Art Duncan - Scoring Champion from the Defence?

You may know that Art Duncan is credited as being only one of two defencemen to lead a major professional league in scoring, the other being (of course) Bobby Orr, who did it twice in the 1970s. In 1923/24, skating for the Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA, Duncan played 30 games, scoring 21 goals, 10 assists and 31 points, all of which were tops in the league. So he did something even Orr wasn't able to: as a defenceman, he not only led the league in points but in goals scored.

Or did he?

Are there reasons to be suspicious of this claim? The fact is, although players are generally referred to as having played only their primary position, players from Duncan's era and earlier often moved around a lot through their career. Just because Duncan is listed as "Defence" doesn't mean he only ever played defence. Have a look at career major-league scoring record:

Season	Club	League	GP	G	A	TP	PIM
1916	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	17	7	4	11	25
1917	Toronto Northern Fusiliers	NHA	6	4	1	5	12
1919	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	18	2	1	3	0
1920	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	18	4	8	12	0
1921	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	24	3	5	8	6
1922	Vancouver Millionaires	PCHA	24	5	9	14	25
1923	Vancouver Maroons	PCHA	26	15	6	21	8
1924	Vancouver Maroons	PCHA	30	21	10	31	20
1925	Vancouver Maroons	WCHL	26	5	5	10	28
1926	Calgary Tigers	WHL	29	9	4	13	30
1927	Detroit Cougars	NHL	34	3	2	5	26
1928	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	43	7	5	12	97
1929	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	39	4	4	8	53
1930	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	38	4	5	9	49
1931	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	2	0	0	0	0

The 1923 and 1924 seasons certainly seem to stick out. Is it possible that he played forward in those seasons? His teammates might provide a clue. In 1923, for defenders Vancouver had Lloyd Cook (who himself played a bit of forward in his career), and...that's about it. Abbie Newell, another forward/defenceman who played only six games, was on the team as well. Frank Patrick played only two games. Everyone else was a forward throughout their careers, suggesting that Duncan must have been a defenceman in 1923. As for his high scoring total, he was actually outscored by Cook by 30 points to 21. Both of them were basically on the ice 60 minutes per game, while the forwards were subbed out fairly often; Mickey MacKay led the team with 40 points, and Frank Boucher was next among forwards with 20.

But the following season, the Maroons added Joe Matte and Helge Bostrom to the lineup, both of whom played both defence and forward in their careers, and both of whom played regularly in 1924. Along with Duncan and Cook, this gave them four possible defencemen. Duncan scored 31 points, Matte scored 15 and Cook 12. Bostrom was clearly a sub, with only three points in 26 games. But perhaps Matte and Cook were the defencemen, Bostrom a substitute for them, and Duncan was on the forward line.

Of course, we don't really need this kind of analysis, although sometimes it can provide some insight. We can actually just go to the game reports published in the newspapers at the time, and see what position Duncan was listed as playing. So as best as I can figure them, these are the positions for the 1923 Vancouver Maroons, as they were listed in the starting lineups (SD is for subsitute defenceman, and SF substitute forward):

	G	RD	LD	C	RW	LW	SD	SF	Total
LEHMAN, Hugh	25	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	25
REID, Charlie	5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	5
DUNCAN, Art	0	24	0	0	0	1	1	0	26
PATRICK, Frank	0	1	0	0	0	0	1	0	2
COOK, Lloyd	0	0	30	0	0	0	0	0	30
MacKAY, Mickey	0	3	0	22	0	3	0	2	30
DENNENY, Corb	0	0	0	2	1	0	0	18	21
TAYLOR, Fred	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0	1
SKINNER, Alf	0	0	0	0	17	0	0	6	23
HARRIS, Fred	0	2	0	0	8	6	0	4	20
PARKES, Ernie	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	27	29
BOUCHER, Frank	0	0	0	5	2	17	0	5	29
ASSELSTINE, Jack	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	10	12
NEWELL, Abbie	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	4	6
COTCH, Charlie	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	15	15
	30	30	30	30	30	30	3	91	274

Duncan was the starting right defenceman in 80% of Vancouver's games. But he did start once at left wing; maybe that's an indication that the following season he played more and more forward, allowing him to score at an unprecedented rate.

