Frank Nighbor

[Sanf]

Anyway, no thread about Nighbor would be complete without the best profile ever made of him: http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showpost.php?p=23959895&postcount=22

It's quite clear that he was the best player in the world before Howie Morenz took that title from him.

I was going through my bookmarks and there was intresting "word war" in 39 regarding who was the all-time greatest to that day.

Jack Adams started it stating that Syl Apps is the best player to play the game to that day. Said that he is better than Morenz ever was. Lester Patrick quickly replied that Syl Apps is the best today, but all-time great was still Cyclone Taylor. Said that Adams never saw Taylor playing. I don´t know did he mean prime Taylor or was he (deliberately) mistaken.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tJpTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WzgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3298,2122099&dq

Then Dick Irvin came to defend Apps saying that he is faster and more of a playmaker when Taylor and Morenz were great individulists. Though he did give Apps some "bonus" of not reaching his possible peak yet. Art Ross also did give his opinion (Eddie Shore)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tZpTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WzgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1199,2220455&dq

Nighbors old team mates Connell and Clancy and coach Dave Gill also joined to discussion to defend Nighbors place as all-time great. This point Syl Apps got tired of the discussion.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9RA_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=1E4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5148,5797474&dq

Mickey Ion who selected the all-stars in west had also given his opinion that Mickey Mackay was best that he ever saw.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ir9kAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0G4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3430,3284496&dq=ion

West-East backrounds did seem to live in opinions.

 

[TheDevilMadeMe]

I was going through my bookmarks and there was intresting "word war" in 39 regarding who was the all-time greatest to that day.

Jack Adams started it stating that Syl Apps is the best player to play the game to that day. Said that he is better than Morenz ever was. Lester Patrick quickly replied that Syl Apps is the best today, but all-time great was still Cyclone Taylor. Said that Adams never saw Taylor playing. I don´t know did he mean prime Taylor or was he (deliberately) mistaken.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tJpTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WzgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=3298,2122099&dq

Then Dick Irvin came to defend Apps saying that he is faster and more of a playmaker when Taylor and Morenz were great individulists. Though he did give Apps some "bonus" of not reaching his possible peak yet. Art Ross also did give his opinion (Eddie Shore)
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=tZpTAAAAIBAJ&sjid=WzgNAAAAIBAJ&pg=1199,2220455&dq

Nighbors old team mates Connell and Clancy and coach Dave Gill also joined to discussion to defend Nighbors place as all-time great. This point Syl Apps got tired of the discussion.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9RA_AAAAIBAJ&sjid=1E4MAAAAIBAJ&pg=5148,5797474&dq

Mickey Ion who selected the all-stars in west had also given his opinion that Mickey Mackay was best that he ever saw.
http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Ir9kAAAAIBAJ&sjid=0G4NAAAAIBAJ&pg=3430,3284496&dq=ion

West-East backrounds did seem to live in opinions.

Jack Adams was a big advocate of the "players of today are better than players of yesterday" theory (as of the 1930s and 1940s at least).