Clarence John "Taffy" Abel (May 28, 1900 – August 1, 1964) was an American 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 hock ...

player who played 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 ...

with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

and

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 ...

between 1926 and 1934. Born in 1900 in

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is the only city in, and county seat of, Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County in the U.S. state of Michigan. With a population of 13,337 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the second-most populated ...

, United States, as a Native American

Ojibwe The Ojibwe, Ojibwa, Chippewa, or Saulteaux are an Anishinaabe people in what is currently southern Canada, the northern Midwestern United States, and Northern Plains. According to the U.S. census, in the United States Ojibwe people are one of ...

, he was forced to hide his Native American ancestry until 1939. He was a silver medalist in

ice hockey at the 1924 Winter Olympics The men's ice hockey tournament at the 1924 Winter Olympics in Chamonix, France, was the second Olympic Championship, also serving as the second World Championships. The competition was held from Monday, January 28, 1924, to Sunday, February 3 ...

and the U.S. flagbearer for those games, being the earliest known Native American to be a US Olympic flagbearer. He was a member of two

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 ...

championship teams. On November 16, 1926 with the New York Rangers he became the first United States-born Native American player to become an NHL regular. He is a member of 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 ...

Playing career

Clarence "Taffy" Abel was a silver medalist on the United States in the 1924 Olympics, serving as flagbearer for the U.S. delegation. Abel scored 15 goals for the United States in the tournament. As a member of the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the CHL during the 1925–26 season, Abel was named to the CHL's First All-Star team at the defense position. Abel played in the NHL for eight years. He scored his first NHL goal on December 7, 1926 in the New York Rangers' 1-0 road victory over the Boston Bruins. He was signed by

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National ...

to the

, largely based upon his strong performance at the Winter Olympics in 1924. With the Rangers, he wore sweater number 4, and, paired with defenseman

Ching Johnson Ivan Wilfred "Ching" Johnson (December 7, 1897 – June 17, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers and New York Americans in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1926 and 1938. He was an or ...

, was a key member of the

winning Rangers team in 1927-28. After the 1929 season, Abel's rights were sold to the

, where he played five more years, wearing sweater number 2. Abel was a member of the Cup-winning Black Hawks in 1933-34, his last NHL season.

Later life and legacy

Abel returned to Sault Ste. Marie after retirement, coaching ice hockey. He also operated a tourist resort named "Taffy’s Lodge" in

. Abel died in his home in Sault Ste. Marie, on August 1, 1964, aged 64. Nine years later, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as a player. The

Taffy Abel Arena Clarence "Taffy" Abel Arena is a 4,000-seat hockey arena in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan on the campus of Lake Superior State University. It is home to the Lake Superior State Lakers men's ice hockey team of the Central Collegiate Hockey Associati ...

, home rink for the

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Lake Superior State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan. It is enrolls approximately 2,000 students. Due to its proximity to the Canadian border, and the ...

hockey program is named in his honor.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
NPR: Taffy Abel medaled in the 1924 Olympics. Few knew of his Indigenous heritage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Taffy 1900 births 1964 deaths 20th-century Native Americans American men's ice hockey defensemen Chicago Blackhawks players Central Hockey League (1925–1926) players Ice hockey players at the 1924 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players from Michigan Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics Native American sportspeople New York Rangers players Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey People from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan St. Paul Athletic Club ice hockey players Stanley Cup champions United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ojibwe people