Robert Gordon Orr
Registered User
- Dec 3, 2009
- 979
- 2,039
I always found it interesting to hear what was said about the hockey players of the early era (Pre World War II). Naturally we know the least about these players as we have very limited footage available from games, a few 30 second clips here and there. Very few people are alive today who remember any of the early stars.
So I thought it would be neat to collect interesting quotes and lists in this thread. If there is an old thread like this somewhere, then I apologize and a moderator can move it there.
Quotes and lists from contemporary players, trainers, general managers and even a few sportswriters is of interest. (Pre WW II era only)
1929/30
Malcolm Brice [1876-1971]
Legendary sports editor for the Ottawa Free Press who saw all the early greats play. He is the one who first gave Fred “Cyclone” Taylor his nickname and was instrumental in getting Cyclone to Ottawa. He also gave Percy LeSueur his nickname “Peerless Percy.”
He gave some insight of the earliest hockey stars
“Russell Bowie was the best goal getter and centre ice man when the seven-man style prevailed. We always thought Gordie Roberts packed more dynamite than any of the other sharp shooters. I think Alf Smith had the greatest cross-check, and Art Ross the most highly developed short-end jab. Then there was Harry Smith and Froggie (Bruce) Stuart, who wielded mean blades in close quarters. I recall Harry dropping Bruce with a slash that laid bare his lower lip in a game between Ottawa and Wanderers in the Montreal Arena. Stuart came back after being repaired, and in a scuffle around the net, Smith went down with his nose caved in like an egg-shell. After the game they fraternized together.”
1936/37
Joe Choquette
Manufactured sticks for NHL and other pro players since at least 1911, commented on some of the players:
“Take a big fellow like Lionel Conacher for instance. He wants a big blade with hardly any handle because he had a bone broken in his hand. See, look how small the handle is. The stick is very light."
"Now take another big fellow like Reg Noble. He carried a 30-ounce stick, the heaviest I ever made. Art Chapman, George Mantha and lots of other fellows are very fussy. Howie Morenz used to be my best customer. Sometimes he would use or give away about 52 sticks a year. The average player uses about 24 a season.”
1936/37
Aurel Joliat (HHOF 1947)
Picked his all time All-Star teams (Also see 1948/49)
Oldtimers
Goalie: Georges Vezina – “In goal I would put the late Georges Vezina. He was a wonder in the nets!”
Defencemen: Eddie Gerard & Sprague Cleghorn – “There’s a pair who could stop any attack!”
Center: Frank Nighbor - “It would be a tough one, but I would pick Frank Nighbor.”
Wings: Didier Pitre & Jack Laviolette – “The wings would be even harder, but I think that my choice would be the backward skating fiend, Didier Pitre and that speedster Jack Laviolette, what a team!”
Recent times
Goalie: George Hainsworth – “I consider that George Hainsworth is outstanding in goal.”
Defencemen: Eddie Shore & King Clancy
Center: Howie Morenz – “Howie Morenz is the best centreman of recent years.”
Wings: Bill Cook & Harvey “Busher” Jackson
“I don’t know just what would happen if it were ever possible to assemble those two teams. After all, who could stop the attack of Bill Cook, Howie and Harvey Jackson? Who indeed, if it was not Eddie Gerard and Sprague Cleghorn in front of Georges Vezina? And as for Didier Pitre, Frank Nighbor and Jack Laviolette, I think they could overcome nearly any defence except, perhaps Shore – Clancy – Hainsworth, all in their prime.”
1937/38
Harry “Hap” Holmes (HHOF 1972)
Picked his all-time starting lineup. “An all-star isn’t an all-star to me unless he has stood up for 10 years or more.”
Goalie: Charlie Gardiner – “Was a lefthanded goalie who moved so that he was in front of practically every shot.”
Right defenceman: Eddie Shore – “Was and still is – the most formidable offensive defensive player in hockey.”
Left defenceman: Ching Johnson – “Bigger and more powerful than even [Nels] Stewart.”
Center: Howie Morenz – “Was the fastest skater of them all.”
Right Winger: Bill Cook – “Clean, strenuous, determined, and a powerful skater.”
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat - “He is tricky and has a remarkable change of pace.”
“Other brilliant centers were Dick Irvin, now coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs: Duke Keats who played with Edmonton: and Frank Nighbor, who coached Buffalo for years. Of those still performing I must mention Marty Barry of the Detroit Red Wings: Frankie Boucher of the Rangers: Hooley Smith of the Bruins and Nels Stewart”
“Charlie Conacher and Paul Thompson were wings of the front rank. It’s a pity to leave Sprague Cleghorn out of any all-star lineup. He played plenty of defense for the Canadiens, and wasn’t afraid to mix it.”
“Lester Patrick should be rated near the top as a defenseman with his brother, Frank, not far behind. They would have been super luminaries had they not been handicapped by the management of leagues, rinks, and clubs.”
“Herb Gardiner of Calgary and the Canadiens was an excellent defenseman, and so is the speedy Babe Siebert, a converted forward.”
“Tiny Thompson of the Bruins is the game’s foremost goalie at who worked with the Canadiens and Maple Leafs (he ment Pirates) was a pippin Roy Worters, who played with the Americans, was a small chap, but all goalie.”
