Joseph Kelly Ironstone (June 28, 1898 – December 15, 1972) was a 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. Ironstone was a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

who played professionally from 1921 until 1936. He played two 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

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

and

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 ...

, but played mostly in the minor professional leagues. Ironstone was the second

Jew 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""Th ...

to play in the NHL.

Playing career

Born in

Sudbury Sudbury may refer to: Places Australia * Sudbury Reef, Queensland Canada * Greater Sudbury, Ontario (official name; the city continues to be known simply as Sudbury for most purposes) ** Sudbury (electoral district), one of the city's federal e ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

, Ironstone was Jewish.The Big Book of Hockey for Kids – Eric Zweig – Google Books
/ref> He first played senior hockey in 1921 with the

Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...

of the

Northern Ontario Hockey Association The Northern Ontario Hockey Association (NOHA) is an ice hockey governing body for minor, junior and senior ice hockey. The NOHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation and Hockey Canada. The major league run by the NOHA is the Northern ...

. He played three seasons with the Wolves before joining 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 ...

for the 1924–25 season. Ironstone was the back-up goaltender for the season, and did not see game action. In 1925–26, Ironstone played for the new

expansion team of the NHL, but was mostly the backup. He played in one game and allowed 3 goals in 40 minutes, but did not get the decision, becoming the second Jewish player to play in the NHL, after Sam Rothschild; it was his only game of the season. He joined the

Niagara Falls Cataracts Niagara may refer to: Geography Niagara Falls and nearby places In both the United States and Canada *Niagara Falls, the famous waterfalls in the Niagara River *Niagara River, part of the U.S.–Canada border *Niagara Escarpment, the cliff ov ...

Canadian Professional Hockey League The Canadian Professional Hockey League, also known as Can-Pro, was a minor professional hockey league founded in 1926. After three seasons, it became the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1929. The Can-Pro name was then given to a new league o ...

(Can-Pro) minor league team for the 1926–27 season. The following season, Ironstone was traded to the

Toronto Ravinas The Toronto Ravinas / Toronto Falcons were a minor league professional hockey team that competed in the Canadian Professional Hockey League in the 1927–28 season. The team was a minor league affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

, where he was called up to play for the

of the NHL. He played one game, a 0–0 tie that went to 10 minutes of overtime. Ironstone asked for double the contract rate for the game, an offer which was accepted by the Leafs' owner

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

. However, Smythe informed Ironstone that would be the last game he would ever play in the NHL, which ultimately was the case. He returned to the Can-Pro league in 1928–29, and played for numerous teams until 1931, when he retired from hockey temporarily. He returned to hockey when he moved back to Sudbury in 1933, playing for the Sudbury Legionnaires, Falconbridge Falcons, and finally, the Sudbury Wolves, returning to the team he started professionally with.

Personal life

After leaving ice hockey, Ironstone returned to the family business, a men's wear store started by his father Hyman. He was an avid curler and an original member of the Sudbury Granite Club. He died on December 12, 1972, in Sudbury at the age of 74.

In media

Ironstone was the subject of a

radio play Radio drama (or audio drama, audio play, radio play, radio theatre, or audio theatre) is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine t ...

written by

Paul Davies Paul Charles William Davies (born 22 April 1946) is an English physicist, writer and broadcaster, a professor in Arizona State University and Director of BEYOND: Center for Fundamental Concepts in Science. He is affiliated with the Institute ...

in 1996.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ironstone, Joe 1898 births 1972 deaths Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Guelph Maple Leafs (ice hockey) players Jewish Canadian sportspeople Kitchener Flying Dutchmen players London Panthers players New York Americans players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Niagara Falls Cataracts players Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury Syracuse Stars (IHL) players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Ravinas players