North Gower, ON	Nov.25, 1959, Ottawa, ON	Fire alarm operator	Canada	Canada	Canada Scotland Ireland England
John "Jack" Proctor Darragh*	Ott	RW	Dec.4, 1890, Ottawa, ON	June 28, 1924, Ottawa, ON	Bookkeeper Accountant	Ireland	Ireland	Ireland
Cyril "Cy" Joseph Dennenay*	Ott	LW	Dec.23, 1891, Farran's Point, ON	Sep.10, 1970, Ottawa, ON	Clerk	Canada	Canada	Canada Ireland
Edward "Eddie" George Gerard	Ott	LW DF	Feb.22, 1890, Ottawa, ON	Aug.7, 1937, Ottawa, ON	Civil servant Printer	Scotland	Scotland	Scotland
Henry "Harry" Macarius Hyland*	Ott Mtl W.	RW	Jan.2, 1889, Montreal, QC	Aug.8, 1969, Montreal, QC	Pay master	Canada	Ireland	Canada Ireland
Edwin "Eddie" James Lowrey	Ott	C	Aug.13, 1891, Manotick, ON	Nov.27, 1973, Ann Arbour, MI, USA	Contractor	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Horace Jefferson Merrill	Ott	DF	Nov.30, 1884, Toronto, ON	Dec.24, 1958, Ottawa, ON	Printing	Canada USA	Canada USA	Canada USA
Julius "Frank" Francis Nighbor (Neubauer)*	Ott	C	Jan.26, 1893, Pembroke, ON	April 13, 1966, Pembroke, ON	Insurance agent	Germany Poland	Germany Poland	Germany Poland
David "Dave" Alexander Ritchie	Ott Mtl.W	DF	Oct.1, 1891, Montreal, QC	March 6, 1973, Montreal, QC	Clerk	Canada Scotland	Scotland	Canada Scotland
Samuel "Hamby" Hamilton Shore	Ott	DF LW	Feb.12, 1886, Ottawa, ON	Oct.13, 1918, Ottawa, ON	Civil servant	Canada	Ireland	Canada Ireland
William "Billy" Edward Bell	Mtl Mtl W.	C	June 11, 1891, Lachine, QC	June 3, 1952, Pointe-Claire, QC	Engineer	Canada	Canada Scotland	Canada Scotland
Louis Dièudonné Berlinguette	Mtl	LW	May 26, 1887, Sainte-Angélique, QC	June 1, 1959, Rouyn-Noranda, QC	Superintendent	Canada	Canada	Canada
Bertram "Bert" Orion Corbeau	Mtl	DF	Feb.9, 1894, Penetanguishene, ON	Sep.21, 1942, Georgian Bay, ON	Plant superintendent	Canada Sweden	Canada Sweden	Canada Sweden
Wilfred "Billy" Arthur Coutu	Mtl	DF	Mar.1, 1892, Bonfield, ON	Feb.25, 1977, Sault-Ste Marie, ON	Craneman	Canada	Canada	Canada England France Germany
Joseph "Joe" Henry Hall*	Mtl	DF	May 3, 1881, Milwich, Staffordshire, ENG	April 5, 1919, Seattle, WA, USA	Cigarette maker	England	England	England
Edward "Newsy" Cyril Lalonde*	Mtl	C	Oct.31, 1887, Cornwall, ON	Nov.21, 1970, Montreal, QC	Linotype machine operator	Canada	Canada	Canada USA France
Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette*	Mtl	DF LW RW	July 17, 1879, Belleville, ON	Jan.10, 1960, Montreal, QC	Telegrapher	Canada	Canada	Canada
Maurice "Joe" Joseph Cletus Malone*	Mtl	C LW	Feb.28, 1890, Quebec City (Sillery), QC	May 15, 1969, Montreal, QC	Day labourer	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Patrick "Jack" John McDonald	Mtl Mtl W.	LW	Feb.28, 1887, Quebec City, QC	Jan.24, 1958, Montreal, QC	Machinist	Canada	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland
Evariste Payer	Mtl	C	July 21, 1888, Rockland, ON	Sep.1, 1963, Hull, QC	Day labourer	Canada	Canada	Canada
Joseph "Didier" George Didier Pitre*	Mtl	RW	Sep.1, 1883, Valleyfield, QC	July 29, 1934, Sault-Ste Marie, MI, USA	Truck driver	Canada	Canada	Canada France Switzerland
Joseph "George" Georges Gonzague Vézina*	Mtl	GK	Jan.21, 1887, Chicoutimi, QC	Mar.27, 1926, Chicoutimi, QC	Farmer	Canada	Canada	Canada France
Pierce "Gerry" George Geran	Mtl W.	C	Aug.3, 1896, Holyoke, MA, USA	Sep.8, 1981, Brooklyn, NY, USA	Commecial business	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland	Canada Ireland Scotland England USA
Leslie "Bert" Bertrand Lindsay	Mtl W.	GK	July 23, 1881, West Gerafraxa, ON	Nov.11, 1960, Sarnia, ON	Butcher Motor mech.	Canada	Canada Ireland Scotland	Canada Ireland Scotland USA Germany
George Edward O'Grady	Mtl W.	DF	June 8, 1891, Montreal, QC	July 25, 1974, Vancouver, BC	Clerk	Canada	England Ireland	Canada England Ireland
Arthur "Art" Howey Ross*	Mtl W.	DF	Jan.13, 1886, Naughton, ON	Aug.5, 1964, Medford, MA, USA	Dealer	Canada	Canada Scotland Ireland	Canada Scotland Ireland France
Raymond "Raymie" Nelson Skilton	Mtl W.	DF	Sep.26, 1889, Cambridge, MA, USA	July 1, 1961, Newtonville, MA, USA	Shipping clerk Wool dealer	USA	USA	USA Scotland
Philip "Phil" Collins Stevens	Mtl W.	C	Feb.15, 1893, Saint-Lambert, QC	April 8, 1968, Kelowna, BC	Chauffeur Barber	Canada	Canada	Canada England USA
Kenworthy "Ken" James Thompson	Mtl W.	LW C	May 29, 1881, Oakengates, ENG	Nov.25, 1933, Sarasota, FL, USA	Factory manager (Chemist)	England	England	England