1938/39
Mervyn “Red” Dutton (HHOF 1958)
He selected an All-Star, All-Time team since he began to play.
First
Goalie: Tiny Thompson
Right Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn
Left Defenceman: Eddie Gerard
Center: Dick Irvin
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
Second pairing and forwards
Right Defenceman 2: Eddie Shore
Left Defenceman 2: Herb Gardiner
Center 2: Howie Morenz
Right Winger 2: Charlie Conacher
Left Winger 2: Harvey “Busher” Jackson
Third line
Center 3: Frank Boucher
Right Winger 3: Dit Clapper
Left Winger 3: Paul Thompson
1939/40
Art Ross (HHOF 1949)
Picked the best players of all-time (Also see 1943/44)
Goalie: Frank Brimsek (He also selected him when picking the best goalie in 1941)
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Defenceman: Hod Stuart
Center: Cyclone Taylor & Frank Nighbor & Syl Apps & Howie Morenz & Russell Bowie & Milt Schmidt
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Tommy Phillips
“I have not attempted to rank the centres in order. Every one of them would be able to step out with Phillips and Cook and be the greatest scoring line in hockey’s history.”
1941/42
Ebbie Goodfellow (HHOF 1963)
Picked an All-Opponents team
1st team
Goalie – Tiny Thompson
Defenceman – Eddie Shore
Defenceman – Dit Clapper
Center – Howie Morenz
Wings – Bill Cook & Aurel Joliat
2nd team
Goalie – Charlie Gardiner
Defenceman – King Clancy
Defenceman – Ching Johnson
Center – Syl Apps
Wings – Paul Thompson & Charlie Conacher
In 1944 Goodfellow picked Doug Bentley of Chicago as the best Left Winger he ever saw.
1942/43
Duke Keats (HHOF 1958)
Picked an all-time, all-star team
Goalie – Hap Holmes
Defenceman – “Bullet” Joe Simpson
Defenceman – Sprague Cleghorn
Defenceman – Eddie Shore
Center – Dick Irvin
Right Winger – Bill Cook
Left Winger – Gordie Roberts & George Hay
Keats was not impressed with the modern hockey. “Today they just rush around like chickens with their heads off. We played hockey.” he said.
1942/43
Cooper Smeaton (HHOF 1961)
Picked his all-star teams (oldtimers and modern)
“I’ve steered clear of that for a long time, but I’m through with hockey now and after all they’re only my impressions. Lots of people won’t agree, but we’ll pick two teams from the time I’ve been looking at them.”
Oldtimers
Goalie – Georges Vezina
Defenceman – Lionel Hitchman
Defenceman – Sprague Cleghorn
Center – Joe Malone
Right Winger – Harry “Punch” Broadbent
Left Winger – Aurel Joliat
Modern
Goalie – Charlie Gardiner
Defenceman – Ching Johnson
Defenceman – Earl Seibert
Center – Joe Primeau
Right Winger – Bill Cook
Left Winger – Gordie Drillon
What, no Eddie Shore!
(Smeaton)
“No, no Eddie Shore this time. I’m naming defence players and Shore, good as he was, never would have been the player he’s rated if it wasn’t for Lionel Hitchman, “Hitch”, to my mind, was one of the most underrated players of all time as a defenceman. Eddie drew a lot of the credit, but you ask any of those who played against them who they’d want out there if it was a one-man defence. They’d say Shore because they could get around him. None of them ever relished the task of getting by Hitchman.”
“Some of them may raise their eyebrows about Primeau. All right, where did Conacher and Jackson get to when he quit? Sure, I’ll take Drillon, too, at left. He scores goals. Some people think you have to be a fancy skater to be a great forward. A wingman is supposed to score goals. Drillon’s record looks good enough to me. That’s what you payoff on.”
1942/43
Jack Adams (HHOF 1959)
Gave his opinion on the old players and modern goaltenders.
(Adams)
“Most of the criticism aimed at present-day players is that they can’t stickhandle and shoot like the old-timers. Imagine what guys like Joe Malone, Babe Dye, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Cy Denneny, Reg Noble and some more of them would to to the goaltenders if they were playing today. Those guys would have murdered the goalies if they’d been playing under these rules.”
Hardest shot?
(Adams)
“I’ve heard some of them say that Brian Hextall had the hardest shot in hockey today and I’ll admit he’s got a great backhand shot. But you can’t begin to rate him with fellows like Grindy Forrester, Didier Pitre, Babe Dye, Carson Cooper and Charlie Conacher.”
Who was Grindy Forrester?
(Adams)
“Oh, an old-timer they used to talk about when I was a kid. I saw him once – out in Winnipeg. He could shoot the puck, all right. But as far as I’m concerned he couldn’t carry Babe Dye’s stick. Dye was the peer of them all. I saw him shoot a puck up into the seats in aproactice one day, and the puck went right through the back of the seat, leaving a hole in the wood that was the exact impression of the puck – just the way a bullet would.”
