Art Ross
Canadian hockey player (1886-1964) / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Arthur Howey "Art" Ross (January 13, 1885[lower-alpha 1] ā 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(1964-08-05) (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 | 1905ā1918 |
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]