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* Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame





Incorrect information on the following players

Name	Note
John "Jack" James Adams*	HHOF & NHL have him incorrectly born 1895 (Wikipedia is correct though)
Samuel "Rusty" Russell Crawford*	HHOF & NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born in Cardinal, ON
Charles "Corb" Corbett Dennenay	NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born i Cornwall, ON. Also correct spelling of last name should be Dennenay
Samuel "Sammy" James Joseph Hébert	NHL have him incorrectly born in 1894 (Wikipedia is correct though)
Harry "Hap" George Holmes*	NHL have him incorrecly born in 1892 (Wikipedia is correct though)
John Jack" Joseph Marks	Note: NHL ave him incorrectly born on June 11, 1885 and incorrectly in Brantford, ON. Wikipedia have him incorrectly born in 1882 and also born in Brantford, ON
Henry "Harry" Arthur Meeking	NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born on November 4 and in Berlin, ON
Kenneth "Ken" Fenwick Randall	NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born in 1888
Alfred "Alf" Skinner	NHL have him incorrectly born in 1896 and Wikipedia have him incorrectly passing away on April 11
Stephen "Clint" Clinton Benedict*	HHOF have him incorrectly born on September 25, 1894 (Wikipedia is correct though), but on the other hand, Wikipedia have his name incorrectly as Clinton Stevenson
John "Buck" George Boucher*	Wikipedia & NHL have him incorrectly born on August 19 (HHOF is correct though). Wikipedia have his name spelled wrong (should be George not Georges)
Cyril "Cy" Joseph Dennenay*	Correct spelling of last name was Dennenay, even though Denneny have been the common spelling. Birth registers and signatures by both Corb and Cy had the spelling as Dennenay. HHOF have incorrect death date (September 9)
Edward "Eddie" George Gerard*	HHOF have incorrect date of death as December 7
Henry "Harry" Macarius Hyland*	Wikipedia have his first name incorrectly as Harold
Horace Jefferson Merrill	NHL have him incorrectly born in 1885
Julius "Frank" Francis Nighbor (Neubauer)*	Birth name was Neubauer
David "Dave" Alexander Ritchie	NHL have him incorrectly born on January 12, 1892
William "Billy" Edward Bell	NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born on June 10
Bertram "Bert" Orion Corbeau	NHL & Wikipedia have his middle name incorrectly as Orian
Wilfred "Billy" Arthur Coutu	NHL & Wikipedia have him incorrectly born in North Bay, ON
Joseph "Joe" Henry Hall*	HHOF & NHL & Wikipedia only have the county of Staffordshire as his birthplace
Edward "Newsy" Cyril Lalonde*	Wikipedia have his name incorrectly spelled as Édouard Cyrille. On his baptism record it looks like he was born on October 30
Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette*	HHOF & NHL have him incorrectly born on July 27 (Wikipedia is correct though)
Evariste Payer	NHL have him incorrectly born on December 12, 1887 (Wikipedia is correct though)
Joseph "Didier" George Didier Pitre*	Wikipedia have him incorrectly passing away in Ontario (instead of Michigan). Last name on gravestone is Petrie for some reason. His death certificate also had Petrie as his last name. But baptism and marriage records had Pitre as we know him
Joseph "George" Georges Gonzague Vézina*	HHOF do not have an exact birthdate for him and have the wrong death date (March 26 – He passed away at 01:20 on March 27). Wikipedia incorrectly states that his father was an immigrant from France, which he was not
Arthur "Art" Howey Ross*	Wikipedia have him incorrectly born in 1885 (HHOF & NHL is correct though)