“Another time he was wild with a shot and it went right through the wire back of the nets in the old Mutual street rink in Toronto. That wire was about an eighth of an inch thick. But the puck clipped right through it just the way it did when it went through the wood in the back of that seat. He used to let a lot of long ones go from around centre ice. I’ve seen defencemen try to stop them with their sticks and their sticks would break right in two. Didier Pitre could drill that puck, too, but he didn’t have Dye’s control. When Dye’s shot was off the net it was an accident.””
What about curving the puck? Frankie Boucher had claimed that Harry Cameron, who used to play for the old Toronto Arenas, could shoot curves. Frankie said that Cameron’s stick was crooked like a sabre and he secured the spin necessary to make the puck swerve in flight by rolling it off this curved blade.
(Adams)
“They used to say the same thing about Cy Denneny. Every time he shot the puck he’d step on his stick to put the crook back into it. But I don’t know if Cy or anybody else could curve a puck when he wanted to, though I know a puck will do funny things by accident.”
Tommy Gorman (former GM) chimed in:
“Sure he could shoot curves. I’ve seen him do it lots of times – and not by accident. He’s aim his shot high and the thing would drop. He fooled lot of goalkeepers that way.”
1942/43
Bill Beveridge (Goalie 9 seasons in the NHL 1929-38, 42/43)
He reflected on some of the players.
Howie Morenz & Aurel Joliat: “They formed the most formidable and best pair in hockey history. Not only were they dangerous offensively but were also noted for their back checking. They could catch up with their opponents from 30-40 feet behind the play. This type of back checking was unheard of in ancient hockey. This art is non existent in modern hockey as well.”
Bill & Bun Cook: “As for general ability, these two will never have any equals. Their cohesive game was fascinating. They could pass the puck blindly and drop the puck with great precision. They were also very good at stealing the pucks from opponents”
Charlie Conacher: “Howie Morenz shot was like a race car, a lot of velocity and accurate. Conacher’s shot didn’t have the same velocity, but had more power (heavier). The type of shooting prowess of Morenz and Conacher can’t be found in todays hockey”
1943/44
Shorty Green (HHOF 1963)
Selcted his all-time all-star team
Goalie: Unknown?
Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn
Defenceman: Eddie Gerard
Center: Frank Nighbor
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
1943/44
Art Ross (HHOF 1949)
Also see 1939/40
Asked whether he believed Frank McGee was one of the all-time greats.
(Ross)
“I know McGee was good but he was a little before my time. To my mind the greatest hockey player who ever lived was Tommy Phillips of Kenora.”
1943/44
Frederick “Mickey” Ion (HHOF 1961)
Legendary referee who broke a 30 year long silence and listed 22 players as the all-time greats in hockey
He contented that too many unqualified observers were “forever sticking their noses into all-star hockey business when they couldn’t tell a stick-handler from a goal judge.”
He was supposed to pick 22 but only 21 names appeared on the list.
Georges Vezina
Cyclone Taylor
Howie Morenz
Eddie Shore
Joe Malone
Sprague Cleghorn
Eddie Gerard
Frank Patrick
Art Ross
Jack Walker
Duke Keats
Mickey MacKay
Bill Cook
King Clancy
Nels Stewart
Aurel Joliat
Milt Schmidt
Syl Apps
Ebbie Goodfellow
Dit Clapper
Frank Boucher
Ion also picked all-star teams for three eras.
1910-20
Georges Vezina (GK)
Joe Hall
Joe Malone
Cyclone Taylor
Didier Pitre
Jack Laviolette
Moose Johnson
Allan Davidson
Gordie Roberts
Jimmy Gardiner
Reg Noble
Bert Corbeau
Lester Patrick
Frank Patrick
Dick Irvin
Jack Walker
George Boucher
Art Ross
1920-30
Clint Benedict (GK)
Eddie Gerard
Sprague Cleghorn
Frank Nighbor
Lionel Hitchman
Newsy Lalonde
Ching Johnson
Duke Keats
Mickey MacKay
Eddie Shore
Howie Morenz
Aurel Joliat
Joe Simpson
Babe Siebert
Lionel Conacher
Frank Foyston
Pete Lepine
1930-40
Tiny Thompson (GK)
George Hainsworth (GK)
King Clancy
Charlie Conacher
Milt Schmidt
Bobby Bauer
Joe Primeau
Ebbie Goodfellow
Dit Clapper
Frank Boucher
Earl Seibert
Bill Cook
Harvey “Busher” Jackson
Paul Thompson
Art Coulter
Bryan Hextall
Bill Cowley
Syl Apps
1944/45
Newsy Lalonde (HHOF 1950)
Picked his all-stars (Also see 1947/48)
Goalie: Unknown?
Defenceman: Ebbie Goodfellow – Claimed that Ebbie stood out as the best of them all as a rearguard
Defenceman: Herb Gardiner
Center: Frank Nighbor & Howie Morenz – He couldn’t make a choice between them
Wings: Bill Cook & Tom Phillips
1944/45
Frank Nighbor (HHOF 1947)
Looked back at the great hockey stars of his era, although not submitting an all-star team he thought a bunch of them stood out.
