Cecil Mordecai Hart (November 28, 1883 – July 16, 1940) was a

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

of 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 ...

Biography

Cecil Hart was

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, a direct descendant of Aaron Hart who was Canada's first Jewish settler, and was born in Bedford, Quebec. Hart helped lead the team to three

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 ...

s, in 1924, 1930, and 1931. He was fired after a dispute with Canadiens' owner

Léo Dandurand Joseph Viateur "Léo" Dandurand (July 9, 1889 – June 26, 1964), was a sportsman and businessman. He was the owner and coach of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). He also was an owner of race tracks and o ...

after leading the Canadiens to first place in the 1931–32 season, but after Dandurand and

Joseph Cattarinich Joseph Jean Étienne Stanislas Cattarinich (November 13, 1881 – December 7, 1938), was a Canadian professional Ice hockey player, and co-owner of horse racing tracks in Canada and the United States as well as a co-owner of the Montreal Canadien ...

sold the Canadiens to

Ernest Savard J. S. Ernest Savard (April 17, 1896 – March 12, 1971) was a Canadian businessman. He was a stockbroker and a partner at the brokerage firm of Savard & Hart in Montreal, Quebec. He was also an owner of the Montreal Canadiens and Montreal Royals s ...

and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company, the Canadiens hit bottom in 1935–36. To rebuild the team, they rehired Hart in 1936–37, but Hart would only come back if

Howie Morenz Howard William Morenz (September 21, 1902 – March 8, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Montreal Canadiens (in two stints), the Chicago Blac ...

did. A deal was arranged and with Morenz back, and despite the death of Morenz during the season, Hart managed to lead the Canadiens to first place. After that, the team eroded as age caught up with some key players. When the Canadiens were reclining near the cellar in 1938–39, Cecil resigned as coach and manager. Only eighteen other people have won multiple Stanley Cups besides Hart as a head coach, although he is not currently inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

despite being eligible. https://www.hockey-reference.com/coaches/NHL_stats.html Hart later became vice president and treasurer of the Quebec, Ontario and Vermont Baseball League also before his untimely death. Hart died after a lengthy illness in July 1940. Hart's father, David Hart, donated the

Hart Memorial Trophy The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was donat ...

in 1923. Hart was inducted into the

International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame ( he, יד לאיש הספורט היהודי, translit=Yad Le'ish HaSport HaYehudi) was opened July 7, 1981 in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around ...

in 1992.

NHL coaching record

References

1883 births 1940 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian people of German-Jewish descent Jewish Canadian sportspeople Jewish ice hockey players Montreal Canadiens coaches Montreal Canadiens executives People from Montérégie Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship-winning head coaches

Cecil Hart Cecil Mordecai Hart (November 28, 1883 – July 16, 1940) was a head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. Biography Cecil Hart was Jewish, a direct descendant of Aaron Hart who was Canada's first Jewish settler, and was born in Bedford, Queb ...

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