Thomas Acheson "Attie" Howard (January 5, 1871 – November 18, 1945) was a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

amateur

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 in the era before professional ice hockey. He was a member of the 1896

Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias wo ...

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 team. He later played in the

American Amateur Hockey League The American Amateur Hockey League was an amateur ice hockey league in the United States. The league was founded in 1896, and was based in New York City and New Jersey, until 1914, when the Boston AA joined the league. In the 1900–01 season a te ...

(AAHL) and in the

Western Pennsylvania Hockey League The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) was an originally amateur and later professional ice hockey league founded in 1896 and existing through 1909. Based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the league became the pre-eminent ice hockey league in ...

(WPHL) in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

Playing and coaching career

Tom Howard joined the Winnipeg Victorias in 1890 and during the 1890–91 season the team played non-league games against the city-rival

Winnipeg Hockey Club The Winnipeg Hockey Club (also known as the Winnipeg Winnipegs) were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba founded in 1890. After the Winnipegs won the 1931 Allan Cup, they represented the Canada men's ...

. He was one of the charter members of the Winnipeg Victorias alongside fellow players

Jack Armytage John Crichton "Jack" Green-Armytage (February 11, 1872 – August 7, 1943) was a Canadian ice hockey rover. Born in Fergus, Ontario, Canada, he is best remembered as the man who first organized a hockey club in the city of Winnipeg, Manitoba, ...

, George "Whitey" Merritt,

Fred Higginbotham Frederick Turner Higginbotham (1868 – September 7, 1896) was an ice hockey defenceman for the Winnipeg Victorias. He was part of the team that won the Stanley Cup in 1896, in a challenge game against the Montreal Victorias. Higginbotham was n ...

and multi-athlete

Jack McCulloch John K. "Jack" McCulloch (August 15, 1872 – January 26, 1918) was a Canadian speed skater and ice hockey player. He won several Canadian amateur speed skating championships and one world championship. Sports career An amateur skater from 1890 ...

. He played nine seasons for the club, winning the Stanley Cup in 1896 (against the

Montreal Victorias The Victoria Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was an early men's amateur ice hockey club. Its date of origin is ascribed to either 1874, 1877 or 1881, making it either the first or second organized ice hockey club after McGill University. ...

) and playing in a Stanley Cup challenge series in 1899 (also against the Montreal Victorias). In 1899–1900, Howard moved 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 ...

with his wife and two sons and played four seasons with the

New York Athletic Club The New York Athletic Club is a private social club and athletic club in New York state. Founded in 1868, the club has approximately 8,600 members and two facilities: the City House, located at 180 Central Park South in Manhattan, and Travers ...

. He played two seasons with the

New York Wanderers The New York Wanderers were an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan, New York City. The New York Wanderers played seven seasons in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1903 and 1914 and won the championship title in 1903–04. 1896 Sta ...

(1903–1905) and one game with the

Brooklyn Skating Club The Brooklyn Skating Club was an amateur ice hockey team from Brooklyn in New York City. The Brooklyn Skating Club played in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1896 and 1906 and won the championship title in 1898–99. History The ice ho ...

in 1905–06 to end his career. He scored 105 goals in 100 games during his career.

Playing manager

During his last active season as a player, in 1905–06, Howard acted as a playing manager of the Brooklyn Skating Club. At the onset of the season Howard tried to acquire a group of Canadian players, mostly from

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, among them Frank "Pud" Glass of the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

and Ernie "Moose" Johnson of the

Montreal Hockey Club The Montreal Hockey Club of Montreal, Quebec, Canada was a senior-level men's amateur ice hockey club, organized in 1884. They were affiliated with Montreal Amateur Athletic Association (MAAA) and used the MAAA 'winged wheel' logo. The team was ...

. The AAHL rules committee ruled the Canadian players ineligible to play with the American club on counts of professionalism, and the Brooklyn Skating Club team ceased its operations two games into the season. After 1910, Howard joined A.G. Spalding & Co. of New York. He endorsed a hockey stick model and edited the Spalding Ice Hockey Guides. He also coached several different hockey teams, both in the AAHL (

New York Hockey Club The New York Hockey Club, also known as the Hockey Club of New York, was an amateur ice hockey team from Manhattan in New York City. The New York Hockey Club played in the American Amateur Hockey League between 1897 and 1917 and won one championshi ...

) and within the American intercollegiate ice hockey circuit (

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

and Columbia).

Playing style

Howard played the predominant bulk of his ice hockey career as a

right 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 ...

. He was a speedy skater prone to quick dashes down his side of the rink, and he also possessed a good and hard shot. During his time with the

in the AAHL (1903–1905) he played on the

cover point Fielding in the sport of cricket is the action of fielders in collecting the ball after it is struck by the striking batter, to limit the number of runs that the striker scores and/or to get a batter out by either catching a hit ball before ...

position (equivalent to an offensive

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the latter a reference to ...

in today's hockey).

" ... Howard had coaxed back the form which has made him famous. His frequent journeys down the rink side were as brilliant as chain-lightning over a dark sky. He had the speed of a schoolboy and the cleverness of a master. His skating, criss-cross dribbling and shots which seemed to fairly leap for the net were beautiful to look upon."

– Brooklyn Daily Eagle describing Tom Howard in a game with the New York Wanderers in 1904–05

Family

Tom Howard had two sons, Tom Howard Jr. (b. 1894) and Jack Howard (b. 1896), with his wife Kathleen Howard (née Cronn). Tom Jr. and Jack both played with the New York Hockey Club in the AAHL during the 1916–17 season. Kathleen Howard was a hockey player and manager herself and managed a girls team branch of the St. Nicholas Hockey Club. Jack Howard died in an automobile crash on December 21, 1919 at an age of 23. The car was driven by his older brother Tom."John Howard dies after motor crash"
''The Brooklyn Daily Eagle''. 1919-12-22. Retrieved 2018-11-23. Tom Howard eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, where he died at the age of 74 in 1945.

Career statistics

Regular season

WpgSr = Winnipeg Senior Hockey (no league)

Stanley Cup challenges

Statistics from ''Society for International Hockey Research'' (sihrhockey.org)

Awards and achievements

– 1896 (with Winnipeg Victorias) * AAHL champion – 1903–04 (with New York Wanderers)

References

;General references * ''Society for International Hockey Research'' * from the

Spalding Athletic Library Spalding Athletic Library sold sports and exercise books through American Sports Publishing Company from 1892 to 1941. Both companies were owned and founded by Spalding (company), Spalding. Books cover over 30 different sports and exercises, and ...

collection {{DEFAULTSORT:Howard, Thomas Acheson 1871 births 1945 deaths Canadian ice hockey right wingers Pittsburgh Keystones (ice hockey) players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Stanley Cup champions Winnipeg Victorias players Columbia Lions men's ice hockey coaches