Eric Robinson "Cowboy" Pettinger (December 14, 1904 in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 2011 ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

— December 24, 1968) was a British-born Canadian 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 ...

player. Pettinger played 98 games 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) with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

between 1928 and 1931. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1923 to 1937, was spent in various minor leagues. Pettinger is the brother of fellow NHL player

Gord Pettinger Gordon Robinson "Gosh" Pettinger (November 11, 1911 – May 24, 1986) was a British-born Canadian professional ice hockey centre. Pettinger was born in Harrogate, England and raised in Regina, Saskatchewan. He played eight seasons in the Nationa ...

Playing career

As a child, Pettinger's family moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 C ...

. Pettinger started junior hockey in the Southern Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * R ...

, competing in three

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

finals. In 1922, Pettinger joined the

Regina Victorias The Regina Victorias (often shortened to ''Vics'') were two ice hockey teams, one at the senior level (1914–1938) and one at the junior level (1917–1921), based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The senior Vics played in the Allan Cup finals three tim ...

of the Southern Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, playing there for five seasons. With the Victorias, Pettinger competed in two

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

finals before joining the Manitoba-Thunder Bay Hockey League's Fort William Forts in 1926. After one season in Fort William, Pettinger signed as a free agent with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

. Pettinger never joined the Rangers, as his rights were traded a month later to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then two months later traded to Boston, all while playing in Fort William. Pettinger joined the Bruins for the 1928-29 season, only to be traded once again, this time to the Maple Leafs. Pettinger played one season with the Leafs before being traded to Ottawa as part of the

King Clancy Francis Michael "King" Clancy (February 25, 1902 – November 8, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto ...

deal. Pettinger played in only 13 games with the Senators before he was dealt to the International Hockey League's

London Panthers The London Panthers were a professional ice hockey team based in London, Ontario, Canada that existed from 1926 until 1936. The team played in the Canadian Professional Hockey League from 1926, joining the International Hockey League (1929–1936), ...

. Pettinger would not return to the NHL, playing with London for five years, before stints with the International-American Hockey League (IAHL)'s Cleveland Barons, the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The firs ...

Portland Buckaroos The Portland Buckaroos was the name of several professional ice hockey teams based in Portland, Oregon. PCHL/NWHL era (1928–1941) The first incarnation of Portland Buckaroos played their home games at the Portland Ice Arena. The Buckaroos ini ...

and the IAHL's

Pittsburgh Hornets The Pittsburgh Hornets were a minor-league professional men's ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Contrary to popular belief, the Pittsburgh Hornets did not evolve from the International Hockey League's Pittsburgh Shamrocks. The ...

. When 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 ...

was redone during the 1957–58 season, Pettinger's name was added to the Stanley Cup as a 1929 Boston Bruin, despite being ineligible. Pettinger was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs the day Boston won the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

*IHL First All-Star Team (1936) Source: Hockey Hall of Fame

Transactions

*September, 1927 - Signed as a free agent by New York Rangers *October, 1927 - Rights traded to Toronto by New York Rangers for the rights to Yip Foster *December 21, 1927 - Rights traded to Boston by Toronto with $15,000 for

Jimmy Herbert James William "Sailor" Herbert (also known as Herberts) (October 31, 1897 - December 5, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and referee. Herbert played the centre forward position for six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

*January 10, 1929 - Traded to Toronto by Boston with the rights to Hugh Plaxton for the rights to George Owen *October 11, 1930 - Traded to Ottawa by Toronto with Art Smith and $35,000 for

*October 31, 1932 - Traded to London (IHL) by Ottawa for cash Source: Hockey Hall of Fame

External links