Sidney Gerald Abel (February 22, 1918February 8, 2000) was a Canadian

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably 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 was a member of three

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 ...

-winning teams in

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

, and

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

. In 2017 Abel was named one of the '

100 Greatest NHL Players In 2017, the National Hockey League commemorated its 100th anniversary with a list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. The list was made through voting compiled by a panel of 58 people, including media members, NHL alumni and NHL executives.Greg Wys ...

' in history.

Playing career

Born in Melville, Saskatchewan, "Old Bootnose", as he was known, Abel joined the Red Wings in

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The Constitution of Estonia#Third Constitution (de facto 1938–1940, de jure 1938–1992), new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the a ...

after playing junior hockey with the Flin Flon Bombers. He split the next two seasons between Detroit and their affiliates in the International-American Hockey League before becoming a full-time player in

1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January *January ...

. Abel was named captain of the Red Wings in

1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in wh ...

. In 1943, Abel left the Red Wings to serve with the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. During this time he skated with the RCAF team in Montreal. Abel was demobilized late in the 1946 season, regaining his team captaincy, just in time for the playoffs. In

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

, Abel and Ted Lindsay were teamed up with rookie right winger Gordie Howe as a forward line by Red Wings' coach

Jack Adams John James Adams (June 14, 1894 – May 1, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League and Pacific Coast Hockey Association. He played for the Toronto Arenas, Vancouver Millionaire ...

. While Abel's effectiveness late that season and in the playoffs was limited by an attack of pleurisy, the line paid immediate dividends, turning Lindsay into a star and leading the team to a playoff berth. The following season, Lindsay, Abel and Howe finished 1-3-4 in team scoring, while leading the Red Wings to the

Stanley Cup Finals The Stanley Cup Finals in ice hockey (also known as the Stanley Cup Final among various media, french: Finale de la Coupe Stanley) is the National Hockey League's (NHL) championship series to determine the winner of the Stanley Cup, North America ...

. By the 1949 season, the newly dubbed " Production Line" led the Wings to the first of seven consecutive regular season first-place finishes, an unsurpassed NHL record, hampered only by serious injuries that cost Howe and Lindsay much of the season. Abel was tied with Lindsay for third in NHL scoring while leading the league in goals and recording career highs in goals and assists, and was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league's Most Valuable Player, as well as being named to the First All-Star team. The next three seasons saw Abel lead the Production Line to surpass any other forward line in points, and in 1950 season Lindsay, Abel and Howe finished 1-2-3 in league scoring, equalling the feat of the famed "Kraut Line" of the Boston Bruins from 1939 to 1940. Abel repeated his first All-Star team honour in 1950 en route to playing for his second Stanley Cup champion, and was named Second Team All-Star in 1951. Abel was traded from the Red Wings to the Black Hawks for cash in

, and was named coach of the team. He served as player-coach for the next two seasons, and was the last full-time player-head coach in NHL history. Though his No. 12 was honoured by the Wings, Abel wore 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19 and 20 throughout his career. Most of those numbers came during his first two seasons, where he split time between the Red Wings and the minors, before settling on number 12. He wore 9 during his return at the end of the 1945–46 season, as

Joe Carveth Joseph Gordon Carveth (March 21, 1918 – August 15, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens, and Detroit Red Wings between 1940 and 1951. He was born in Regina, ...

had worn 12 during Abel's military service, and Abel regained his familiar number when Carveth was traded to the Boston Bruins.

Coaching

Abel was the head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks for two seasons from 1952–53 to 1953–54. He returned to the Red Wings in 1957–58 and served as Detroit's Head Coach through the 1969–70 season. Abel was the Red Wings General Manager from April 1962 until January 1971. Abel was named General Manager of the expansion Kansas City Scouts for the 1974–75 season and served through the 1975–76 season until the franchise relocated to Denver to become the

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...

for the 1976–77 season. Abel also acted is interim Head Coach for the Kansas City Scouts for 3 games during the 1976 season. In the 1970s and 1980s, Abel worked as a

colour commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and the ...

on Red Wings radio and television broadcasts.

Legacy

Sid Abel was elected to the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

in 1969. In 1998, he was ranked number 85 on ''The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. Red Wings retired Banners

Abel's older brother, George was a Canadian Olympic ice hockey player. In Olympic competition at Oslo, Norway, he scored the winning goal in the final game, securing the only Canadian gold medal of the Olympics. Sid's son

Gerry Gerry is both a surname and a masculine or feminine given name. As a given name, it is often a short form (hypocorism) of Gerard, Gerald or Geraldine. Notable people with the name include: Surname *Elbridge Gerry (1744–1814), fifth US vice presi ...

also briefly played in the NHL, and his grandson

Brent Johnson Brent Spencer Johnson (born March 12, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Blues, Phoenix Coyotes, Washington Capitals, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is curr ...

is a goaltender who last played for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Sid's son-in-law Bob Johnson was also a goaltender in the NHL. Abel died on February 8, 2000, fourteen days away from his 82nd birthday.

Awards and achievements

* 2-time NHL first team All-Star (1949, 1950) * 2-time NHL second team All-Star (1942, 1951) * 3-time

champion (1943,

) * Hart Memorial Trophy (1949) * Detroit Red Wings #12 retired on April 29, 1995 * In January 2017, Abel was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Career statistics

Champion.

Coaching record

References

* Carroll, M. R. (2001). ''The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey''. Vancouver: Greystone Press. * Diamond, Dan and Eric Zweig, eds (2003). ''Hockey's Glory Days: the 50s and 60s''. Kansas City: Andrew McMeel. * Fischler, Stan (2002). ''Detroit Red Wings: Greatest Moments and Players''. Sports Publishing Co. *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Sid 1918 births 2000 deaths Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks coaches Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings announcers Detroit Red Wings captains Detroit Red Wings coaches Detroit Red Wings general managers Detroit Red Wings players Hart Memorial Trophy winners Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Sportspeople from Melville, Saskatchewan Kansas City Scouts Kansas City Scouts coaches National Hockey League broadcasters National Hockey League players with retired numbers Pittsburgh Hornets players St. Louis Blues coaches Stanley Cup champions Ice hockey player-coaches Canadian ice hockey coaches Royal Canadian Air Force personnel of World War II