Old-Tyme Forwards

We've been looking at some terms that can be used to describe historical hockey players in non-anachronistic ways. It's bad enough to describe a modern player as a "power forward", but for Orr's sake just never, ever do it for a player from the 1910s. It doesn't make sense in the context of the player's time. We've looked at goaltenders and defencemen, and we'll finish up today with forwards. In no particular order:

Goal-getting: A goal-getting forward is one that not only scores goals, but actually goes to the net to get his goals. Hence the name. Herb Jordan is an example of a goal-getting forward.

Combination: A combination forward is an expert passer and playmaker. "Combination play" is an old term that was used to describe when players would pass the puck amongst themselves on an offensive push, rather than relying on individual rushes. The great Winnipeg winger (and first known Metis hockeyist) Tony Gingras is a good example of an early hockey forward who assisted his mates rather than scored goals himself.

Stout: A stout forward is one who uses his body to work his way into the offensive zone. If a defender gets in the way, a stout forward is as likely to go through the opponent than around him. He is not necessarily a dirty player, but is a physically punishing one. Bert Russell is a good example of a stout forward.

Backchecking: A backchecking forward is one who takes his defensive responsibility at least as seriously as his offensive duties. "Checking back" is perhaps a surprisingly old term, and forwards were lauded for taking defensive work seriously from the beginning of the organized game. Jack Marks is an example of a backchecking forward.

Skating: A skating forward is a player whose primary game feature is his skating ability. It's not just about speed, of course, but agility as well. While Sinclair 'Speed' Moynes was remarkably fast, his control was terrible and thus probably shouldn't be considered an exceptional skater. Hobey Baker, on the other hand, was known as an outstanding skater, both fast and effective, and is a good example of this type.

Side-shot: A side-shot forward is a gifted scorer, typically a winger, who works from the corners and side of the net. He relies more on his shot to score goals than he does on positioning. Gord Roberts is a good example of a side-shot forward.

Peppery: A peppery forward is an ornery customer, who is generally a physical player, but not clean. He is not afraid to use his fists or his stick when an opponent does something he doesn't like. Peppery is a term often used at the time, and like many terms used today, it's really a euphemism for "rule-breaker" and "dangerous player." Cully Wilson was a good player, but his terrible temper makes him a good example of this type.

Stickhandling: A stickhandling forward is one who controls the game by controlling the puck. It's difficult to remove the disc from his possession. Odie Cleghorn was a noted stickhandler, and used his ability to both score goals and set up his linemates effectively.

Herb Jordan

 

Herb Jordan

Quebec's great centre from 1903 to 1909, Herb Jordan was one of the most gifted goal-scorers of his time. Largely forgotten today, Jordan actually has a strong case for the Hall of Fame, when you compare his performance to that of his contemporaries.

In 1903, Jordan was third in goal scored, behind two immortals in Russell Bowie and Frank McGee. In 1904, he was behind only Bowie in goals, but actually scored at a greater rate per game than Bowie did, which was no mean feat when comparing oneself to a player who averaged nearly three goals per game for his career. In 1905, Jordan was again third in goals (behind Bowie and Quebec teammate Joe Power), but second in goals per game. In 1908, he was fourth behind three Hall-of-Famers (Bowie again, Tommy Phillips and Marty Walsh), and in 1909 he was second behind only Walsh. He was never able to lead the league in scoring, but came very close several times.

Jordan was recognized as the most dangerous performer on his team, often attracting double-coverage from the defence: 

The Vics paid special attention to Jordan, and he generally had two men on him to attend to, which blocked many of his shots that would have told. (Quebec Chronicle, 9 Jan 1905)

Jordan gave a singularly pretty exhibition of stick-handling and his shooting was deadly. A particularly clever shot was passed out to him from the side by Chubby Power. Although covered by two men, he managed with that funny poke of his to elude both of them and lifted the puck right into the nets. (Quebec Chronicle, 20 Jan 1908)

He scored so many goals by virtue of having a quick, hard shot, and swiftness in play in general:

Jordan finally relieved the monotony by scoring for Quebec with one of his hard, fast shots. (Quebec Chronicle, 4 Jan 1904)

