Art Ross

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Art Ross bigraphy, stories - Canadian ice hockey player, coach, executive and innovator

Art Ross : biography

13 January 1886 – 05 August 1964

Arthur Howey "Art" Ross (January 13, 1886 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Regarded as one of the best defenders of his era by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice rather than pass it to a forward. He was on Stanley Cup championship teams 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 several different teams and leagues, and is most notable for his time 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 organized player strikes over increased pay. When the Wanderers’ home arena burned down in January 1918, the team ceased operations and Ross retired as a player.

After several years as an on-ice official, he was named head coach of the Hamilton Tigers for one season. When the Boston Bruins were formed in 1924, Ross was hired as the first coach and general manager of the team. He would go on to coach the team on four separate occasions 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 personally coached the team to one of those victories. After being hired by the Bruins, Ross, along with his wife and two sons, moved to a suburb of Boston, and became an American citizen in 1938. He died near Boston in 1964.

Outside of his association with the Bruins, Ross also helped to improve the game. He created a style of hockey puck still used today, and advocated an improved style of goal nets, a change that lasted forty years. In 1947 Ross donated the Art Ross Trophy, awarded to the leading scorer of the NHL regular season. Ross was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1949.

Personal life

Ross also excelled in baseball, football, lacrosse and motorcycle racing. Before he became a hockey executive, he had a career as a bank clerk and ran a sporting-goods store in Montreal. Ross had moved to Brandon, Manitoba, in 1905 at the advice of his parents so he could get a job with a bank, with a salary of $600 per year. He gave that career up when he began playing hockey professionally. He was married to Muriel, a native of Montreal, and had two sons, Art and John. During the Second World War, both sons served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. After the war Ross made his son Art the business manager for the Bruins. Ross was named coach and manager of the Boston Bruins in 1924 and moved his family to Brookline, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, after being hired. In 1928, he served as the traveling secretary of the Boston Braves baseball team, which was owned by Bruins owner Charles Adams. He became a naturalized American citizen on April 22, 1938. On August 5, 1964, Ross died at a nursing home in Medford, Massachusetts, a suburb of Boston, at the age of 78. A sister, both his sons, and three grandchildren survived him.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1902–03 Montreal Westmount CAHL
1903–04 Montreal Westmount CAHL
1904–05 Montreal Westmount CAHL 8 10 0 10
1905–06 Brandon Elks MHL 7 6 0 6
1906–07 Kenora Thistles St-Cup 2 0 0 0 10
1906–07 Brandon Elks MHL 10 6 3 9 11 2 1 0 1 3
1907–08 Montreal Wanderers ECAHA 10 8 0 8 27 5 3 0 3 23
1907–08 Pembroke Lumber Kings UOVHL 1 5 0 5
1908–09 Montreal Wanderers ECAHA 9 2 0 2 30 2 0 0 0 13
1908–09 Cobalt Silver Kings TPHL 2 1 0 1 0
1909–10 All-Montreal HC CHA 4 4 0 4 3
1909–10 Haileybury Comets NHA 12 6 0 6 25
1910–11 Montreal Wanderers NHA 11 4 0 4 24
1911–12 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18 16 0 16 35
1911–12 NHA All-Stars Exhib 3 4 0 4 0
1912–13 Montreal Wanderers NHA 19 11 0 11 58
1913–14 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18 4 5 9 74
1914–15 Ottawa Senators NHA 16 3 1 4 55 5 2 0 2 0
1915–16 Ottawa Senators NHA 21 8 8 16 69
1916–17 Montreal Wanderers NHA 16 6 2 8 66
1917–18 Montreal Wanderers NHL 3 1 0 1 12
ECAHA totals 19 10 0 10 57 7 3 0 3 36
NHA totals 131 56 16 72 406 5 2 0 2 0
NHL totals 3 1 0 1 12