Curtis Lester “Les, The Silver Fox” Patrick (December 30, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (Western Hockey League after 1924), and the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with his brother, Frank, he created the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and helped develop several rules for the game of hockey. Patrick is credited for introducing the red forward line on professional hockey rinks. He won six Stanley Cups: in 1906 and 1907 while with the Montreal Wanderers (Captain), in 1925 with the Victoria Cougars (Owner/President/Manager/Coach), and with the New York Rangers in 1928 (playing-Manager/Coach), 1933 (Manager/Coach), and 1940 (Manager). 1 Early career Lester Patrick was a great rover and defenceman who first came to prominence in 1900 when he played for McGill University. In 1904, he was the star for the Brandon team in the Northwestern and Manitoba Hockey Leagues and became the first defenceman known to score a goal. With Patrick at cover point, Brandon challenged the Ottawa Senators for the Stanley Cup in that season, but were defeated in the two-game, total-goal series. He had greater success with the famed Montreal Wanderers in the 1906 and 1907 seasons. Scoring 41 goals as a rushing defenceman in just 28 scheduled games while serving as captain of the Redbands, Patrick led them to the Stanley Cup in both seasons. He followed that up by being signed as a high-priced free agent by the Renfrew Creamery Kings in the National Hockey Associations first year of operation, by which time Patrick was recognized as one of hockey’s great stars. 2 Women’s ice hockey By 1910, the entire Patrick family would have an impact on the Nelson, British Columbia Ladies Hockey Club. Sisters Myrtle, Cynda and Dora Patrick were all involved with the club. In 1911, the Nelson Ladies Club was coached by Lester Patrick, and Dora was the captain. 3 Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Patricks long had western ties—their father Joe was a major lumber entrepreneur in British Columbia — and in 1911 Lester and his brother Frank had their greatest gamble: the formation of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, backed with Patrick lumber money. Luring away many eastern stars, the PCHA from the start was a prominent force in hockey, and for 15 years it would contest (along with the Western Canada Hockey League in the early 1920s) the Stanley Cup with its eastern rivals, the NHA and the National Hockey League. Lester himself was the captain and star of the Victoria Aristocrats, winning First Team All-Star accolades three of the five seasons he played for them. The franchise — plagued by small crowds — was moved to Spokane, Washington and became the Spokane Canaries in 1916, and Patrick achieved his fourth and final First Team All- Star berth. After that season the Canaries were disbanded, and Patrick joined the Stanley Cup champion Seattle Metropolitans. The Aristocrats were revived in 1918 as the Victoria Cougars, and Patrick took over as player-manager. Despite playing in only about half the games, he was named to the Second All-Star team once more before retiring as a player after the 1922 season. 4 New York Rangers Patrick is famous for an incident which occurred during the Stanley Cup finals of 1928. At the age of 44 years, 3 months, 9 days, while serving as coach and general manager of the Rangers, Patrick inserted himself into the April 8 playoff game to play goal against the Montreal Maroons, when starting goaltender Lorne Chabot suffered an eye injury after being hit by the puck in the second period. This is a record for the oldest goalie to play in the Stanley Cup Finals that still stands today. At the time it was not common for teams to have a backup goaltender, and the opposing team’s coach had to allow a substitute goaltender. However the Maroon’s managercoach Eddie Gerard refused to give permission for the Rangers to use Alec Connell, the Ottawa Senator’s star netminder who was in the stands, as well as minor-leaguer Hugh McCormick. Odie Cleghorn, the then-coach of the Pittsburgh Pirates, stood in for Patrick as coach for the remainder of the game, and directed the Rangers to check fiercely at mid-ice which limited the Maroon players to long harmless shots. Patrick saved 18 to 19 shots while allowing one goal in helping the Rangers to an overtime victory. For the next three games, the league gave permission for the Rangers to use Joe Miller from the New York Americans in goal. The Rangers went on to win the Stanley Cup. Patrick also guided the Rangers to another championship in 1933. He resigned as coach in 1939 for his one-time great center Frank Boucher, and Patrick was again a Stanley Cupwinning general manager when Boucher led the Rangers to their last Cup for 54 years in 1940. Patrick finally retired as general manager in 1946, but stayed on as vice president of Madison Square Garden, finally exiting in 1950. 5 Retirement Patrick donated a trophy to the Western Hockey League, the Lester Patrick Cup, to go to the playoff champions of that league, and the trophy now resides in the Hockey Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. Already dying of cancer, Lester died at his Victoria home of a heart attack on June 1, 1960, at the age of 76. Exactly four weeks later, he was followed by his brother Frank, 75. Frank’s death was also attributed to a heart attack. 6 Legacy The Lester Patrick Trophy, awarded for outstanding contributions to hockey in the United States, is named for him. He was also the namesake of the Patrick Division, one of the former divisions of the NHL teams. The Patricks have been dubbed “Hockey’s Royal Family.” Lester himself was the father of Lynn Patrick and the grandfather of Craig Patrick, both of whom are themselves Honoured Members of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Another son, Muzz Patrick, was a star player and eventually coach and general manager of the Rangers. Lester’s grandson Glenn Patrick played in the NHL during parts of the 1970s while another grandson, Dick Patrick (Muzz’s son) has been president of the Washington Capitals since 1982 (he is also a minority owner). Francis Alexis Patrick (December 21, 1885 – June 29, 1960) was an early Canadian professional ice hockey player, NHL head coach and manager. 1 Career While attending McGill University, Patrick played hockey from 1904 to 1908, winning the Queen’s Cup championship in 1905 alongside his brother, Lester Patrick. Frank and Lester helped found the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Vancouver Millionaires of that league from 1911–1918, winning a Stanley Cup in 1915. He also served as PCHA president until 1924. In addition, he was the owner of the Vancouver Amazons women’s hockey team. He became the managing director of the NHL in 1933–34 and resigned to become head coach of the Boston Bruins between 1934-1936. Among Patrick’s contributions to hockey were the blue line, the penalty shot, the boarding penalty, and the raising of the stick when a goal is scored, which he suggested. He also made a prophecy: “I dream of the day that teams will dress two goaltenders for each game.” This became a reality in the NHL in 1964–65. Frank Patrick was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder in 1950. Patrick is also a member of the British Columbia Sports Hall of Fame, elected in 1966. On June 29, 1960, Frank died of a heart attack exactly four weeks after his brother Lester died, also of a heart attack. 2 Contributions to women’s ice hockey As early as January 1916, Frank and his brother Lester talked of the formation of a women’s league to complement the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The proposal included teams from Vancouver, Victoria, Portland and Seattle. The league never formed but in January 1917, the Vancouver News-Advertiser reported that wives of the Seattle Metropolitans had assembled a team. In February 1921, Frank announced a women’s international championship series that would be played in conjunction with the Pacific Coast Hockey Association.
Posted on: Mon, 19 Jan 2015 00:41:33 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015