Maurice "Moe" Roberts (December 13, 1905 in Waterbury, Connecticut – February 7, 1975) was an American ice hockey player, who for many years had the distinction of being both the youngest and the oldest goaltender in National Hockey League history. Roberts played a total of ten games in the NHL with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks and New York Americans, as well as playing sixteen seasons in the minor leagues, most notably for the Cleveland Barons and the New Haven Eagles. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2005.[1]
Roberts made his NHL debut with the Boston Bruins on December 8, 1925, substituting for injured regular Doc Stewart in a 3-2 win against the Montreal Maroons; at age 19, he was the youngest goaltender in NHL history, until surpassed by Harry Lumley nearly twenty years later.
On November 25, 1951, Roberts—then an assistant trainer with the Chicago Black Hawks—had to finish the third period for the injured Lumley, at that point the Black Hawks' starter. Although Roberts didn't yield a goal, his Hawks still fell to the Detroit Red Wings, 5-2. The then 45 year old Roberts, in his last NHL game, became the oldest player ever to play in an NHL game; a record since broken by Gordie Howe and also passed by Chris Chelios. He remains the oldest goaltender to play in an NHL game. He also was the final NHL player who was active in the 1920s.[2]