George Hay (ice hockey)

William George "The Western Wizard" Hay (January 10, 1898 — July 13, 1975) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Regina Capitals and Portland Rosebuds of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the Chicago Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1921 and 1933. He was a top star on the Canadian prairies, named a WCHL All-Star four times in five seasons. He transferred to the NHL in 1926 when the Rosebuds were sold to the rival league and went on to score the first goal in the history of the Chicago Black Hawks. He retired in 1933 after several seasons with the Red Wings. Hay was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

George Hay
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958
Born (1898-01-10)January 10, 1898
Listowel, Ontario
Died July 13, 1975(1975-07-13) (aged 77)
Stratford, Ontario
Height 5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Regina Capitals
Portland Rosebuds
Chicago Black Hawks
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1921–1933

Early life

Hay was born in Listowel, Ontario, but moved to Winnipeg, Manitoba, at an early age. He and childhood friend Dick Irvin were teammates on the Winnipeg Monarchs when they played junior.[1] On January 10, 1916, Hay enlisted with the 101st Battalion (Winnipeg Light Infantry) to serve in the First World War.[1] He followed in the footsteps of his older brother Reginald "Reg" Hay (born 1890), who was also a hockey player and a member of the 1915 Winnipeg Monarchs senior team which had captured the Allan Cup as senior amateur champions of Canada.[2] Before the Hay brothers both joined the military ranks they had played together on the Monarchs in the Division A of the Manitoba Hockey League during the 1915–16 season. Hay arrived in England in July 1916, and on September 2 that year was in France. At that time the 101st Battalion was broken up, and he transferred to the 17th Reserve Battalion and then the Canadian Army Service Corps. While overseas Hay contracted the Spanish flu, but returned to Canada by May 1919.[3]

Playing career

Returning from the war, Hay settled in Regina, Saskatchewan and played two seasons with the Regina Victorias of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League between 1919 and 1921.[4] He then joined the Regina Capitals and began his professional career in the WCHL. In four years in Regina, he was named a league First-Team All-Star three times.[4] Hay remained with the team after it relocated to become the Portland Rosebuds in 1925,[5] and was named an All-Star for the fourth time in 1925–26.[4] When the league collapsed in 1926, the Rosebuds were sold in their entirety to the NHL and became the Chicago Black Hawks.[6]

Hay joined the team in Chicago for the 1926–27 season, and on November 17, 1926, scored the first goal in the history of the Black Hawks.[5] He completed the season in Chicago but was traded, along with Percy Traub, to the Detroit Cougars in exchange for $15,000 after its conclusion.[7] Hay played his finest NHL season in 1927–28, leading the team in goals and points,[8] and was named to an unofficial all-star team by the league's managers.[4] He played seven seasons in the Detroit organization, and retired one game into the 1933–34 season to take over as the coach of their minor league team, the Detroit Olympics, whom he spent three years with before leaving the game.[5]

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958,[4] and has been honoured by the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.[8] He was considered one of the best stickhandlers in the game during his time in the NHL.[5][8]

Off the ice

Following his hockey career, Hay worked in insurance until the outbreak of World War II. He served as a flight-lieutenant and instructor with the Royal Canadian Air Force until the conclusion of the war, after which he returned to his insurance business. He retired in 1965 and lived quietly until his death in Stratford, Ontario, ten years later.[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1914–15 Winnipeg Strathconas MIHL 7404— —————
1915–16 Winnipeg Monarchs MHL Div. A 7641010 22244
1916–17 Winnipeg Monarchs WpgJrHL ————— —————
1919–20 Regina Victorias SSHL 1283115 21010
1920–21 Regina Victorias SSHL 1694137 45272
1921–22 Regina Capitals WCHL 252111329 60114
1922–23 Regina Capitals WCHL 302883612 21010
1923–24 Regina Capitals WCHL 252011318 21120
1924–25 Regina Capitals WCHL 20166226 —————
1925–26 Portland Rosebuds WHL 301912314 —————
1926–27 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3514102312 21012
1927–28 Detroit Cougars NHL 4222133522 —————
1928–29 Detroit Cougars NHL 411181914 21010
1929–30 Detroit Cougars NHL 441815338 —————
1930–31 Detroit Falcons NHL 448101822 —————
1931–32 Detroit Olympics IHL 481091926 60002
1932–33 Detroit Red Wings NHL 341679 40110
1933–34 Detroit Olympics IHL 40000 —————
WCHL totals 1301044815239 102244
NHL totals 240746213687 82132

References
  1. MacLeod, Alan Livingstone (2018). From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War. Victoria, British Columbia: Heritage House. p. 147. ISBN 978-1-77203-268-0.
  2. "Monarchs Will Again Be Strong For Local Senior Hockey Series", The Winnipeg Tribune, Dec. 25, 1915 (pg. 1)
  3. MacLeod. From Rinks to Regiments. p. 148.
  4. "George Hay biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  5. Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. p. 338. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
  6. "West unable to withstand financial pressure in effort to retain hockey". Calgary Herald. 1926-05-06. p. 17.
  7. "George Hay statistics". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
  8. "George William Hay biography". Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2010-07-10.
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