Horace Merrill
Horace Jefferson Merrill (November 30, 1884[1] – December 24, 1958) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player with the Ottawa Senators in both the National Hockey Association and National Hockey League from 1912 to 1920. He won the Stanley Cup with Ottawa in 1920. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, but lived most of his life in Ottawa, Ontario. Merrill was also an accomplished canoeist, holding the Canadian title from 1907 until 1909 in the single canoe.[2]
| Horace Merrill | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
November 30, 1884 Toronto, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
December 24, 1958 (aged 74) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Ottawa Senators | ||
| Playing career | 1907–1920 | ||
Playing career
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Born in Toronto, Ontario, Merrill moved to Ottawa, Ontario at an early age. By 1907, Merrill was playing senior-level hockey with the Ottawa Seconds of the Ottawa City Hockey League. The following year he also started playing for the Ottawa Cliffsides and was a member of their Allan Cup-winning squad in 1909. By 1912, he joined the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA). He stayed with the Senators as they joined the National Hockey League in 1917, playing 9 games over 2 seasons until his retirement in 1920.
Canoeing
Merrill was an outstanding paddler in the decade 1902–1912. He was a member of the Rideau Canoe Club’s first war canoe crew in 1902.[3] Paddling for Ottawa Canoe Club (OCC) in 1904 he won the senior singles in the Canadian Canoe Association (CCA) competition. By 1906 he had switched to the New Edinburgh Canoe Club (NECC) and took second place in the senior singles at the CCA championship. In 1908 and 1909 he took the title as Canadian senior singles champion. In 1908, 1909 and 1910 he led the NECC war canoe crew to second place finishes in the half-mile Canadian championships. The crew came second in the mile race in 1908 and finished first in 1909, 1910, and 1911. In 1912 he served as rear commodore of the CCA.[4]
Personal life
Merrill retired to live and marry in Ottawa. He became the president of the Dadson-Merrill Press Company until his retirement from that business in 1945.[2] He also served as a school trustee.[2] In 1958, he suffered a stroke on an automobile trip to Florida with his wife, while driving through Cortland, New York, and was returned to Ottawa on December 19, 1958.[2] He died a week later and is buried in Ottawa at Beechwood cemetery along with numerous other Senators players.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1907–08 | Ottawa Seconds | OCHL | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1908–09 | Ottawa Cliffsides | IPAHU | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1908–09 | Ottawa Seconds | OCHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1909–10 | Ottawa Seconds | OCHL | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1909–10 | Ottawa Seconds | Al-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1910–11 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | IPAHU | 5 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1911–12 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | IPAHU | 9 | 8 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1912–13 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 10 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1913–14 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 18 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1914–15 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 20 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1915–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 24 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1916–17 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 19 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 1917–18 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHA totals | 91 | 16 | 6 | 22 | 102 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | ||||
| NHL totals | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References
- According to his gravestone
- "Ottawa Hockey Star Also Top Canoeist". The Globe and Mail. December 27, 1958. p. 22.
- Ottawa Citizen, 28 July 1902. "Canoeing"
- C. Fred Johnston, 100 Years of Champions - The Canadian Canoe Association 1900-2000. Queens University, Kingston. 2003.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database