Billy Burch : biography
Harry Wilfred Burch (November 20, 1900 – November 30, 1950) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Hamilton Tigers, New York Americans, Chicago Black Hawks, and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. Although US born, Burch moved to Toronto, Ontario at an early age, where he grew up playing ice hockey and football.
Burch was the second person to ever win the Hart Memorial Trophy (1925) and the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (1927), after Frank Nighbor. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974. Burch was also the last active player that had played for the Hamilton Tigers. After the 1924-25 season, Shorty Green and Billy Burch led a postseason strike against the Hamilton Tigers ownership. It was the first players strike in NHL history.Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.40, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9 He was the first player ever from the United States to play in the NHL. On December 2, 1925, Burch scored the very first NHL goal in the city of Pittsburgh, as the New York Americans played the Pittsburgh Pirates at the Duquesne Gardens.http://pittsburghhockey.net/PiratesPages/FirstNHLinPIT.html
External Reference
Category:1900 births Category:1950 deaths Category:American emigrants to Canada Category:American ice hockey centres Category:Boston Bruins players Category:Canadian ice hockey centres Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Hamilton Tigers (ice hockey) players Category:Hart Memorial Trophy winners Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ice hockey people from New York Category:Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winners Category:Memorial Cup winners Category:New York Americans players Category:Sportspeople from Toronto
Career statistics
| | Regular season | | Playoffs | ||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
1922–23 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 10 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
1923–24 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 24 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
1924–25 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 27 | 20 | 4 | 24 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — |
1925–26 | New York Americans | NHL | 36 | 22 | 3 | 25 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — |
1926–27 | New York Americans | NHL | 43 | 19 | 8 | 27 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
1927–28 | New York Americans | NHL | 32 | 10 | 2 | 12 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
1928–29 | New York Americans | NHL | 44 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — |
1929–30 | New York Americans | NHL | 35 | 7 | 3 | 10 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
1930–31 | New York Americans | NHL | 44 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — |
1931–32 | New York Americans | NHL | 48 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — |
1932–33 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 23 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
1932–33 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 24 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
NHL totals | 390 | 137 | 53 | 190 | 251 | — | — | — | — | — |