“When I look back over a period of 20 or 25 years I still think that Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, Sprague Cleghorn, Eddie Gerard, George Boucher, Harry Cameron, King Clancy and my old wingmates, the late Jack Darragh, Cy Denneny and Harry Broadbent were pretty fair hockey players, and that fellow named Clint Benedict and the lad that followed him, Alex Connell, were nice to look at too.”
1945/46
Bill & Bun Cook (HHOF 1952 & 1995)
What about a composite, all-time, all-star hockey player? If you could take a little from this one, a little from that one, add a dash from here, a dash from there…what kind of a player would you have?
Bill pondered, decided the dream man should be a centre and without much wasted mental effort asserted he should skate like Howie Morenz and make plays like Bill Cowley.
Bill thought this composite character – no name has been selected yet – should also be built like Cowley “because I don’t care for centre men who are too big.”
Brother Bun hopped into te argument with names like Lester and Frank Patrick, Duke Keats, Mickey MacKay, Charlie Conacher, Sprague Cleghorn, Frank Nighbor, Dick Irvin…
Bun mentioned Aurel Joliat and Bill took charge of the discussion. “One all-time star would finish plays like Joliat”, he agreed, “There never was a better operator in front of the net than that little guy. And say, let’s give this character a shot like Conacher’s.”
Two more ingredients were necessary – will to win, and temperament. Bill selected Eddie Shore for the first quality – “that would step him up tremendously – and Aubrey (Dit) Clapper for temperament. Just give him Clapper’s temperament. Then he’d get along no matter where he went, or what phenomenal successes came his way”
1946/47
Cyclone Taylor (HHOF 1947)
After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Cyclone picked his all-time team based on the players he played with and against.
Goalie: Percy LeSueur (Also named him as the best goalie in 1942)
Defenceman: Lester Patrick
Defenceman: Hod Stuart
Center: Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Scotty Davidson
Left Winger: Tommy Phillips
Rover: Mickey MacKay
1947/48
Newsy Lalonde (HHOF 1950)
Picked his all-stars once again three years after the first time (Also see 1944/45).
He was critical of the modern game and thought it lacked science of the game a quarter of a century earlier. “Back in my day there was more combination, more stick-handling and less interference. Today’s hockey is a carbon copy of box lacrosse, pure and simple.”
Of the old-timers, Newsy liked the late Frank McGee.
Goalie: George Hainsworth – “You’ve got to take him on his record alone, even ahead of Vezina.”
Defenceman: Butch Bouchard
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Center: Frank McGee & Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Bill Cook & Maurice Richard
Left Winger: Harvey “Busher” Jackson & Aurel Joliat
“They were all good, and lots more. Maybe I left out some I should pick.”
Only two players remained from his 1944/45 all-star selection: Howie Morenz and Bill Cook.
1948/49
Aurel Joliat (HHOF 1947)
Also see 1936/37
He was very critical towards the NHL as a business.
He listed the greatest players he ever performed with or against as:
Goalies
Georges Vezina
George Hainsworth
Defencemen
Sprague Cleghorn
Eddie Gerard
George (Buck) Boucher
Ching Johnson
Eddie Shore
Forwards
Howie Morenz
Bill Cook
He couldn’t recall immediately another forward.
Would these men be able to keep pace with present-day hockey?
(Joliat)
“Certainly, and they would be standouts. A good hockey player can go in any type of game.”
12 years earlier he had also mentioned Vezina, Hainsworth, Shore, Gerard. Cleghorn, Morenz and Cook
1948/49
Hap Day (HHOF 1961)
Picked his all-time team (labeled prior 1926), only his defencemen were mentioned.
Defenceman: Georges Boucher & Eddie Gerard
Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn & Lester Patrick
1950/51
Greatest player of the half century.
Poll conducted by Sports editors and Sportscasters.
Howie Morenz 27 votes
Maurice Richard 4
Cyclone Taylor 3
Frank Nighbor 2
Eddie Shore 1
Nels Stewart 1
Newsy Lalonde 1
Aurel Joliat 1
Syl Apps 1
Milt Schmidt 1
Turk Broda 1
1951/52
Bill Cook (HHOF 1952)
Picked his all-time all-star lineup.
Goalie: George Hainsworth
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Defenceman: Ching Johnson
Center: Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Gordie Howe
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
1968/69
Ace Bailey (HHOF 1975)
Commented on the best defenceman he ever saw.
“I’d say [Eddie] Shore was the best of all defencemen, except for one other. He was next to one Ottawa player. I mean the late Eddie Gerard. I put Gerard as tops, and Shore nex tto him.”
Other voices:
Roy Brown (fine player in the old IPHL (1943) - Picked Tommy Phillips as the all time greatest player.
Sprague Cleghorn (1941) – Picked Georges Vezina as the best goalie.
Lionel Conacher (1941) – Called Roy Worters the greatest goalie who ever played.
Tim Daly (longtime Leafs trainer) (1942) – Insisted that the three greatest players he had ever seen was Cyclone Taylor, Howie Morenz and Syl Apps.
Tommy Gorman (1941) – Went for Alex Connell as the best goalie that he ever saw.
In 1944 he thought Dick Irvin and Toe Blake were the best players.
Bucko McDonald (1944) – Nominated Ray Getliffe as the “hockey player’s hockey player.”
