Ludic Albert Check (May 22, 1918 – May 11, 2009) was a

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the particular knowledge and skil ...

hockey player who played for 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

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 ...

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 ...

. After several years of hockey in

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan ( ; ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada, western Canada, bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and on t ...

and

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, Check was signed by 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 ...

after a season playing with the

Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

in 1943. In his first NHL season, he played only one professional game, with the Red Wings in 1944. Check was then loaned to the Black Hawks, where he played 26 games in his final NHL season. The Canadiens then renewed his contract and sent him to the Ottawa "Senior" Senators of the

, where he spent the last six seasons of his career. Check was a part of two

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are the ...

-winning teams, in 1944 and 1949, and became a sales representative in later life. He died on May 11, 2009, in Ottawa, Ontario, at the age of 90.

Early life

Check was born in

Brandon, Manitoba Brandon () is the second-largest city in the province of Manitoba, Canada. It is located in the southwestern corner of the province on the banks of the Assiniboine River, approximately west of the provincial capital, Winnipeg, and east of the ...

, on May 22, 1918. Alongside Frank Stahan, Check played two seasons from 1936 through 1938 with the Brandon Wheat Kings of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

. He played two seasons for the Regina Aces (later renamed the Regina Vic-Aces) of the

Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League (SSHL) was a senior amateur ice hockey league that operated in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan on-and-off from 1938 to 1971. History Before the 1938–39 season there were Northern and Southern leagues in ...

from 1938 through 1940 before deciding to continue his career at the professional level. At the peak of his career, Check stood five feet, ten inches tall and weighed 165 pounds.

Hockey career

After these teams Check, a left winger, spent a season with the New York Rovers of the

Eastern Amateur Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

. Although the team finished last, he nevertheless was responsible for 21 goals and 20 assists. This was followed by a year with the Sydney Millionaires of the Cape Breton Senior Hockey League, producing 29 goals and 22 assists. During the 1942–1943 season, Check was signed by the

, although he continued to play for the

Quebec Aces The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec. History The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces stan ...

of the

through 1944, scoring for them a total of 60 goals and 40 assists. His only NHL game during this period was played with the

on March 11, 1944, when the Canadiens provided him as an emergency injury replacement, and he did not score any points. Check did, however, win his first

while playing with the Aces, defeating the Port Arthur Shipbuilders in

1944 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 2 – WWII: ** Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command French Army B, part of the Sixth United States Army Group in Nor ...

. For the 1944-1945 season, he was loaned to the

, playing 26 games and scoring six goals and two assists. Check spent the rest of his career with the Ottawa "Senior" Senators of the QSHL, after having his contract re-purchased by the Canadiens and being loaned out. He competed in the Allan Cup twice more. In

1948 Events January * January 1 ** The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is inaugurated. ** The Constitution of New Jersey (later subject to amendment) goes into effect. ** The railways of Britain are nationalized, to form British ...

his team lost to the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

, but captured the championship in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

after facing off against the

Regina Capitals The Regina Capitals were a professional ice hockey team originally based in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL), founded in 1921. Western Canada Hockey League Capitals (1921–1926) 1921 was the Regina Cap ...

. In six seasons with the Senators, he scored a total of 81 goals and 84 assists, placing him among the top ten league scorers four times. He retired after the 1950–1951 season.

Later life

After his hockey career, Check worked as a sales representative for the

Hiram Walker Hiram Walker (July 4, 1816 – January 12, 1899) was an American entrepreneur and founder of the Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd. distillery in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Walker was born in East Douglas, Massachusetts, and moved to Detroit in 1838. He p ...

distillery for over 30 years. He kept many friends from his hockey days in his later years, including

Leo Gravelle Joseph Léo Gérard Gravelle (June 10, 1925 – October 30, 2013) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 223 games in the National Hockey League between 1946 and 1951. He played with the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens ...

, Emile Dagenais, Billy Robinson, Eddie Emberg and Larry Regan. Check died on May 11, 2009 at the age of 90 in

Ottawa Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...

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 ...

. At the time of his death, he was one of the last surviving players from Ottawa's last Allan Cup championship team, the Senior Senators of 1949.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Check, Lude 1918 births 2009 deaths Brandon Wheat Kings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings players New York Rovers players Ottawa Senators (QSHL) players Quebec Aces (QSHL) players Ice hockey people from Brandon, Manitoba