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Ok, that's it...

Click to read more...

 

[Canadiens1958]

Edouard Cyrille is the French spelling of Lalonde's name. If he was baptized in a French parish it would be correct.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Edouard Cyrille is the French spelling of Lalonde's name. If he was baptized in a French parish it would be correct.

Yes, I am aware of that, but both his baptism and marriage records have Edward (Cyril).
Both were English speaking records by the way.

 

[Canadiens1958]

Was the parish part of the French diocese though? This is the key point.

 

[Theokritos]

I took a deeper look at those who played in the inaugural 1917/18 NHL season.

Thanks a lot for the extensive list!

Julius Neubauer? Interesting.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Was the parish part of the French diocese though? This is the key point.

Well, he was baptized at St.Colomban in Cornwall (Predominantly Irish I believe) and was married at St.Agnès in Montreal, an Irish Catholic church (His wife had ties to Scotland and Ireland).

 

[Canadiens1958]

St Colomban is Irish.

 

[Dooman]

Charles"Corb" Corbett Dennenay

You corrected the spelling to be the exact same?

 

[Theokritos]

Looking through the list, most mistakes are wrong birth dates and locations. Pretty straithfoward. Plus a few misspellings and misunderstandings. Nothing too complicated either. If we removed all of those, we're left with the following inaccuracies:

Name	Note
Charles "Corb" Corbett Dennenay	Correct spelling of last name should be Dennenay
Cyril "Cy" Joseph Dennenay*	Correct spelling of last name was Dennenay, even though Denneny have been the common spelling. Birth registers and signatures by both Corb and Cy had the spelling as Dennenay. HHOF have incorrect death date (September 9)
Julius "Frank" Francis Nighbor (Neubauer)*	Birth name was Neubauer
Edward "Newsy" Cyril Lalonde*	Wikipedia have his name incorrectly spelled as Édouard Cyrille.
Joseph "Didier" George Didier Pitre*	Last name on gravestone is Petrie for some reason. His death certificate also had Petrie as his last name. But baptism and marriage records had Pitre as we know him

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The case of the Denenn(a)y brothers seems rather simple. A minor spelling mistake where a letter that didn't carry much weight in the pronunciation was dropped in colloquial language. A common occurrence. Still, clearly a mistake if even Corb & Cy kept using the original spelling.

Neubauer/Nighbor is a bit more curious to me. Birth name means name in the birth certificate, right? Now it's not unheard of that in those days foreign names were changed to something more familiar when people immigrated to Canada or the USA. But if the birth certificate still said "Neubauer" (which BTW doesn't strike me as a name English-speakers would particularly struggle with in the first place), then when and why did it change? Which family name did Nighbor's children carry?

Finally, the last two cases (Lalonde and Pitre) seem like typical instances one encounters in a bilingual country. Personally I would be a bit weary to label any such deviation as a "mistake". Regardless of what the official documents say: some fluidity should be expected. The case of Pitre (French) in the marriage records changing to Petrie (English) in the death certificate is actually a very nice example of this.

 

[Canadiens1958]

The instances you describe are very common late 19th century, early 20th century in east end Montreal where due to a lack of English Catholic schools and churches the French schools and churches accommodated the Irish Catholics yet allowed the English versions of names etc.

Birth name, means name at birth at times provided to the hospital. Formality of a birth certificate followed later, sometimes months, so additions or changes happened. Place of birth. Some have the the home city, some the hospital city.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Looking through the list, most mistakes are wrong birth dates and locations. Pretty straithfoward. Plus a few misspellings and misunderstandings. Nothing too complicated either. If we removed all of those, we're left with the following inaccuracies:



The case of the Denenn(a)y brothers seems rather simple. A minor spelling mistake where a letter that didn't carry much weight in the pronunciation was dropped in colloquial language. A common occurrence. Still, clearly a mistake if even Corb & Cy kept using the original spelling.