Lester Patrick (1941) – Called Moose Johnson the greatest of all hockey players.
So I thought it would be neat to collect interesting quotes and lists in this thread. If there is an old thread like this somewhere, then I apologize and a moderator can move it there.
Quotes and lists from contemporary players, trainers, general managers and even a few sportswriters is of interest. (Pre WW II era only)
1929/30
Malcolm Brice [1876-1971]
Legendary sports editor for the Ottawa Free Press who saw all the early greats play. He is the one who first gave Fred “Cyclone” Taylor his nickname and was instrumental in getting Cyclone to Ottawa. He also gave Percy LeSueur his nickname “Peerless Percy.”
He gave some insight of the earliest hockey stars
“Russell Bowie was the best goal getter and centre ice man when the seven-man style prevailed. We always thought Gordie Roberts packed more dynamite than any of the other sharp shooters. I think Alf Smith had the greatest cross-check, and Art Ross the most highly developed short-end jab. Then there was Harry Smith and Froggie (Bruce) Stuart, who wielded mean blades in close quarters. I recall Harry dropping Bruce with a slash that laid bare his lower lip in a game between Ottawa and Wanderers in the Montreal Arena. Stuart came back after being repaired, and in a scuffle around the net, Smith went down with his nose caved in like an egg-shell. After the game they fraternized together.”
1936/37
Joe Choquette
Manufactured sticks for NHL and other pro players since at least 1911, commented on some of the players:
“Take a big fellow like Lionel Conacher for instance. He wants a big blade with hardly any handle because he had a bone broken in his hand. See, look how small the handle is. The stick is very light."
"Now take another big fellow like Reg Noble. He carried a 30-ounce stick, the heaviest I ever made. Art Chapman, George Mantha and lots of other fellows are very fussy. Howie Morenz used to be my best customer. Sometimes he would use or give away about 52 sticks a year. The average player uses about 24 a season.”
1936/37
Aurel Joliat (HHOF 1947)
Picked his all time All-Star teams (Also see 1948/49)
Oldtimers
Goalie: Georges Vezina – “In goal I would put the late Georges Vezina. He was a wonder in the nets!”
Defencemen: Eddie Gerard & Sprague Cleghorn – “There’s a pair who could stop any attack!”
Center: Frank Nighbor - “It would be a tough one, but I would pick Frank Nighbor.”
Wings: Didier Pitre & Jack Laviolette – “The wings would be even harder, but I think that my choice would be the backward skating fiend, Didier Pitre and that speedster Jack Laviolette, what a team!”
Recent times
Goalie: George Hainsworth – “I consider that George Hainsworth is outstanding in goal.”
Defencemen: Eddie Shore & King Clancy
Center: Howie Morenz – “Howie Morenz is the best centreman of recent years.”
Wings: Bill Cook & Harvey “Busher” Jackson
“I don’t know just what would happen if it were ever possible to assemble those two teams. After all, who could stop the attack of Bill Cook, Howie and Harvey Jackson? Who indeed, if it was not Eddie Gerard and Sprague Cleghorn in front of Georges Vezina? And as for Didier Pitre, Frank Nighbor and Jack Laviolette, I think they could overcome nearly any defence except, perhaps Shore – Clancy – Hainsworth, all in their prime.”
1937/38
Harry “Hap” Holmes (HHOF 1972)
Picked his all-time starting lineup. “An all-star isn’t an all-star to me unless he has stood up for 10 years or more.”
Goalie: Charlie Gardiner – “Was a lefthanded goalie who moved so that he was in front of practically every shot.”
Right defenceman: Eddie Shore – “Was and still is – the most formidable offensive defensive player in hockey.”
Left defenceman: Ching Johnson – “Bigger and more powerful than even [Nels] Stewart.”
Center: Howie Morenz – “Was the fastest skater of them all.”
Right Winger: Bill Cook – “Clean, strenuous, determined, and a powerful skater.”
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat - “He is tricky and has a remarkable change of pace.”
“Other brilliant centers were Dick Irvin, now coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs: Duke Keats who played with Edmonton: and Frank Nighbor, who coached Buffalo for years. Of those still performing I must mention Marty Barry of the Detroit Red Wings: Frankie Boucher of the Rangers: Hooley Smith of the Bruins and Nels Stewart”
“Charlie Conacher and Paul Thompson were wings of the front rank. It’s a pity to leave Sprague Cleghorn out of any all-star lineup. He played plenty of defense for the Canadiens, and wasn’t afraid to mix it.”
“Lester Patrick should be rated near the top as a defenseman with his brother, Frank, not far behind. They would have been super luminaries had they not been handicapped by the management of leagues, rinks, and clubs.”
“Herb Gardiner of Calgary and the Canadiens was an excellent defenseman, and so is the speedy Babe Siebert, a converted forward.”
“Tiny Thompson of the Bruins is the game’s foremost goalie at who worked with the Canadiens and Maple Leafs (he ment Pirates) was a pippin Roy Worters, who played with the Americans, was a small chap, but all goalie.”
1938/39
Mervyn “Red” Dutton (HHOF 1958)
He selected an All-Star, All-Time team since he began to play.
