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 fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

hockey Hockey is a term used to denote a family of various types of both summer and winter team sports which originated on either an outdoor field, sheet of ice, or dry floor such as in a gymnasium. While these sports vary in specific rules, numbers o ...

player, coach and general manager in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

, 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 in the Eastern Conference, and are ...

, 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 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

, 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 Wy ...

' in history.

Playing career

Born in

Melville, Saskatchewan Melville is a small city in the east-central portion of Saskatchewan, Canada. The city is northeast of the provincial capital of Regina and southwest of Yorkton. Melville is bordered by the rural municipalities of Cana No. 214 and Stanley No ...

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

1938 Events January * January 1 ** The new constitution of Estonia enters into force, which many consider to be the ending of the Era of Silence and the authoritarian regime. ** State-owned railway networks are created by merger, in France ...

after playing junior hockey with the

Flin Flon Bombers The Flin Flon Bombers are a Canadian junior ice hockey team in Flin Flon, a city located on the Manitoba-Saskatchewan provincial border. The Bombers are members of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League (SJHL), which is a member of the Canadia ...

. 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 * Januar ...

. 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 w ...

. In 1943, Abel left the Red Wings to serve with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. During this time he skated with the RCAF team in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

. 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 i ...

, Abel and

Ted Lindsay Ted Lindsay (born Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay; July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Linds ...

were teamed up with rookie right winger

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

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 Pleurisy, also known as pleuritis, is inflammation of the membranes that surround the lungs and line the chest cavity ( pleurae). This can result in a sharp chest pain while breathing. Occasionally the pain may be a constant dull ache. Other sy ...

, 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 A production line is a set of sequential operations established in a factory where components are assembled to make a finished article or where materials are put through a refining process to produce an end-product that is suitable for onward c ...

" 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 The Hart Memorial Trophy, originally known as the Hart Trophy, is an annual award for the most valuable player in the National Hockey League (NHL), voted by the members of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. The original trophy was dona ...

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 Regin ...

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

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making ...

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 The Kansas City Scouts were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1974 to 1976. In 1976, the franchise relocated to Denver, and became the Colorado Rockies. In 1982, the Rockies relocated to New Jersey where ...

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 Fi ...

for the 1976–77 season. Abel also acted is interim Head Coach for the

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 The Hockey Hall of Fame (french: Temple de la renommée du hockey) is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) rec ...

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 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 ...

player. In Olympic competition at

Oslo Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...

, 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 pre ...

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 curre ...

is a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near ...

who last played for the

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

. 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,

) *

(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