Joseph Charles Jerwa (22 January 1907 – 11 April 1983) was a Polish-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 ...

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

who played 8 seasons 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 ...

for 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 ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

between 1930 and 1939. He was the first Polish-born player in NHL history.

Early life

Jerwa was born in

Warsaw Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is officia ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

) on 22 January 1907 to Frank and Anna Jerwa. He had three brothers,

Frank Frank or Franks may refer to: People * Frank (given name) * Frank (surname) * Franks (surname) * Franks, a medieval Germanic people * Frank, a term in the Muslim world for all western Europeans, particularly during the Crusades - see Farang Curr ...

, Art, and Steve, all of whom later played hockey, and a sister, Josephine. The family moved to

Bankhead, Alberta Bankhead, Alberta was a small coal mining town that existed in the early twentieth century, in Banff National Park, near the town of Banff, Alberta. The mine was located at Cascade Mountain, which contains high grade anthracite coal deposits. ...

in 1911, then to nearby Canmore in 1922. He and his brother Frank played for both the Canmore Miners junior and senior teams during the late 1920s.

Career

Jerwa's hockey career started during the 1928-29 season with the

Vancouver Lions Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the city, up from 631,486 in 2016. The ...

in the PCHL. He played 77 games with them between 1928 and 1930 before being traded to the

(NYR) along with Red Beattie for $25,000. He played 9 games for the Rangers'

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an Sports Car Club of America, SCCA/Canadian Auto Sport Clubs, CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1987. History Can-Am started out as a race series for group 7 sports racers with two r ...

affiliate, the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

, before being recalled in December 1930. His NHL debut was on March 17, 1931, with NYR against 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 ...

, wherein he earned 1 assist with a pass to

Butch Keeling Melville Sydney "Butch" Keeling (August 10, 1905 – November 12, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. A left winger, he played 12 National Hockey League seasons with the Toronto St. Patricks/Toronto Maple Leafs and the New York Ra ...

during the second period. He played 37 games for NYR during the 1930-31 season. In 1931, he was traded from NYR to the

in exchange for

Dutch Gainor James Norman "Norm, Dutch" Gainor (April 10, 1904 – January 16, 1962) was a Canadian ice hockey professional forward. Gainor was most notable for playing on the Boston Bruins' 1928 "Dynamite Line" with Cooney Weiland and Dit Clapper, one of t ...

. The following year, the Bruins traded Red Beattie for Jerwa's brother Frank. Between 1931 and 1935, he played 172 games for the

Boston Cubs The Boston Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts from 1926 until 1936, playing in the Canadian–American Hockey League (CAHL). History The club was known as the Boston Tigers from 1926 until 1931. The team then ...

. In 1935, after 39 games with the Bruins, he was traded along with

Nels Stewart Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart (December 29, 1899 – August 21, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League. He is an Honoure ...

to the

(NYA). Though he briefly returned to the Bruins in 1936 due to an incomplete contract, he was sent back to the NYA on loan for Al Shields and future considerations for

Terry Reardon Terrance George Reardon (April 6, 1919 – February 14, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey centre and coach. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens between 1939 and 1947 Reardon played 197 games in ...

and Tom Cooper in 1937. He played 175 games with the NYA until being traded to the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

in 1939, where he played 147 games. He retired in 1942 after being advised by doctors to quit playing due to irreparable tears in his groin muscles. Just weeks before his retirement was announced, he was selected to play in the second-ever AHL All-Star Game on the western team.

Later life

Following his retirement from hockey, Jerwa settled in Vancover and worked as a

longshoreman A stevedore (), also called a longshoreman, a docker or a dockworker, is a waterfront manual laborer who is involved in loading and unloading ships, trucks, trains or airplanes. After the shipping container revolution of the 1960s, the number o ...

. In 1932, during his time with the Cubs, he married Ethel Melria "Millie" Haynes in

Montréal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

and the couple had two children. Jerwa died on April 11, 1983, aged 75, in

Coquitlam Coquitlam ( ) is a city in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly suburban, Coquitlam is the List of cities in British Columbia, sixth-largest city in the province, with a population of 148,625 in 2021, and one of the 21 municipa ...

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, ...

. He was survived by his wife, children Jerry and Joan, and 5 grandchildren. Millie died in 1993.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jerwa, Joe 1907 births 1983 deaths Boston Bruins players Boston Cubs players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Ice hockey people from Alberta Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada New York Americans players New York Rangers players People from Canmore, Alberta People from Warsaw Governorate Polish ice hockey players Polish ice hockey defencemen Sportspeople from Warsaw Vancouver Lions players