First
Goalie: Tiny Thompson
Right Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn
Left Defenceman: Eddie Gerard
Center: Dick Irvin
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
Second pairing and forwards
Right Defenceman 2: Eddie Shore
Left Defenceman 2: Herb Gardiner
Center 2: Howie Morenz
Right Winger 2: Charlie Conacher
Left Winger 2: Harvey “Busher” Jackson
Third line
Center 3: Frank Boucher
Right Winger 3: Dit Clapper
Left Winger 3: Paul Thompson
1939/40
Art Ross (HHOF 1949)
Picked the best players of all-time (Also see 1943/44)
Goalie: Frank Brimsek (He also selected him when picking the best goalie in 1941)
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Defenceman: Hod Stuart
Center: Cyclone Taylor & Frank Nighbor & Syl Apps & Howie Morenz & Russell Bowie & Milt Schmidt
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Tommy Phillips
“I have not attempted to rank the centres in order. Every one of them would be able to step out with Phillips and Cook and be the greatest scoring line in hockey’s history.”
1941/42
Ebbie Goodfellow (HHOF 1963)
Picked an All-Opponents team
1st team
Goalie – Tiny Thompson
Defenceman – Eddie Shore
Defenceman – Dit Clapper
Center – Howie Morenz
Wings – Bill Cook & Aurel Joliat
2nd team
Goalie – Charlie Gardiner
Defenceman – King Clancy
Defenceman – Ching Johnson
Center – Syl Apps
Wings – Paul Thompson & Charlie Conacher
In 1944 Goodfellow picked Doug Bentley of Chicago as the best Left Winger he ever saw.
1942/43
Duke Keats (HHOF 1958)
Picked an all-time, all-star team
Goalie – Hap Holmes
Defenceman – “Bullet” Joe Simpson
Defenceman – Sprague Cleghorn
Defenceman – Eddie Shore
Center – Dick Irvin
Right Winger – Bill Cook
Left Winger – Gordie Roberts & George Hay
Keats was not impressed with the modern hockey. “Today they just rush around like chickens with their heads off. We played hockey.” he said.
1942/43
Cooper Smeaton (HHOF 1961)
Picked his all-star teams (oldtimers and modern)
“I’ve steered clear of that for a long time, but I’m through with hockey now and after all they’re only my impressions. Lots of people won’t agree, but we’ll pick two teams from the time I’ve been looking at them.”
Oldtimers
Goalie – Georges Vezina
Defenceman – Lionel Hitchman
Defenceman – Sprague Cleghorn
Center – Joe Malone
Right Winger – Harry “Punch” Broadbent
Left Winger – Aurel Joliat
Modern
Goalie – Charlie Gardiner
Defenceman – Ching Johnson
Defenceman – Earl Seibert
Center – Joe Primeau
Right Winger – Bill Cook
Left Winger – Gordie Drillon
What, no Eddie Shore!
(Smeaton)
“No, no Eddie Shore this time. I’m naming defence players and Shore, good as he was, never would have been the player he’s rated if it wasn’t for Lionel Hitchman, “Hitch”, to my mind, was one of the most underrated players of all time as a defenceman. Eddie drew a lot of the credit, but you ask any of those who played against them who they’d want out there if it was a one-man defence. They’d say Shore because they could get around him. None of them ever relished the task of getting by Hitchman.”
“Some of them may raise their eyebrows about Primeau. All right, where did Conacher and Jackson get to when he quit? Sure, I’ll take Drillon, too, at left. He scores goals. Some people think you have to be a fancy skater to be a great forward. A wingman is supposed to score goals. Drillon’s record looks good enough to me. That’s what you payoff on.”
1942/43
Jack Adams (HHOF 1959)
Gave his opinion on the old players and modern goaltenders.
(Adams)
“Most of the criticism aimed at present-day players is that they can’t stickhandle and shoot like the old-timers. Imagine what guys like Joe Malone, Babe Dye, Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Cy Denneny, Reg Noble and some more of them would to to the goaltenders if they were playing today. Those guys would have murdered the goalies if they’d been playing under these rules.”
Hardest shot?
(Adams)
“I’ve heard some of them say that Brian Hextall had the hardest shot in hockey today and I’ll admit he’s got a great backhand shot. But you can’t begin to rate him with fellows like Grindy Forrester, Didier Pitre, Babe Dye, Carson Cooper and Charlie Conacher.”
Who was Grindy Forrester?
(Adams)
“Oh, an old-timer they used to talk about when I was a kid. I saw him once – out in Winnipeg. He could shoot the puck, all right. But as far as I’m concerned he couldn’t carry Babe Dye’s stick. Dye was the peer of them all. I saw him shoot a puck up into the seats in aproactice one day, and the puck went right through the back of the seat, leaving a hole in the wood that was the exact impression of the puck – just the way a bullet would.”
“Another time he was wild with a shot and it went right through the wire back of the nets in the old Mutual street rink in Toronto. That wire was about an eighth of an inch thick. But the puck clipped right through it just the way it did when it went through the wood in the back of that seat. He used to let a lot of long ones go from around centre ice. I’ve seen defencemen try to stop them with their sticks and their sticks would break right in two. Didier Pitre could drill that puck, too, but he didn’t have Dye’s control. When Dye’s shot was off the net it was an accident.””
What about curving the puck? Frankie Boucher had claimed that Harry Cameron, who used to play for the old Toronto Arenas, could shoot curves. Frankie said that Cameron’s stick was crooked like a sabre and he secured the spin necessary to make the puck swerve in flight by rolling it off this curved blade.
(Adams)
“They used to say the same thing about Cy Denneny. Every time he shot the puck he’d step on his stick to put the crook back into it. But I don’t know if Cy or anybody else could curve a puck when he wanted to, though I know a puck will do funny things by accident.”
Tommy Gorman (former GM) chimed in:
“Sure he could shoot curves. I’ve seen him do it lots of times – and not by accident. He’s aim his shot high and the thing would drop. He fooled lot of goalkeepers that way.”
1942/43
Bill Beveridge (Goalie 9 seasons in the NHL 1929-38, 42/43)
He reflected on some of the players.
Howie Morenz & Aurel Joliat: “They formed the most formidable and best pair in hockey history. Not only were they dangerous offensively but were also noted for their back checking. They could catch up with their opponents from 30-40 feet behind the play. This type of back checking was unheard of in ancient hockey. This art is non existent in modern hockey as well.”
Bill & Bun Cook: “As for general ability, these two will never have any equals. Their cohesive game was fascinating. They could pass the puck blindly and drop the puck with great precision. They were also very good at stealing the pucks from opponents”
Charlie Conacher: “Howie Morenz shot was like a race car, a lot of velocity and accurate. Conacher’s shot didn’t have the same velocity, but had more power (heavier). The type of shooting prowess of Morenz and Conacher can’t be found in todays hockey”
1943/44
Shorty Green (HHOF 1963)
Selcted his all-time all-star team
Goalie: Unknown?
Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn
Defenceman: Eddie Gerard
Center: Frank Nighbor
Right Winger: Bill Cook
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
1943/44
Art Ross (HHOF 1949)
Also see 1939/40
Asked whether he believed Frank McGee was one of the all-time greats.
(Ross)
“I know McGee was good but he was a little before my time. To my mind the greatest hockey player who ever lived was Tommy Phillips of Kenora.”
1943/44
Frederick “Mickey” Ion (HHOF 1961)
Legendary referee who broke a 30 year long silence and listed 22 players as the all-time greats in hockey
He contented that too many unqualified observers were “forever sticking their noses into all-star hockey business when they couldn’t tell a stick-handler from a goal judge.”
He was supposed to pick 22 but only 21 names appeared on the list.
Georges Vezina
Cyclone Taylor
Howie Morenz
Eddie Shore
Joe Malone
Sprague Cleghorn
Eddie Gerard
Frank Patrick
Art Ross
Jack Walker
Duke Keats
Mickey MacKay
Bill Cook
King Clancy
Nels Stewart
Aurel Joliat
Milt Schmidt
Syl Apps
Ebbie Goodfellow
Dit Clapper
Frank Boucher
Ion also picked all-star teams for three eras.
1910-20
Georges Vezina (GK)
Joe Hall
Joe Malone
Cyclone Taylor
Didier Pitre
Jack Laviolette
Moose Johnson
Allan Davidson
Gordie Roberts
Jimmy Gardiner
Reg Noble
Bert Corbeau
Lester Patrick
Frank Patrick
Dick Irvin
Jack Walker
George Boucher
Art Ross
1920-30
Clint Benedict (GK)
Eddie Gerard
Sprague Cleghorn
Frank Nighbor
Lionel Hitchman
Newsy Lalonde
Ching Johnson
Duke Keats
Mickey MacKay
Eddie Shore
Howie Morenz
Aurel Joliat
Joe Simpson
Babe Siebert
Lionel Conacher
Frank Foyston
Pete Lepine
1930-40
Tiny Thompson (GK)
George Hainsworth (GK)
King Clancy
Charlie Conacher
Milt Schmidt
Bobby Bauer
Joe Primeau
Ebbie Goodfellow
Dit Clapper
Frank Boucher
Earl Seibert
Bill Cook
Harvey “Busher” Jackson
Paul Thompson
Art Coulter
Bryan Hextall
Bill Cowley
Syl Apps
1944/45
Newsy Lalonde (HHOF 1950)
Picked his all-stars (Also see 1947/48)
Goalie: Unknown?
Defenceman: Ebbie Goodfellow – Claimed that Ebbie stood out as the best of them all as a rearguard
Defenceman: Herb Gardiner
Center: Frank Nighbor & Howie Morenz – He couldn’t make a choice between them
Wings: Bill Cook & Tom Phillips
1944/45
Frank Nighbor (HHOF 1947)
Looked back at the great hockey stars of his era, although not submitting an all-star team he thought a bunch of them stood out.
“When I look back over a period of 20 or 25 years I still think that Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Jack Laviolette, Sprague Cleghorn, Eddie Gerard, George Boucher, Harry Cameron, King Clancy and my old wingmates, the late Jack Darragh, Cy Denneny and Harry Broadbent were pretty fair hockey players, and that fellow named Clint Benedict and the lad that followed him, Alex Connell, were nice to look at too.”