Now Jordan has it, flies past the cover-point, like a veritable streak, and before the crowd can draw their breath the goaler was wondering if it was an electric bolt that had passed him. (Quebec Chronicle, 22 Feb 1904)

In the centre of the ice Herbie Jordan and Joe Power proved a great pair. Some neat combination was engineered between them and their quickness in passing and shooting fooled Waugh a number of times. (Quebec Chronicle, 6 Feb 1905)

...Herbie Jordan, who from a difficult position on the right wing delivered one of his own characteristic scoops to Hern, who failed to negotiate it... (Quebec Chronicle, 22 Feb 1909)

He apparently possessed a "scoop" shoot, which I suppose to mean that he was adept at lifting the puck off the ice with his shot. This would be a useful skill indeed, as he played right in front of the goalkeeper with regularity:

Herbie Jordan played his usual useful game. He bored right in on the nets, and at times the only was in which the Shamrock defence appeared to be able to stop him was by tripping. (Quebec Chronicle, 8 Feb 1909)

Herbie Jordan, one of the greatest centre ice men in the game to-day, again proved his claims to the honor, his efforts being of the gilt-edged variety. He played right in on the poles and he was robbed of many more scored than those credited to him only by the alertness of the Ottawa goal-keeper. (Quebec Chronicle, 8 Mar 1909)

This isn't just a case of looking at big numbers and surmising the player must have been a great one, even though the Hall of Fame never honoured him. Herb Jordan was recognized as an outstanding hockeyist when he played, and deserves such recognition today: 

Herbie Jordan played his usual dashing game, and his heady work and general unselfishness in passing the puck when he might have tried for goal himself, resulted in many a score for Quebec. (Quebec Chronicle, 20 Feb 1905)

Herbie Jordan once more proved himself the peer on any centre man in the game to-day. Fast, aggressive, clear-headed and unselfish, he was a dangerous man around the poles. Time and time again he fooled the Ottawa defence and had LeSueur at his mercy. (Quebec Chronicle, 6 Jan 1908)

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1903	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	45	80	1600	3.3	-0.4	0.0	2.9	1.81
1904	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	4	80	1600	9.1	-0.2	0.0	8.9	5.56
1905	Quebec Athletics	CAHL	5	71	1420	7.0	0.1	-0.2	6.9	4.86
1906	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	64	1280	4.5	0.1	-0.1	4.5	3.52
1907	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	40	800	2.6	0.0	0.0	2.6	3.25
1908	Quebec Bulldogs	ECAHA	5	64	1280	6.7	0.2	0.0	6.9	5.39
1909	Quebec Bulldogs	ECHA	5	80	1600	5.3	-0.2	-0.1	5.0	3.13
1910	Renfrew Creamery Kings	NHA	5	43	860	1.8	1.4	0.0	3.2	3.72
1911	Renfrew Creamery Kings	NHA	5	5	100	-0.3	0.1	0.0	-0.2	-2.00
Career				527	10540	40.0	1.1	-0.4	40.7	3.86

The Meritorious Players of the 1900s

Continuing the examination of the players who should (probably) be in the Hall of Fame from hockey's early era, we now apply the HOFPA (Hall of Fame by Point Allocation) method to players whose careers centred on the 1900s.

1900s Players Who Likely Merit the Honour

Rank	Player	Seasons	Position	Score	Hall?
1	Bowie, Russell	1899-1910	4	136.7	Yes
2	Pulford, Harvey	1894-1908	1	99.6	Yes
3	Marshall, Jack	1900-1917	51	99.1	Yes
4	Smith, Harry	1905-1914	5	95.5	No
5	Phillips, Tommy	1901-1912	6	91.2	Yes
6	Walsh, Marty	1903-1912	54	86.8	Yes
7	Russell, Ernie	1905-1914	5	86.7	Yes
8	McGee, Frank	1903-1906	5	86.0	Yes
9	Moran, Paddy	1901-1917	G	86.2	Yes
10	Stuart, Hod	1899-1907	2	82.0	Yes
11	Jordan, Herb	1903-1911	5	81.7	No
12	Westwick, Rat	1895-1909	4	81.3	Yes

Russell Bowie is far and away the player with the most notable career from this era. He had several seasons that are simply massive, with his best being 1901, when he scored 24 goals despite missing one of his team's eight scheduled matches. The next-highest goal-scorer had 10 goals. Bowie scored more goals in seven games than the entire Quebec team did in eight games. The result it a TPAK of 8.57, which is far and away the best single season for the data set I currently have, which goes up to 1926. He also has the third-, seventh- and seventeenth-best seasons as well. I haven't done the calculations for Wayne Gretzky yet, but it's possible Bowie might approach the Great One's level of dominance. He was that good.