Well, in 1924 the Vancouver Maroons played thusly, as near as I can figure it:

	G	RD	LD	C	RW	LW	SD	SF	Total
LEHMAN, Hugh	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	30
DUNCAN, Art	0	30	0	0	0	0	0	0	30
COOK, Lloyd	0	0	27	0	0	0	1	0	28
PATRICK, Frank	0	0	1	0	0	0	3	0	4
BOSTROM, Helge	0	0	0	0	1	1	17	7	26
MATTE, Joe	0	0	2	0	0	5	15	7	29
BOUCHER, Frank	0	0	0	29	0	0	0	0	29
COTCH, Charlie	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	12	14
SKINNER, Alf	0	0	0	0	27	0	0	2	29
PARKES, Ernie	0	0	0	0	2	1	0	27	30
MacKAY, Mickey	0	0	0	0	0	22	0	6	28
	30	30	30	30	30	30	36	61	277

So no, Art Duncan did not play forward, at least as far we can tell. He started on defence every game that season. Just as Lloyd Cook put up impressive scoring numbers the season before while playing defence, Duncan did the same, but took it to a whole 'nother level. It seems that Duncan simply scored at a torrential pace, and deserves full credit for the accomplishment.

But there's still something else to consider. In 1922/23 and 1923/24, the PCHA played an interlocking schedule with Canada's other western major league, the WCHL. In 1924, for example, Vancouver played 11 games against each of Victoria and Seattle, the other PCHA clubs, and two games against each of Calgary, Edmonton, Regina and Saskatoon of the WCHL. Although Vancouver was technically in the PCHA, they played 27% of their regular-season matches against WCHL clubs. For all intents and purposes, the PCHA and WCHL were two conferences of the same league, a league with an imbalanced schedule. And just as we don't give Henrik Sedin a 2012 scoring championship because he led the Western Conference in scoring, we shouldn't be looking at interlocking leagues as being separate.

This is especially important in this case, because it's clear that the WCHL was the higher-quality league in 1924. In the "inter-league" games, the WCHL teams had a combined 17-5-2 record. This means that Art Duncan had lesser competition to beat for the scoring championship of his league. If we combine the WCHL and PCHA scoring leader lists, we get the following:

Player	Club	Pos	GP	G	A	TP
COOK, Bill	Saskatoon Crescents	7	30	26	14	40
OLIVER, Harry	Calgary Tigers	5	27	22	12	34
HAY, George	Regina Capitals	6	25	20	11	31
KEATS, Duke	Edmonton Eskimos	5	29	19	12	31
DUNCAN, Art	Vancouver Maroons	3	30	21	10	31

Bill Cook of the Saskatoon Crescents led the WCHL/PCHA in goals, assists and points. He outscored Art Duncan by five goals and four assists, or nine points, almost 30% more than Duncan. Crediting Art Duncan with a scoring championship is silly; he technically led the PCHA in scoring, but the PCHA was not a self-contained league at the time. Duncan only wins the scoring title if you ignore two-thirds of the teams that he played against in 1924.

So while Art Duncan was certainly a defenceman when he scored 31 points in 1924, he should not be given credit for a scoring title. The PCHA and WCHL were separate leagues in name only; since they played against each other they were simply conferences of the same effective league. Bill Cook led this league in all offensive categories. Duncan's numbers were certainly very impressive, but Bobby Orr is alone in leading a major professional league in scoring from the blueline.

Assists per Goal in the 1910s and Beyond

I was recently asked about assist rates in the first years that assists were officially awarded. As you may know, the PCHA began awarding assists in 1912/13, and the NHA followed a season later. And as you might also know, for many years very few assists were awarded per goal (as compared to modern standards). How few? This few:

It's possibly interesting to note that the NHA/NHL awarded fewer assists per goal than their western counterparts most every year (though their rate is less consistent). The possibly interesting part is whether this is simply due to slightly different standards in awarding assists, or whether it has to do with the fact that the PCHA still used the rover while the NHA did not. With more players available to participate in an offensive rush, perhaps it makes sense that more assists were awarded per goal.

It may be worth noting that when the PCHA finally dropped the rover after the 1921/22 season (as they began playing an interlocking schedule with the WCHL, which did not use the seventh man), its assist rate dropped from 0.57 to 0.51, and stayed at that level or lower, whereas in the final seven seasons with the rover, the PCHA had an assist rate of between 0.57 and 0.60 six times. This suggests to me that at least part of the reason that the NHA/NHL had a lower assist per goal rate is the lack of a fourth forward.

