| Ebbie Goodfellow | |
|---|---|
Goodfellow's jersey is now in the collection of the City of Ottawa Archives. |
|
| Born | April 9, 1906 Ottawa, ON, CAN |
| Died | September 10, 1985 (aged 79) Sarasota, FL, USA |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
| Position | Defence/forward |
| Shot | Left |
| Played for | NHL Detroit Cougars Detroit Falcons Detroit Red Wings |
| Playing career | 1929–1943 |
| Hall of Fame, 1963 | |
Ebenezer Robertson "Poker Face" Goodfellow, "Ebbie" for short, (April 9, 1906 – September 10, 1985) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the NHL for fourteen seasons with the Detroit Red Wings from 1929 to 1944 as both a forward and defenceman. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Goodfellow helped the Red Wings win three Stanley Cups, back to back in 1935–36 and 1936–37, and another in 1942–43. Ebbie was captain of the Wings for five seasons, until 1942 when he was succeeded by Syd Howe. Goodfellow also won the NHL's Hart Trophy (MVP) for the 1939–40 season. Goodfellow was the first Red Wing to receive this award and one of only four Red Wings in history to win the Hart; the other three being six-time winner Gordie Howe, Sid Abel (1949) and Sergei Fedorov (1994).
Early in his career Goodfellow was a high-scoring forward and the original center in the famous line of Herbie Lewis and Larry Aurie. During the 1931 season he scored 25 goals (a Red Wings record for fourteen years) and 48 points and was second to Howie Morenz in overall league scoring. After three seasons Ebbie switched to defense for the benefit of the team. Position switches were (and are) rare in the NHL, but it was as a defencemen that he gained notoriety and won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1940. Goodfellow displayed even more versatility during the 1942–43 season. He missed most of the season due to injury, but when coach Jack Adams was suspended during the 1943 playoffs, Goodfellow agreed to serve as coach during the suspension. Detroit went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1943, and Goodfellow's name was engraved on the Cup for a third and final time. He was one of the last NHL players to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as both player and coach as league rules changed and playing coaches were eliminated. Goodfellow retired to the private sector the following season after knee problems began to slow him down.
At the start of the 1947-48 season he was persuaded out of retirement by the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey League. In his two years as coach of the Flyers, Ebbie was able to lead them from last place to the AHL Western Division Championship, the team's highest achievement at that time. Succeeding Charlie Conacher, Goodfellow became the coach of the Chicago Blackhawks for the seasons of 1950–51 and 1951–52. After little success with the Blackhawks, Goodfellow finally retired from the NHL for good. Ebbie was a founding member of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association, a charitable organization formed in 1959 and still in operation today. Goodfellow was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963 and served twenty one years on the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee. Ebbie was an avid golfer and one time caddy master at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He died of cancer on September 10, 1985 in Sarasota, Florida and is buried at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Michigan.
Note: Ebbie Goodfellow's date of birth is often incorrectly printed as 1907. He was born in 1906 as verified by his surviving family members.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1928–29 | Detroit Olympics | CPHL | — | 26 | 8 | 34 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1929–30 | Detroit Cougars | NHL | 44 | 17 | 17 | 34 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Detroit Falcons | NHL | 44 | 25 | 23 | 48 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Detroit Falcons | NHL | 48 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 56 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1932–33 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 40 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 47 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 1933–34 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 13 | 13 | 26 | 45 | 9 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1934–35 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1935–36 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 69 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1936–37 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 43 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1937–38 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 29 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1938–39 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1939–40 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 43 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 31 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 9 | ||
| 1940–41 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 35 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1941–42 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1942–43 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 554 | 134 | 190 | 324 | 511 | 45 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 65 | ||||
| Preceded by Toe Blake |
Winner of the Hart Trophy 1940 |
Succeeded by Bill Cowley |
| Preceded by Herbie Lewis |
Detroit Red Wings captain 1934–35 |
Succeeded by Doug Young |
| Preceded by Doug Young |
Detroit Red Wings captain 1938–41 |
Succeeded by Syd Howe |
| Preceded by Charlie Conacher |
Head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks 1950-52 |
Succeeded by Sid Abel |