John Arthur "Long John" Sorrell (January 16, 1906 — November 30, 1984) 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 ...

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

in the

NHL 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 ...

playing for the Detroit Falcons (later renamed the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

) and 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 ...

between 1930 and 1941. He later played for and coached the

Indianapolis Capitals The Indianapolis Capitals were an American Hockey League professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana, from 1939 to 1952. The Capitals were a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. Indianapolis won the Calder Cup in 1942 and 1950. ...

of the AHL, and retired in 1945. With the Red Wings he won 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 ...

twice, in

1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...

and

1937 Events January * January 1 – Anastasio Somoza García becomes President of Nicaragua. * January 5 – Water levels begin to rise in the Ohio River in the United States, leading to the Ohio River flood of 1937, which continues into Fe ...

Personal life

Sorrell was born in Chesterville, Ontario on 16 January 1906 to John Sorrell (1880-1931) and Mary Lafleur (1881-1925). On 3 May 1928, John married his first wife, Florence Margaret Einberger, daughter of Martin Einberger and Mary Rappel, in Dundas County, Ontario, Canada. Florence died in 1943. On 8 September 1945, John married his second wife Gladys Maxine Galloway, daughter of Robert J. Galloway and Mellie V. Peacock, in

Steuben County, Indiana Steuben County is a county in the northeast corner of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census the county population was 34,185. The county seat (and only incorporated city) is Angola. Steuben County comprises the Angola, ...

. Sorrell died on 30 November 1984 at his home in

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

. His cause of death was a heart attack due to lung cancer.Certificate of Death for John A. Sorrell, 30 November 1984, Indiana State Board of Health. ''Indiana, Death Certificates, 1899-2011'', Ancestry.com

Playing career

Sorrell played junior hockey for three different teams in three different leagues. In 1926 he was a young

for the Chesterville Colts of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

and showed great promise. He was quickly noticed and in 1927 played forty games for the Quebec Beavers of the CAHL before being called up into the

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 ...

the following year for the

Windsor Bulldogs The Windsor Bulldogs are a defunct semi-professional and amateur senior ice hockey team. The team played in the City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada and participated in the International Hockey League and the OHA Senior A Hockey League prior to th ...

. He was finally noticed by the

when the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

signed him. He never played a game for Montreal, but was instead traded to the

London Tecumsehs The historic London Tecumsehs were a professional men's baseball team in London, Ontario, Canada, that were first formed in 1868 — a merger of the Forest City Base Ball Club and the London Base Ball Club — which, according to George Railton's ...

of the IHL on November 5, 1929. Sorrell continued to show promise and helped the Tecumsehs to a third-place finish in the IHL. On November 10, 1930 he was traded to the Detroit Falcons, and finally found a place to call home for more than a single season. He would spend the next nine years with the Detroit club helping the team to win consecutive

s in

and

. On February 13, 1938, Sorrell was traded for

Hap Emms Leighton Alfred Emms (January 12, 1905 – October 23, 1988) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, team owner, and general manager, during nearly 60 years in hockey. Emms played 17 seasons of professional hockey as a left winger and a defenc ...

to the

where he would spend the rest of his NHL career. He retired from the league in the 1940–41 season, spending his remaining playing days in the AHL with both the

Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears are a professional ice hockey team based in Hershey, Pennsylvania, a town located 14 miles east of the state capital of Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the c ...

and

, turning to coaching in the 1945–46 season.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

*Won the Stanley Cups two times with the Detroit Red Wings (1936 & 1937)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sorrell, John 1906 births 1984 deaths Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey left wingers Detroit Falcons players Detroit Olympics (IHL) players Detroit Red Wings players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from Ontario Indianapolis Capitals players London Panthers players New York Americans players People from the United Counties of Stormont, Dundas and Glengarry Pittsburgh Hornets players Quebec Castors players Stanley Cup champions Windsor Bulldogs (CPHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States