Albert William Suomi (October 29, 1913 – September 23, 2014) was an American

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

player, who played with the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

for the

1936–37 NHL season The 1936–37 NHL season was the 20th season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Eight teams each played 48 games. The Detroit Red Wings were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the New York Rangers three games to two in the final series. Lea ...

. Although he did not aspire to play at a professional level, Suomi nevertheless spent his young life playing hockey and was eventually scouted while playing with friends. Suomi began his career playing for the Chicago Baby Ruth team in 1934, a marketing ploy started by the company that produced the candy of the same name. In 1936, he joined a minor league team in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

and, based on his experiences with the Chicago Baby Ruth team, was deemed too professional to be eligible for the 1936 United States Olympic ice hockey team. Suomi's sole season with the National Hockey League came as a result of another marketing ploy, this time on the part of the Chicago Black Hawks. Having benched all of his Canadian players, the manager declared his intent to field a team composed entirely of American players. Suomi was selected from among a pool of novice players to join the team but, after five games, the gimmick was disbanded and replaced with professionals. Retiring from hockey in 1940, he took on a series of small jobs before opening his own hardware store in Chicago. As of 2007, Suomi was the last surviving member of the 1936–37 all-American Chicago Black Hawks team and, following the 2010 death of Louis Holmes, the oldest living former NHL player. He is also believed to be the first former NHL player to reach the age of 100.

Early life

Suomi was born to a working-class family in

Eveleth, Minnesota Eveleth is a city in St. Louis County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 3,718 at the 2010 census. U.S. Highway 53 and State Highway 37 (MN 37) are two of the main routes in Eveleth. Eveleth was the site of the conflict that resu ...

on October 29, 1913. His father was an immigrant from

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

. Although Suomi never had any serious aspirations to play professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

, he nevertheless began practicing at local rinks at an early age, focusing on his talents as a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

. As a teenager, he played at both the high school and college level. His brother, John Suomi, played minor league hockey in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

. In 1934, during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

, he and two of his friends were approached by

scout Scout may refer to: Youth movement *Scout (Scouting), a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement **Scouts (The Scout Association), section for 10-14 year olds in the United Kingdom **Scouts BSA, sectio ...

Jack Manley, who offered them a chance to play professional hockey in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

. With only one hour to catch the bus to

Minneapolis, Minnesota Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origins ...

, Suomi decided that he had nothing to lose and took his belongings in a cardboard box with him to the bus station.

Hockey career

For the 1934–35 season, Suomi was a member of the Chicago Baby Ruth team of the

United States Amateur Hockey Association The United States Amateur Hockey Association (USAHA) was an ice hockey governing body in the United States from 1920 to 1925, which operated at an amateur level. The league was filled with predominantly Canadian-born players, but struggled to ach ...

league, participating in two playoff games and scoring a total of two

goals A goal is an objective that a person or a system plans or intends to achieve. Goal may also refer to: Sport * Goal (sports), a method of scoring in many sports, or the physical structure or area where scoring occurs ** Goals, the goal frame in ...

. The team was designed as a marketing gimmick for the Curtis Candy Company, and played before all of the Chicago Black Hawk games in order to increase their attendance. While Suomi made the team, his two friends were rejected and they returned to

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. For the next season, from 1935–36, he was called to

and joined the Detroit Tool Shop of the Michigan-Ontario Hockey League. He was offered an opportunity to try out for the

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

Olympic ice hockey team for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, but his past association led him to be rejected for being too professional. He played 17 regular season games for the Detroit Tool Shop, scoring eight goals and five assists for a total of 13 points. During the regular season, he had six

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

. In addition, he played in four playoff games, scoring one assist. In 1936 Suomi, along with other MOHL players, took jobs in

Denver, Colorado Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Unlike the others, however, he received an invitation to try out for the

, which he accepted despite threats of a lawsuit from his employer. In another marketing ploy, Black Hawk owner

Frederic McLaughlin Maj. Frederic McLaughlin (27 June 1877 – 17 December 1944) was an American businessman and soldier. He was the first owner of the Chicago Black Hawks National Hockey League (NHL) ice hockey team. Born in Chicago, Illinois, McLaughlin inherited ...

had benched all the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

players on his team and declared his intentions to field a team that consisted entirely of individuals born in the United States. The 1936–37 was Suomi's sole season in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

. He played five games with the Black Hawks, but scored no points, and, after four wins and one loss, Suomi and the other Americans were let go and replaced with the professionals. According to some statistics, Suomi spent the remainder of the 1936–37 season with the Michigan-Ontario Hockey League's Detroit Pontiacs. Over the span of 20 games, he scored only two points, but spent 14 minutes in the

penalty box The penalty box or sin bin (sometimes called the bad box, or simply bin or box) is the area in ice hockey, rugby union, rugby league, roller derby and some other sports where a player sits to serve the time of a given penalty, for an offence not ...

. In a 2002 interview, however, he denied having ever played for the team. His last season in hockey was with the Chicago Hornets of the Arena Hockey League.

Later life

After the ArHL folded in 1940, Suomi began refereeing, but soon gave it up. He then worked as a welder and electrician and was not called to serve in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He later founded "Al's Hardware", eventually to be run by his children, in

Countryside, Illinois Countryside is a city in Cook County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 6,420. History The land where Countryside sits was originally inhabited by the Potawatomi Indians and later by early American pioneers in the ...

. As of 2007, he was the last surviving member of the team. Following the death of Louis Holmes in March 2010, he became the oldest living former NHL player, a title that he held until his death at the age of 100 on September 23, 2014.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Suomi, Al 1913 births 2014 deaths American centenarians American men's ice hockey left wingers American people of Finnish descent Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey players from Minnesota Sportspeople from Eveleth, Minnesota Men centenarians