James Arthur Brooks (February 4, 1889 – January 1, 1962) was a Canadian

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 ...

goaltender. He played two games each for the

Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blueshirts, was a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They were a member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The club was founded in 1911 and began operations in 1912 ...

and the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

in the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

(NHA) and the

Toronto Arenas The Toronto Arenas or Torontos were a professional men's ice hockey team that played in the first two seasons of the National Hockey League (NHL). It was operated by the owner of the Mutual Street Arena, Arena Gardens, the Toronto Arena Company. ...

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 ...

(NHL) between 1916 and 1919. The 1918 team won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, however Brooks was released and was not a member of the winning team.

Playing career

Born in

Guelph, Ontario Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Welli ...

, Brooks played junior hockey for the Guelph Lyons of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA) in 1906–07. He turned professional with the

Duquesne Athletic Club The Duquesne Athletic Club was a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania that played for only one season in 1908–1909. It won the final championship of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL). History In 1908, the ...

of the

Western Pennsylvania Hockey League The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) was an originally amateur and later professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through 1909. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league became the pre-eminent ice hockey league in ...

in 1908–09. He moved to

Owen Sound, Ontario Owen Sound ( 2021 Census population 21,612) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The county seat of Grey County, it is located at the mouths of the Pottawatomi and Sydenham Rivers on an inlet of Georgian Bay. The primary tourist attractio ...

and played amateur hockey with the Owen Sound Seniors of the OHA until 1914, when he enlisted in the military. He left the military in 1916 and joined the

of the NHA in their 1916–17 shortened season. The following year the Blueshirts were given to the Toronto Arena Company to operate and Brooks played four games for Toronto in their Stanley Cup-winning season, although he was released from the club when the club signed

Hap Holmes Harry George "Hap" Holmes (February 21, 1888 – June 27, 1941) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. As a professional, Holmes won the Stanley Cup four times, with four teams. He tied the record of his 1914 Stanley Cup winning T ...

. Brooks was the goalie for Toronto in the first-ever NHL game, a 10–9 loss to the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

, and the following three games.Podnieks, p. 99 He retired after the season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Transactions

* November 1, 1908 – Signed as a free agent by Pittsburgh (WPHL) * January 8, 1917 – Suspended by USAHA for signing amateur contract with NY Irish Americans (AAHL). * January 30, 1917 – Signed as a free agent by Toronto (NHA). * February 11, 1917 – Claimed by Montreal Canadiens (NHA) from Toronto (NHA) in dispersal draft. * December 15, 1917 – Signed as a free agent by Toronto (NHL). Source:

References

External links

* 1889 births 1962 deaths Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Duquesne Athletic Club players Ice hockey people from Ontario Montreal Canadiens (NHA) players Sportspeople from Guelph Toronto Arenas players Toronto Blueshirts players {{Canada-icehockey-goaltender-stub