1945/46
Bill & Bun Cook (HHOF 1952 & 1995)
What about a composite, all-time, all-star hockey player? If you could take a little from this one, a little from that one, add a dash from here, a dash from there…what kind of a player would you have?
Bill pondered, decided the dream man should be a centre and without much wasted mental effort asserted he should skate like Howie Morenz and make plays like Bill Cowley.
Bill thought this composite character – no name has been selected yet – should also be built like Cowley “because I don’t care for centre men who are too big.”
Brother Bun hopped into te argument with names like Lester and Frank Patrick, Duke Keats, Mickey MacKay, Charlie Conacher, Sprague Cleghorn, Frank Nighbor, Dick Irvin…
Bun mentioned Aurel Joliat and Bill took charge of the discussion. “One all-time star would finish plays like Joliat”, he agreed, “There never was a better operator in front of the net than that little guy. And say, let’s give this character a shot like Conacher’s.”
Two more ingredients were necessary – will to win, and temperament. Bill selected Eddie Shore for the first quality – “that would step him up tremendously – and Aubrey (Dit) Clapper for temperament. Just give him Clapper’s temperament. Then he’d get along no matter where he went, or what phenomenal successes came his way”
1946/47
Cyclone Taylor (HHOF 1947)
After being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Cyclone picked his all-time team based on the players he played with and against.
Goalie: Percy LeSueur (Also named him as the best goalie in 1942)
Defenceman: Lester Patrick
Defenceman: Hod Stuart
Center: Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Scotty Davidson
Left Winger: Tommy Phillips
Rover: Mickey MacKay
1947/48
Newsy Lalonde (HHOF 1950)
Picked his all-stars once again three years after the first time (Also see 1944/45).
He was critical of the modern game and thought it lacked science of the game a quarter of a century earlier. “Back in my day there was more combination, more stick-handling and less interference. Today’s hockey is a carbon copy of box lacrosse, pure and simple.”
Of the old-timers, Newsy liked the late Frank McGee.
Goalie: George Hainsworth – “You’ve got to take him on his record alone, even ahead of Vezina.”
Defenceman: Butch Bouchard
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Center: Frank McGee & Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Bill Cook & Maurice Richard
Left Winger: Harvey “Busher” Jackson & Aurel Joliat
“They were all good, and lots more. Maybe I left out some I should pick.”
Only two players remained from his 1944/45 all-star selection: Howie Morenz and Bill Cook.
1948/49
Aurel Joliat (HHOF 1947)
Also see 1936/37
He was very critical towards the NHL as a business.
He listed the greatest players he ever performed with or against as:
Goalies
Georges Vezina
George Hainsworth
Defencemen
Sprague Cleghorn
Eddie Gerard
George (Buck) Boucher
Ching Johnson
Eddie Shore
Forwards
Howie Morenz
Bill Cook
He couldn’t recall immediately another forward.
Would these men be able to keep pace with present-day hockey?
(Joliat)
“Certainly, and they would be standouts. A good hockey player can go in any type of game.”
12 years earlier he had also mentioned Vezina, Hainsworth, Shore, Gerard. Cleghorn, Morenz and Cook
1948/49
Hap Day (HHOF 1961)
Picked his all-time team (labeled prior 1926), only his defencemen were mentioned.
Defenceman: Georges Boucher & Eddie Gerard
Defenceman: Sprague Cleghorn & Lester Patrick
1950/51
Greatest player of the half century.
Poll conducted by Sports editors and Sportscasters.
Howie Morenz 27 votes
Maurice Richard 4
Cyclone Taylor 3
Frank Nighbor 2
Eddie Shore 1
Nels Stewart 1
Newsy Lalonde 1
Aurel Joliat 1
Syl Apps 1
Milt Schmidt 1
Turk Broda 1
1951/52
Bill Cook (HHOF 1952)
Picked his all-time all-star lineup.
Goalie: George Hainsworth
Defenceman: Eddie Shore
Defenceman: Ching Johnson
Center: Howie Morenz
Right Winger: Gordie Howe
Left Winger: Aurel Joliat
1968/69
Ace Bailey (HHOF 1975)
Commented on the best defenceman he ever saw.
“I’d say [Eddie] Shore was the best of all defencemen, except for one other. He was next to one Ottawa player. I mean the late Eddie Gerard. I put Gerard as tops, and Shore nex tto him.”
Other voices:
Roy Brown (fine player in the old IPHL (1943) - Picked Tommy Phillips as the all time greatest player.
Sprague Cleghorn (1941) – Picked Georges Vezina as the best goalie.
Lionel Conacher (1941) – Called Roy Worters the greatest goalie who ever played.
Tim Daly (longtime Leafs trainer) (1942) – Insisted that the three greatest players he had ever seen was Cyclone Taylor, Howie Morenz and Syl Apps.
Tommy Gorman (1941) – Went for Alex Connell as the best goalie that he ever saw.
In 1944 he thought Dick Irvin and Toe Blake were the best players.
Bucko McDonald (1944) – Nominated Ray Getliffe as the “hockey player’s hockey player.”
Lester Patrick (1941) – Called Moose Johnson the greatest of all hockey players.
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