As you can see, the Hall of Fame committee did quite a good job at honouring the very best players from this decade.  Among these very best players, only Harry Smith and Herb Jordan have not been recognized by the Hall. I've posted about Smith before; Jordan has likely been overlooked since he played for Quebec in an era when Quebec rarely had a championship team. Jordan was sometimes the only really good player on his team.

1900s Players Who Might Merit the Honour

Rank	Player	Seasons	Position	Score	Hall?
13	Russel, Blair	1900-1910	6	78.6	Yes
14	Boon, Dickie	1900-1905	2	76.9	Yes
15	Lake, Fred	1903-1915	16	75.8	No
16	Breen, Billy	1901-1909	4	75.5	No
17	Hern, Riley	1897-1911	G	75.0	Yes
18	Smith, Alf	1895-1909	7	74.7	Yes
19	Stuart, Bruce	1900-1911	54	74.1	Yes
20	McGimsie, Billy	1899-1907	5	73.7	Yes
21	Hutton, Bouse	1899-1909	G	70.0	Yes

Among the maybes, most have been honoured by the Hall already. I would personally draw the line after Alf Smith. I think he deserves the honour, while Bruce Stuart probably does not. Hod's brother has too many mediocre seasons on his resume to be considered one of the best of his era, in my opinion.

This line would mean that both Fred Lake and Billy Breen deserve to be in the Hall of Fame. I would certainly support the induction of Breen, a Winnipeg hockey superstar, but Fred Lake is something of a surprise here. Lake started his pro career as something of a nomad, playing mostly left wing in the IHL, then later in Manitoba. He then joined the Ottawa Senators in 1909, and played point (the second-most important defensive position) for a defensively dominant team for several years, and these seasons are really what elevate his career to this level.

1900s Players Who Likely Don't Merit the Honour

Rank	Player	Seasons	Position	Score	Hall?
22	Hooper, Art	1902-1904	4	69.9	No
X	Richardson, George	1904-1909	6	65.5	Yes
X	Hooper, Tom	1902-1908	27	61.2	Yes
X	Gardner, Jimmy	1901-1915	6	59.2	Yes
X	Whitcroft, Fred	1907-1910	4	48.7	Yes
X	Scanlan, Fred	1898-1903	6	48.2	Yes
X	Gilmour, Billy	1903-1909	74	34.4	Yes

Here is where we see where the Hall of Fame committee went wrong, as seen by this method. Tom Hooper was inducted due his playing for the Kenora Thistles, alongside Tommy Phillips and Si Griffis (two legitimate Hall-of-Famers), and Billy McGimsie (who's also in but probably doesn't quite deserve it). If the team really had that many of the very best players at the time, they would likely have won more than they actually did.

Fred Scanlan was apparently a matter of completing the Montreal Shamrocks line with Harry Trihey and Art Farrell, and only Trihey really comes close to deserving the honour.

George Richardson was an OHA player who later fought and died in World War I. War heroes have a history of being honoured by the Hall of Fame, regardless of what their hockey career actually entailed. Later events make their career seem better that they actually were.

Jimmy Gardner had a long pro career, but a mid-level one. However, he played an important role in the founding of the game most historic franchise, and this association apparently made his playing career look better in retrospect.

Billy Gilmour is a puzzler. He really only had a couple of good years in Ottawa, and they were only good, not great.

Fred Whitcroft is another head-scratcher. He made as big name for himself for a brief period by signing with the Kenora Thistles in 1907, and then heading to Edmonton to play for the pro team there, playing in three Stanley Cup challenges all told. But he has little more than name recognition going for him; he was a good player for a few years, but not nearly at the level needed to be considered one of the best of his time.