Tommy Smith
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1973
Tommy Smith in 1907 with the Pittsburgh Professionals
Born (1886-09-27)September 27, 1886
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died August 1, 1966(1966-08-01) (aged 79)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada[1]
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 150 lb (68 kg; 10 st 10 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Pittsburgh Professionals
Pittsburgh Lyceum
Pittsburgh Bankers
Ottawa Hockey Club
Brantford Indians
Galt Professionals
Moncton Victorias
Quebec Bulldogs
Toronto Shamrocks
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 19051920

Thomas Joseph Smith (September 27, 1886 August 1, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward, who played from 1905 until 1920 for 16 teams in his career. He was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning teams, the Ottawa Silver Seven of 1906 and the Quebec Bulldogs of 1913. His two older brothers Alf and Harry Smith also played professional ice hockey.[2]

Playing career

Smith was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Mr. and Mrs. Henry Smith,[3] one of seven brothers who would play senior ice hockey.[2] Smith began playing senior hockey as an amateur with the Ottawa Emmetts from 1903 until 1905. He joined the Ottawa Victorias of the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL) in 1905-06, and also played for the Stanley Cup champion Ottawa Hockey Club, aka the "Silver Seven" that same year, playing with his older brothers Alf and Harry.[4]

He moved to Pittsburgh to become a professional with the Pittsburgh Professionals in 1906, playing three seasons with the team before returning to Canada to join the Brantford Indians of the Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL). Smith played two seasons with Brantford, but missed much of the 1909–10 season with typhoid fever.[5] In 1910-11 he became a member of the Galt Professionals of the OPHL helping Galt win the OPHL championship. Along with most of the Galt team, he bolted to the Moncton Victorias the following season, helping Moncton win the Maritime championship. The Galt and Moncton teams Smith was a member of played consecutive Stanley Cup challenges, Galt against Ottawa in 1911 and Moncton against Quebec in 1912, both times unsuccessfully.

Smith, sitting far left, with the 1912–13 Quebec Bulldogs and the Stanley Cup.

Smith joined the Quebec Bulldogs for the 1912–13 season, where he won the Stanley Cup at the end of the season.[6] After the 1913–14 season in Quebec, he was traded (twice) to Toronto Shamrocks. This caused a dispute with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. At that time, the NHA and PCHA had an agreement whereby the PCHA teams could draft one player from three of the six teams of the NHA. He was traded away from Quebec, which was eligible to lose a player. He started play for Shamrocks, though he had been drafted by Victoria of the PCHA. It was found that the initial trade was not allowed, and Quebec re-traded him to Toronto during the season, disregarding the PCHA efforts to get him. During the 1914–15 season, he was traded back to Quebec, avoiding the PCHA draft again.

Much like his older brother Harry, Tommy Smith was a mercenary when it came to club loyalty, playing for a number of different teams both in Canada and in the United States. In December 1914, when he still had not reached terms with the Toronto Ontarios/Shamrocks franchise, he claimed the location where he played was secondary to the financial aspect of the game:

"There is a big margin between us, I'll play here or in Mexico if the money is strong enough. I don't care where I play. This story about my not wanting to play anywhere else but Ottawa is not correct."[7]

While skating for the Ottawa Victorias in 1906, Smith led the FAHL with 12 goals (including eight goals in a game against Brockville on February 23, 1906). In future years, he was the leading goal-scorer in the OPHL (1908–09), the MPHA (1910–11) and the NHA (1913–14, 1914–15).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1904–05 Ottawa Emmetts OCHL
1905–06 Ottawa Victorias FAHL 812012
1905–06 Ottawa Senators ECAHA 360612 10009
1906–07 Pittsburgh Professionals IHL 2331134447
1907–08 Pittsburgh Lyceum WPHL 1633033 1202
1908–09 Brantford Indians OPHL 134004030
1908–09 Pittsburgh Lyceum WPHL 615015
1908–09 Pittsburgh Bankers WPHL 731414
1908–09 Haileybury Comets TPHL 13032 23030
1909–10 Brantford Indians OPHL 21013
1910–11 Galt Professionals OPHL 1822022 3100100
1910–11 Galt Professionals St-Cup 1101
1911–12 Moncton Victorias MPHL 7127255214 94372
1911–12 Moncton Victorias St-Cup 22023
1912–13 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 183903930
1912–13 Quebec Bulldogs St-Cup 24040
1913–14 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 203964535
1914–15 Toronto Shamrocks NHA 101721914
1914–15 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 92322529
1915–16 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 221631930
1916–17 Montreal Canadiens NHA 14741132 220211
1916–17 Montreal Canadiens St-Cup 42023
1917–18 Ottawa Transport OCHL
1918–19 Glace Bay Miners CBSHL
1919–20 Quebec Bulldogs NHL 1001111
NHL totals 9314117158170 220211
NHL totals 1001111

Awards and achievements

References

Notes

  1. "Death Notices: Thomas J. Smith". Ottawa Citizen. August 2, 1966. p. 32.
  2. 1 2 "Smith Family Famous in the Hockey World". The Pittsburgh Press. March 6, 1907. p. 14.
  3. "Death Notices: Harry Smith". Ottawa Citizen. May 6, 1953. p. 34.
  4. Stanley Cup Annual Record 1906 (Feb) (nhl.com). Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  5. "Badly scalded" Ottawa Citizen. Dec. 13, 1909 (pg. 3).
  6. Stanley Cup Annual Record 1913 (nhl.com). Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  7. "Tommie Smith is out with Ontario team". Ottawa Citizen. Dec 12, 1914. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
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