Johannes “Johnny” Gottselig (russian: Иван Гоцелиг) (June 24, 1905 – May 15, 1986) was a 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 h ...

left winger who played 16 seasons for the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

of 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) between 1928 and 1945. He was the second player born in the Russian Empire to play in the NHL.

Emil Iverson Emil Waldemar Iverson (November 2, 1892February 21, 1960) was a Danish-American ice hockey player and coach, and an anthropologist. The Minnesota Golden Gophers ice hockey team of the University of Minnesota won seven national championships whil ...

was the first European-born Chicago Blackhawks head coach in 1932 (Copenhagen, Denmark) and John became the second approximately 15 years later. He was the second European-born captain of a cup-winning team in the league's history (Scotland-born Charlie Gardiner was the first in 1934). He won two Stanley Cups in his playing career: in 1934, and 1938 (as captain). He was also with Chicago in 1961, as Director of Public Relations, when the Black Hawks won their third Stanley Cup. Gottselig was included on the team, but his name was not engraved onto the Stanley Cup.

Background

Gottselig was born along the banks of Dnieper River in a tiny German Catholic village of Klosterdorf in the Swedish district in the

Kherson Governorate The Kherson Governorate (1802–1922; russian: Херсонская губерния, translit.: ''Khersonskaya guberniya''; uk, Херсонська губернія, translit=Khersonska huberniia), was an administrative territorial unit (als ...

of the

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. ...

and emigrated to Canada the same year. He grew up in

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the 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 census, Regina had a city populatio ...

. In later years, he would say he was from the better-known city of Odessa which was the largest centre in the general vicinity of his birthplace. His parents were Albert Gottselig and Margarethe Weber.

Career

He played junior hockey 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 * ...

before joining Chicago. Gottselig's entire NHL career was with Chicago, playing 589 career NHL games, scoring 176 goals and 195 assists for 371 points. After his hockey playing career was finished, he became the team's head coach. After coaching, he stayed on as the team's Director of Public Relations. Gottselig also served for several years as a manager of women's baseball teams in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. He guided the

Racine Belles The Racine Belles were one of the original teams of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing from through out of Racine, Wisconsin. The Belles won the league's first championship. The team played its home games at Horlick Fi ...

in 1943–1944, the

Peoria Redwings The Peoria Redwings was a women's professional baseball team who joined the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League in the 1946 season and remained in the league through 1951. The team represented Peoria, Illinois, playing home games a ...

in 1947 and the

Kenosha Comets Based in Kenosha, Wisconsin, the Kenosha Comets were a women's professional baseball team that played from through in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League. The team played their home games at Kenosha's Lake Front Stadium, but l ...

in 1949–1950. He later became an executive with the Elmhurst Chicago Stone Company.

Career statistics

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gottselig, Johnny 1905 births 1986 deaths All-American Girls Professional Baseball League managers Burials at Calvary Cemetery (Evanston, Illinois) Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks announcers Chicago Blackhawks captains Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Kansas City Americans players National Hockey League broadcasters People from Kherson Oblast Regina Capitals players Regina Pats players Stanley Cup champions Emigrants from the Russian Empire to Canada