Hooley Smith

Hooley Smith
Born January 7, 1903(1903-01-07)
Toronto, ON, CAN
Died August 24, 1963(1963-08-24) (aged 60)
Height 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Centre
Right wing
Defenceman
Shot Right
Played for Ottawa Senators
Montreal Maroons
Boston Bruins
New York Americans
National team  Canada
Playing career 1924–1941
Hall of Fame, 1972
Olympic medal record
Men's ice hockey
Competitor for  Canada
Gold 1924 Chamonix Team competition

Reginald "Hooley" Smith (January 7, 1903 – August 24, 1963) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, Boston Bruins and New York Americans. He won the Stanley Cup twice, with Ottawa and Montreal. He is possibly the first National Hockey League player to wear a helmet.

Contents

Playing career

Born in Toronto, Smith played amateur hockey for the Toronto Granites team that won the Allan Cup and a gold medal for Canada at the 1924 Winter Olympics.[1] He had an outstanding Olympic ice hockey tournament, scoring 17 goals and 33 points in five games.

He started his professional career with the 'Super Six' of the Ottawa Senators the following winter. In his first season with Ottawa, he received a head injury. When he returned to play he wore a jockey-type helmet to protect his head. In 1926–27, Ottawa won the Stanley Cup against Boston. It was the last game that Smith played with Ottawa After attacking Harry Oliver in the final game of that series, he was suspended for a month of the following year. Ottawa had lost money during the season despite winning the Stanley Cup and the team sold Smith to the Montreal Maroons.

As a member of the Maroons, Hooley would be a part of one of the best early forward lines in NHL history, the "S" line. He, Nels Stewart and Albert "Babe" Siebert made up the famous line that was feared throughout the NHL. Smith was named captain of the Maroons and was their captain when the team won its final Stanley Cup in 1935.

By the mid-1930s the Maroons were experiencing financial difficulties and he was sold to Boston, where he only played for one season. He then was sold to the New York Americans. Starting with 1938–39, he played defence for the Americans until 1940–41 after which he retired.

Hooley died of a heart attack on August 24, 1963. At the time of his death, he was the last surviving member of the famed "S" line. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1924–25 Ottawa Senators NHL 30 10 13 23 81 — — — — —
1925–26 Ottawa Senators NHL 28 16 9 25 53 2 0 0 0 14
1926–27 Ottawa Senators NHL 43 9 6 15 125 6 1 0 1 16
1927–28 Montreal Maroons NHL 34 14 5 19 72 9 2 1 3 23
1928–29 Montreal Maroons NHL 41 10 9 19 120 — — — — —
1929–30 Montreal Maroons NHL 42 21 9 30 83 4 1 1 2 14
1930–31 Montreal Maroons NHL 39 12 14 26 68 — — — — —
1931–32 Montreal Maroons NHL 43 11 33 44 49 4 2 1 3 2
1932–33 Montreal Maroons NHL 48 20 21 41 66 2 2 0 2 2
1933–34 Montreal Maroons NHL 47 18 19 37 58 4 0 1 1 6
1934–35 Montreal Maroons NHL 46 5 22 27 41 6 0 0 0 14
1935–36 Montreal Maroons NHL 47 19 19 38 75 3 0 0 0 2
1936–37 Boston Bruins NHL 44 8 10 18 36 3 0 0 0 0
1937–38 New York Americans NHL 47 10 10 20 23 6 0 3 3 0
1938–39 New York Americans NHL 48 8 11 19 18 2 0 0 0 14
1939–40 New York Americans NHL 47 7 8 15 41 3 3 1 4 2
1940–41 New York Americans NHL 41 2 7 9 4 — — — — —
NHL totals 715 200 225 425 1013 54 11 8 19 109

Transactions

Source: Legends of Hockey Statistics for Hooley Smith

References

  1. ^ The Official Olympic Games Companion: The Complete Guide to the Oylmpic Winter Games 1998 Edition, London - Washington: Brassey’s Sports, 1998, p. 128, ISBN 1-85753-244-9 

External links

Preceded by
Nels Stewart		 Montreal Maroons captain
1932–36		 Succeeded by
Lionel Conacher