Art Ross
Arthur Howey "Art" Ross (January 13, 1885[lower-alpha 1] – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Thought of as one of the best defenders of his time by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice instead of passing it to a forward. He won the Stanley Cup twice in a playing career that lasted thirteen seasons; in January 1907 with the Kenora Thistles and 1908 with the Montreal Wanderers. Like other players of the time, Ross played for many teams and leagues, and is most familiar for when he played with the Wanderers while they were members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and its successor, the National Hockey League (NHL). In 1911 he led one of the first player strikes over the players wanting more money. When the Wanderers' home arena burned down in January 1918, the team stopped playing so Ross retired as a player.
| Art Ross | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1949 | |||
 | |||
| Born |
January 13, 1886 Naughton, ON, CAN | ||
| Died |
August 5, 1964 (aged 78) Medford, MA, USA | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Point/Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Montreal Wanderers Ottawa Senators Haileybury Comets | ||
| Playing career | 1905–1918 | ||
After working as an on-ice official for a few years, he became head coach of the Hamilton Tigers for one season. When the Boston Bruins were created in 1924, Ross was hired as the first coach and general manager of the team. He would go on to coach the team four different times until 1945 and stayed as general manager until his retirement in 1954. Ross helped the Bruins finish first place in the league ten times and to win the Stanley Cup three times; Ross coached the team to one of the Stanley Cup victories. After he was hired by the Bruins, Ross, along with his wife and two sons, moved to a city near Boston, and became an American citizen in 1938. He died near Boston in 1964.
Ross was also important in creating different inventions for hockey to make it better. He created a style of hockey puck still used today, and also created an improved style of goal nets, which were used for forty years. In 1947 Ross gave the NHL the Art Ross Trophy, which is given to the best scorer of the NHL regular season. In 1949, the Hockey Hall of Fame named Ross.[1][2]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1902–03 | Montreal Westmount | CAHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1903–04 | Montreal Westmount | CAHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1904–05 | Montreal Westmount | CAHL | 8 | 10 | 0 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1905–06 | Brandon Elks | MHL | 7 | 6 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1906–07 | Kenora Thistles | St-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1906–07 | Brandon Elks | MHL | 10 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||
| 1907–08 | Montreal Wanderers | ECAHA | 10 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 27 | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 23 | ||
| 1907–08 | Pembroke Lumber Kings | UOVHL | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1908–09 | Montreal Wanderers | ECAHA | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 13 | ||
| 1908–09 | Cobalt Silver Kings | TPHL | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1909–10 | All-Montreal HC | CHA | 4 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1909–10 | Haileybury Comets | NHA | 12 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1910–11 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 11 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1911–12 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 18 | 16 | 0 | 16 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1911–12 | NHA All-Stars | Exhib | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1912–13 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 19 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1913–14 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1914–15 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 16 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 55 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1915–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 21 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1916–17 | Montreal Wanderers | NHA | 16 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1917–18 | Montreal Wanderers | NHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| ECAHA totals | 19 | 10 | 0 | 10 | 57 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 36 | ||||
| NHA totals | 131 | 56 | 16 | 72 | 406 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| NHL totals | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
*Playing stats from Total Hockey[3]
Coaching record
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GC | W | L | T | Finish | GC | W | L | T | Result | ||
| 1917–18 | Montreal Wanderers | NHL | 6 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 6th, NHL | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1922–23 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 24 | 6 | 18 | 0 | 4th, NHL | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1924–25 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 30 | 6 | 24 | 0 | 6th, NHL | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1925–26 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 36 | 17 | 15 | 4 | 4th, NHL | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 21 | 20 | 3 | 2nd, American | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | Lost in Finals | ||
| 1927–28 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 1st, American | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| 1929–30 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 38 | 5 | 1 | 1st, American | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | Lost in Finals | ||
| 1930–31 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 44 | 28 | 10 | 6 | 1st, American | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| 1931–32 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 15 | 21 | 12 | 4th, American | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 25 | 15 | 8 | 1st, American | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| 1933–34 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 18 | 25 | 5 | 4th, American | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1936–37 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 23 | 18 | 7 | 2nd, American | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | Lost in Quarterfinals | ||
| 1937–38 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 30 | 11 | 7 | 1st, American | 3 | 0 | 3 | — | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| 1938–39 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 36 | 10 | 2 | 1st, NHL | 12 | 8 | 4 | — | Won Stanley Cup | ||
| 1941–42 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 48 | 25 | 17 | 6 | 3rd, NHL | 5 | 2 | 3 | — | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| 1942–43 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 50 | 24 | 17 | 9 | 2nd, NHL | 9 | 4 | 5 | — | Lost in Finals | ||
| 1943–44 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 50 | 19 | 26 | 5 | 5th, NHL | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1944–45 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 50 | 16 | 30 | 4 | 4th, NHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | — | Lost in Semifinals | ||
| NHL totals | 758 | 368 | 300 | 90 | — | 65 | 27 | 33 | 5 | One Stanley Cup | ||||
*Coaching stats from Total Hockey[4]
Awards
Notes
- "Ross One of Two New Men Elected to Hall of Fame". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. October 22, 1949. p. 18. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
- "Two Members Added to Hall of Fame". Ottawa Citizen. October 21, 1949. p. 30. Retrieved February 7, 2012.
- Diamond 2002, p. 798
- Diamond 2002, p. 1943
- Hockey Hall of Fame Stats 2010.
- The date of Ross's birth is disputed. Many sources give the year of his birth as 1886. However Eric Zweig has noted this is unlikely, and has cited contemporary newspaper reports and archival materials to support 1885. The 1885 date was also used on the headstone of Ross's grave when it was replaced in 2014. See Zweig 2015, p. 21.
References
- "Art Ross Given Banquet, To Become A US Citizen", Lewiston Evening Journal, Lewiston, Maine, Associated Press, 1938-04-22
- "Favor Boston In Hockey", Reading Eagle, Reading, Pennsylvania, Associated Press, 1941-10-30
- "Art Ross Gives Bruins' Side Of Buck Boucher's Dismissal", Ottawa Citizen, Ottawa, Associated Press, 1950-04-03
- Canadian Press (1964-08-06), "Art Ross Dies at 79", The Gazette, Montreal
- Canadian Sports Hall of Fame (2010), "Art Ross Page", SportsHall.ca, archived from the original on 2009-11-25, retrieved 2010-05-27
- Diamond, Dan, ed. (February 2003), Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League, Second Edition, New York: Total Sports Publishing (published 2002), ISBN 1-894963-16-4
- Goyens, Chrys; Orr, Frank (2000), Blades on Ice: A century of professional hockey, Markham, Ontario: Team Power Enterprises, ISBN 0-9686220-0-3
- Hockey Hall of Fame (2003), Honoured Members, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 1-55168-239-7
- Hockey Hall of Fame (2010), "Art Ross Page", LegendsofHockey.net, retrieved 2010-05-15
- Hockey Hall of Fame (2010), "Art Ross Stats Page", LegendsofHockey.net, retrieved 2010-06-15
- Holzman, Morey; Nieforth, Joseph (2002), Deceptions and Doublecross: How the NHL Conquered Hockey, Toronto: Dundurn Press, ISBN 1-55002-413-2
- Hughes, Morgan; Fischler, Stan and Shirley; Romain, Joseph; Duplacey, James (2003), Hockey Chronicle: Year-by-Year History of the National Hockey League, Lincolnwood, Illinois: Publications International, Ltd., ISBN 0-7853-9624-1
- Kitchen, Paul (2008), Win, Tie, or Wrangle: The Inside Story of the Old Ottawa Senators, 1883–1935, Manotic, Ontario: Penumbra Press, ISBN 978-1-897323-46-5
- McKinley, Michael (2009), Hockey: A People's History, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 978-0-7710-5771-7
- McKinley, Michael (1993), Hockey Hall of Fame Legends: The Official Book, Toronto: Viking Press, ISBN 0-670-85258-9
- McKinley, Michael (2000), Putting a Roof on Winter: Hockey's Rise from Sport to Spectacle, Vancouver: Greystone Books, ISBN 1-55054-798-4
- National Hockey League (2009), National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 2010, Toronto: Dan Diamond & Associates, Inc., ISBN 978-1-60078-303-6
- Podnieks, Andrew (2004), Lord Stanley's Cup, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 1-55168-261-3
- Podnieks, Andrew (2005), Silverware, Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing, ISBN 978-1-55168-296-9
- Podnieks, Andrew (2000), The NHL All-Star Game: Fifty Years of the Great Tradition, Toronto: HarperCollins, ISBN 0-00-200058-X
- Weir, Glenn; Chapman, Jeff; Weir, Travis (1999), Ultimate Hockey, Toronto: Stoddart Publishing, ISBN 0-7737-6057-1
- Wesley, Sam; Wesley, David (2005), Hamilton's Hockey Tigers, Toronto: James Lorimer & Company, ISBN 978-1-55028-887-2