| Frank Jerwa | |
| Birth Date: | 15 March 1909 |
| Birth Place: | Jaworzno, Russian Empire (present-day Poland) |
| Death Place: | Penticton, British Columbia |
| Height Ft: | 6 |
| Height In: | 1 |
| Weight Lb: | 179 |
| Position: | Left wing |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Played For: | PCHL Vancouver Lions (1928-31, 1936, 1939-41) Seattle Seahawks (1937-39) NHL Boston Bruins (1931-35) St. Louis Eagles (1935) CAHL Boston Cubs (1931-35) New Haven Eagles (1935-36) IAHL Springfield Indians (1936) |
| Career End: | 1941 |
Frank Ludwig Jerwa (15 March 1909 – 6 August 1992) was a Polish-Canadian professional ice hockey left winger.[1] [2] He played for the Boston Bruins and St. Louis Eagles of the National Hockey League and the Boston Cubs and Vancouver Lions, among others, in the minors.[1]
Jerwa was born in Jaworzno, Russian Empire (now Poland) on 15 March 1909 to Frank and Anna Jerwa.[3] [1] He had three brothers, Joe, Art, and Steve, all of whom later played hockey, and a sister, Josephine.[4] [5] [6] [7] The family moved to Bankhead, Alberta in 1911, then to nearby Canmore in 1922.[8] [9] He and his brother Joe played for both the Canmore Miners junior and senior teams during the late 1920s.[8] [10] He played for the Miners junior team between 1927 and 1928 before moving on to the Regina Pats for the 1928–1929 season.[1] [11]
Jerwa signed with the Vancouver Lions in 1929, where he played alongside his brother Joe.[12] [13] [14] Jerwa was traded to the Boston Bruins in April 1931 and again played with his brother.[15] [16] His debut came against the Montreal Maroons on November 14, 1931, but it wasn't until February 4, 1932, against the New York Americans, where he scored a goal and made an assist, that he earned any points.[11] [17] He played 65 games with the Bruins but spent most of his time in Boston with the Boston Cubs, with whom he played 101 games.[1]
He and Gene Carrigan were both traded in January 1935 to the St. Louis Eagles, though his start was delayed due to a broken arm.[11] [18] [19] He and Joe Lamb hold the title for fastest two goals in the Eagles franchise at 14:50 and 14:53 on March 12, 1935.[20] He played 16 games before the club was disbanded; he returned to the east coast in October 1935, this time for the New Haven Eagles, a Bruins affiliate.[21] [1] [22] [23] After 45 games there, he briefly played for the Vancouver Lions, then went to the Springfield Indians for 35 games in November 1936.[24] [25] That year, he also played for the Can-Am All-Star team. In 1937, he signed with the Seattle Seahawks, played 88 games, and finished his career as a member of the Lions once more from November 1939 to 1941.[26] He played 140 total career games with the Lions.[27] [1] He retired from professional hockey in October 1941.[28]
After leaving the professional hockey circuit, he settled in Vancouver and played in the British Columbia Hockey League with St. Regis.[29] [7] He died on 6 August 1992 in Penticton, British Columbia.[30] He was survived by his wife Frances Ella, daughter Shirley, 3 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren.[30] Frances died in 2002.[31]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |||||
| 1926–27 | Canmore Minors | ASHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | Canmore Minors | AHSL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Regina Pats | S-SJHL | 5 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Vancouver Lions | PCHL | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1929–30 | Vancouver Lions | PCHL | 36 | 10 | 5 | 15 | 42 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1930–31 | Vancouver Lions | PCHL | 32 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 54 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1931–32 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 24 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 22 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 31 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 19 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 34 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1933–34 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1933–34 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 35 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 75 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 22 | ||
| 1934–35 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 25 | 24 | 12 | 36 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | St. Louis Eagles | NHL | 16 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | Vancouver Lions | NWHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1935–36 | New Haven Eagles | Can-Am | 45 | 19 | 21 | 40 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1936–37 | Springfield Indians | IAHL | 35 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 50 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1937–38 | Seattle Seahawks | PCHL | 40 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 29 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1938–39 | Seattle Seahawks | PCHL | 47 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1939–40 | Vancouver Lions | PCHL | 22 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 36 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1940–41 | Vancouver Lions | PCHL | 44 | 27 | 20 | 47 | 33 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | ||
| NHL totals | 81 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||