Don Smith (ice hockey, born 1887) explained

Don Smith
Position:Left wing
Shoots:Left
Height Ft:5
Height In:7
Weight Lb:160
Birth Date:3 June 1887
Birth Place:Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Career Start:1904
Career End:1920

Donald John Smith (June 3, 1887[1] – May 13, 1959) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Smith was one of the earliest professional ice hockey players, playing professionally in the first decade of the 1900s. Smith played in the National Hockey League and its predecessor National Hockey Association for the Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Shamrocks, Montreal Wanderers and Renfrew Creamery Kings.

He was an older brother of ice hockey and lacrosse player Guy Smith.

Playing career

Smith played senior amateur hockey for his hometown Cornwall, Ontario club in the Federal Amateur Hockey League from 1904 until 1907. During a March 6, 1907 FAHL game between Cornwall H/C and the Ottawa Victorias Smith's forward teammate Owen McCourt was struck in the head by one or several opponent sticks and died the following morning of his injuries.

Smith became a professional with Portage la Prairie, Manitoba of the Manitoba Professional Hockey League (MPHL) in 1907–08. He returned to Ontario the following season, playing for St. Catharines, Ontario and Toronto in the Ontario Professional Hockey League (OPHL). In 1909–10, he joined the Montreal Shamrocks of the National Hockey Association (NHA). He played in 1910–11 for the Renfrew Creamery Kings before joining the Victoria Aristocrats of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for a season. He returned the following season (1912–13) to the Montreal Canadiens and played for the Canadiens until 1915 when he was sold to the Montreal Wanderers.[2]

Smith left the league after the 1915–16 NHA season to serve in World War I. Upon his return, in 1919–20, Smith re-joined the Montreal Canadiens, now in the National Hockey League (NHL), for one last year of professional ice hockey. He refereed and coached in ice hockey in later years.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGP PIMGP G A Pts PIM
1904–05Cornwall Hockey ClubFAHL7 4 0 4
1905–06Cornwall Hockey ClubFAHL5 2 0 2
1906–07Cornwall Hockey ClubFAHL9 16 0 16
1907–08Portage la Prairie CitiesMPHL14 19 0 19
1908–09St. Catharines ProsOPHL6 10 0 10 12
1908–09Toronto ProfessionalsOPHL8 11 0 11 15
1909–10Montreal ACBMCHL7 6 0 6
1909–10Montreal ShamrocksCHA3 7 0 7 3
1909–10Montreal ShamrocksNHA12 14 0 14 58
1910–11Renfrew Creamery KingsNHA16 26 0 26 49
1911–12Victoria SenatorsPCHA16 19 0 19 22
1912–13Montreal CanadiensNHA20 19 0 19 52
1913–14Montreal CanadiensNHA20 18 10 28 182 1 0 1 7
1914–15Montreal CanadiensNHA11 2 5 7 18
1914–15Montreal WanderersNHA8 4 3 7 212 1 0 1 12
1915–16Montreal WanderersNHA23 14 2 16 56
1919–20Montreal CanadiensNHL12 1 0 1 6
NHA totals110 97 20 117 2724 2 0 2 19
NHL totals12 1 0 1 6

Transactions

Source: NHL.com[3]

Notes and References

  1. His birth date is often listed in 1888. He listed Date of Birth as June 3, 1888, when he joined the military. Ontario's birth records show he was born one year earlier.
  2. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DTIjAAAAIBAJ&sjid=S4EFAAAAIBAJ&pg=3647,4495264&dq "Donald Smith with Wanderers"
  3. Web site: Players - National Hockey League.com . July 8, 2015.