The first really big jump in assist rates occurred in in 1929/30. In 1928/29 there were 0.60 assists per goal, but there were 0.82 the following season. This is clearly due to the change in the forward passing rules that season, which made individual rushes less important and passing plays more important. The rate went to 0.92, then 1.05 in the next two seasons, and would never drop below that level again.

Amby Moran - The Moose

You want more about Regina defencemen from the 1920s, you say? Alright, one more.

Amby "Moose" Moran was a Winnipeg boy, beginning his senior career there in 1919/20. The origin of his nickname was presumably his frame; he was a 6-foot, 200-pounder at a time when such things were pretty rare. He was a big boy, certainly, and a rambunctious one, even being arrested once in 1923 for assaulting a police officer.

He was, however, a very good hockey player for a number of years. He turned pro in 1921 with Regina of the new WCHL. He faded fast in his thirties, though, so by the time the NHL absorbed the western league, Moran wasn't the player he once was. But in his prime, he was a force to be reckoned with.

In the January 12, 1923 edition of the Regina Morning Leader, Moran was compared to future Hall of Famer Herb Gardiner in a discussion of who was the best left defenceman in the WCHL at the time. We know that Gardiner was effective offensively and outstanding on defence. He was awarded the 1927 Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, in the first season after the eastern league absorbed the western one. Here's what the Leader had to say about them:

...[W]hen the relative virtues of the two players were compared, we came to the conclusion that the Calgary playing manager [Gardiner] earned the call because of his superior polish.

Defensively, Gardiner has a slight edge on Moran. He is faster on the check and knows the breaking-up art from A to Z. On the attack he is also a valuable asset to his team, although not a prolific goal getter.

Moran's value to the attack lies more in his ability to score one goal regularly every game, rather than in his ability to help out the forwards. Amby undoubtedly packs a much more wicked shot than the Bengal captain, is a more dangerous man to rush; but it is seldom that he steadies down the forwards as Gardiner does; he rather attempts to do everything on his won. And while he acquires a certain amount of glory for his unquestionably spectacular rushing, his offensive play is colorful rather than effective.

I think we can discount the comment that Gardiner has a "slight edge" on defence to a degree of homerism. Moran was a starting blueliner for Regina at the time, and he was probably getting a home-team boost here. That being said, Moran was certainly not a liability on defence in his WCHL years. But ultimately, he was known as a big, rough, rambunctious rusher with a wicked shot.

Amby Moran, stocky defenceman of the Maroons, got in some of his Firpo-like rushes. Boston got an extra two minutes on his penalty for a display of temper. (Regina Morning Leader, 19 Jan 1926)

[Moran] instigated an individual rush straight up the centre of the ice, and when just beyond the defense, let go a rifle shot that whizzed past Talbot a mile a minute. It was a wonderful end to a wonderful game. Moran's drive was the fastest of the night, and the twine sagged before its momentum. (Regina Morning Leader, 5 Jan 1922)

Season	Club	League	Pos	GP	MIN	OP	DP	PP	TPA	TPAK
1920	Winnipeg HC	WSHL	3	40	1000	1.2	2.4	-0.1	3.5	3.50
1921	Brandon Wheat Cities	MAHL	3	73	1825	2.9	3.4	-0.4	5.9	3.23
1922	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	80	2000	0.3	4.5	-0.2	4.6	2.30
1923	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	75	1875	4.0	3.2	-0.3	6.9	3.68
1924	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	37	925	0.4	3.0	-0.1	3.3	3.57
1925	Regina Capitals	WCHL	3	17	425	-0.2	0.4	-0.2	0.0	0.00
1925	Vancouver Maroons	WCHL	6	43	860	2.5	0.6	-0.3	2.8	3.26
1926	Vancouver Maroons	WHL	3	80	2000	0.0	2.9	-0.3	2.6	1.30
1927	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	3	22	550	-0.3	1.4	-0.2	0.9	1.64
1927	Moose Jaw Maroons	PHL	53	28	625	0.4	0.0	-0.2	0.2	0.32
1927	New Haven Eagles	CAHL	3	15	375	-0.5	-0.1	-0.2	-0.8	-2.13
1928	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	3	42	1050	0.3	0.0	-0.2	0.1	0.10
1928	Moose Jaw Maroons	PHL	3	37	925	0.0	1.8	-0.4	1.4	1.51
1929	Tulsa Oilers	AHA	3	68	1700	-0.7	2.9	-0.4	1.8	1.06
Career				657	16135	10.3	26.4	-3.5	33.2	2.06