Interestingly enough it seems that when Cy wrote autographs, he spelled his name as "Denneny", but when signing official documents (i.e. when he got married or when relatives died), he signed it with "Dennenay".

Also. The gravestone of Cy have the spelling as Denneny, while his brother Corb have Dennenay.

Cy Dennen(a)y's gravestone

Corb Dennenay's gravestone

Neubauer/Nighbor is a bit more curious to me. Birth name means name in the birth certificate, right? Now it's not unheard of that in those days foreign names were changed to something more familiar when people immigrated to Canada or the USA. But if the birth certificate still said "Neubauer" (which BTW doesn't strike me as a name English-speakers would particularly struggle with in the first place), then when and why did it change? Which family name did Nighbor's children carry?

Actually, both his birth and baptism records have the spelling as Neibauer, although the documents I've seen on his father had his last name spelled Neubauer. But it seems that the spelling Nighbor was adopted rather early on.

Finally, the last two cases (Lalonde and Pitre) seem like typical instances one encounters in a bilingual country. Personally I would be a bit weary to label any such deviation as a "mistake". Regardless of what the official documents say: some fluidity should be expected. The case of Pitre (French) in the marriage records changing to Petrie (English) in the death certificate is actually a very nice example of this.

Yes, I agree, however Lalonde was clearly baptized as Edward and it should be acknowledged.

Didier Pitre's gravestone

 

[Canadiens1958]

Signing autographs is a different matter. Aurele Joliat has two versions with or without the last e.

First post you refer to baptism record for Newsy Lalonde. Not the same as the Baptism Certificate given to the parents and signed by the god-parents. Which is your source document?

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Signing autographs is a different matter. Aurele Joliat has two versions with or without the last e.

First post you refer to baptism record for Newsy Lalonde. Not the same as the Baptism Certificate given to the parents and signed by the god-parents. Which is your source document?

The church/Baptism record.

 

[Canadiens1958]

The church/Baptism record.

Certificate or the ledger containg the record of all the Baptism certificates issued.

 

[kaiser matias]

Regarding Vezina, I was the one who added his father was a French immigrant. That came from the Jack Falla book cited, though even then I felt it was suspicious. If you have something else that disputes it I'll change it, but that would need a new citation.

 

[sr edler]

Interestingly enough it seems that when Cy wrote autographs, he spelled his name as "Denneny", but when signing official documents (i.e. when he got married or when relatives died), he signed it with "Dennenay".

Also. The gravestone of Cy have the spelling as Denneny, while his brother Corb have Dennenay.

Cy Dennen(a)y's gravestone

Corb Dennenay's gravestone





Actually, both his birth and baptism records have the spelling as Neibauer, although the documents I've seen on his father had his last name spelled Neubauer. But it seems that the spelling Nighbor was adopted rather early on.





Yes, I agree, however Lalonde was clearly baptized as Edward and it should be acknowledged.

Didier Pitre's gravestone

Gravestones having the wrong or contradicting info is not that uncommon. And not only for names/spellings but for birth/death dates too of course. I've met this issue on several occasions. Sometimes there's not even the correct body (or no body at all) in the grave.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Regarding Vezina, I was the one who added his father was a French immigrant. That came from the Jack Falla book cited, though even then I felt it was suspicious. If you have something else that disputes it I'll change it, but that would need a new citation.

I have the original documentation both for George Vézina's father and grandfather, both born in the Québec province. The French lineage from his paternal side dates back to the mid 1600s when they left France for Canada.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Gravestones having the wrong or contradicting info is not that uncommon. And not only for names/spellings but for birth/death dates too of course. I've met this issue on several occasions. Sometimes there's not even the correct body (or no body at all) in the grave.

True, I've encountered this as well on many occasions. Wrong years, and misspelled names.
I always try to rely on the original documentation if possible.

 

[kaiser matias]

I have the original documentation both for George Vézina's father and grandfather, both born in the Québec province. The French lineage from his paternal side dates back to the mid 1600s when they left France for Canada.

Interesting, do you have copies you could send me?

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Interesting, do you have copies you could send me?

Sure, PM me. Don't forget to include your e-mail and I'll send the documents to you.

 

[tony d]

Thanks for posting this stuff. Always fun to read up on stuff like this.