Joseph Francis Xavier Sheppard (October 5, 1905 — February 20, 1996) 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 ...

player who played eight 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 ...

with the Detroit Cougars during the 1927–28 season. Born in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, but grew up in

Selkirk, Manitoba Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located on the Red River about northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg. It has a population of 10,504 as of the 2021 census. The mainstays of the local economy are tourism, ...

. He was the younger brother of

Johnny Sheppard Joseph John Oswald "Jake" Sheppard (July 27, 1902 – August 28, 1969) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played nine seasons in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Cougars, New York Americans, Boston Bruins and Chicag ...

. The obituary in the Vancouver Sun issue date February 22, 1996 states he was born on October 5, 1905, not October 19, 1905.

Playing career

Sheppard mainly played in the American Hockey Association (AHA), spending six seasons there between 1926 and 1932. He signed with the Detroit Cougars on September 9, 1927. His NHL debut came on November 15 against the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...

, and he scored his first goal in that game. Sheppard played eight games with Detroit before being traded to the

St. Paul Saints The St. Paul Saints are a Minor League Baseball team of the International League and the Triple-A affiliate of the Minnesota Twins. They are located in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and have played their home games at CHS Field since 2015. They prev ...

of the AHA on December 19, 1927. After his time in the AHA Sheppard would play five seasons split between the

Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League (WHL) in 1925 and disbanded in 1926. The WCHL's Victoria C ...

North West Hockey League The North West Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed from 1933 to 1936. It was formed from the Calgary and Vancouver franchises of the Western Canada Hockey League and ...

, and

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 ...

, retiring in 1937.

Post-playing career

After his hockey career, Sheppard worked as a

real estate agent A real estate agent or real estate broker is a person who represents sellers or buyers of real estate or real property. While a broker may work independently, an agent usually works under a licensed broker to represent clients. Brokers and agen ...

, however soon after the death of his wife in 1953, he quit his job and became homeless and addicted to

alcohol Alcohol most commonly refers to: * Alcohol (chemistry), an organic compound in which a hydroxyl group is bound to a carbon atom * Alcohol (drug), an intoxicant found in alcoholic drinks Alcohol may also refer to: Chemicals * Ethanol, one of sev ...

, "bounc ngin and out of beer parlours and construction camps". In 1966, he was arrested and given a suspended sentence for

begging Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...

on the streets of Vancouver. One Sheppard's sons, James Frank (Jim) Sheppard (born 1939) was the former

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of machinery company

Finning Finning is a Canadian industrial equipment dealer specializing in Caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, t ...

, and forestry product company

Canfor Canfor Corporation is an integrated forest products company based in Vancouver, British Columbia. History The company traces its roots to the late 1930s when brothers-in-law John G. Prentice and L.L.G. "Poldi" Bentley (surname changed from Bloch ...

. He was also an economic advisor to

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

Premiers

Gordon Campbell Gordon Muir Campbell, (born January 12, 1948) is a retired Canadian diplomat and politician who was the 35th mayor of Vancouver from 1986 to 1993 and the 34th premier of British Columbia from 2001 to 2011. He was the leader of the British Co ...

and

Christy Clark Christina Joan Clark (born October 29, 1965) is a former Canadian politician who was the 35th premier of British Columbia (BC), from 2011 to 2017. Clark was the second woman to be premier of BC, after Rita Johnston in 1991, and the first female ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

Citations

Bibliography

* *

External links

* 1905 births 1996 deaths Canadian ice hockey left wingers Detroit Cougars players Detroit Greyhounds players Edmonton Eskimos (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Manitoba People from Selkirk, Manitoba St. Paul Saints (AHA) players Tulsa Oilers (AHA) players Vancouver Lions players {{Canada-icehockey-winger-1900s-stub