Malcolm Kenneth Gordon (January 10, 1868 – November 13, 1964) was an

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 ...

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

at St. Paul's School from 1888 to 1917. Gordon was born in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. In 1882, he arrived at St. Paul's in

Concord, New Hampshire Concord () is the capital city of the U.S. state of New Hampshire and the seat of Merrimack County. As of the 2020 census the population was 43,976, making it the third largest city in New Hampshire behind Manchester and Nashua. The village of ...

. Hockey had been earlier introduced at St. Paul's from Canada, but Gordon is regarded as the individual who helped formalize the game by putting down on paper what is regarded as the first set of rules in the United States. This occurred in 1885; in 1888 he was made hockey coach. Play at St. Paul's was strictly

intramural Intramural sports are recreational sports organized within a particular institution, usually an educational institution, or a set geographic region. The term, which is chiefly North American, derives from the Latin words ''intra muros'' meaning " ...

, but in 1896 Gordon took the first St. Paul's team to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to play at the old

St. Nicholas Rink The St. Nicholas Rink, also called the St. Nicholas Arena, was an indoor ice rink, and later a boxing arena in New York City from 1896 until 1962. The rink was one of the earliest indoor ice rinks made of mechanically frozen ice in North America ( ...

. In that first game the St. Paul's alumni defeated Gordon's team 3-1. His coaching career extended until 1917, during which time he developed numerous players, including

Hobey Baker Hobart Amory Hare "Hobey" Baker (January 15, 1892 – December 21, 1918) was an American amateur athlete of the early twentieth century. Considered the first American star in ice hockey by the Hockey Hall of Fame, he was also an accomplished Am ...

, for the Eastern colleges. It was such former players who provided the financial backing for the St. Nicholas Rink. Gordon was head of the history department at St. Paul's and in addition to hockey, also coached football and cricket as well. After

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

service he was in the real estate business until 1927, when he founded the Malcolm K. Gordon School at Garrison, New York. He retired as headmaster in 1952, succeeded by his son David. Gordon continued to teach history at the school until 1963. He died the following year in

Garrison, New York Garrison is a hamlet in Putnam County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Philipstown, on the east side of the Hudson River, across from the United States Military Academy at West Point. The Garrison Metro-North Railroad ...

, at age 96. In 1973, he was inducted in the first class (1973) to the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

. New York Times
"When Malcolm Kenneth Gordon, 87 - year — old master of history at the Malcolm Gordon School here, talks about hockey, he really dips into the past. "

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gordon, Malcolm 1868 births 1964 deaths High school ice hockey coaches in the United States St. Paul's School (New Hampshire) alumni United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees