Brian Smith (ice Hockey, Born 1940)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Brian Desmond Smith (September 6, 1940 – August 2, 1995) was a Canadian professional
ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...
player and sportscaster. Smith was born in
Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...
,
Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, the son of former professional ice hockey player Des Smith and brother of former professional ice hockey goaltender Gary Smith. Smith was a professional ice hockey player from 1960 to 1973, playing 67 games in the
National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
(NHL) with the
Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
and
Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
during the 1967–68 and 1968–69 seasons. He also later played for the Houston Aeros of the
World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association () was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 to 1978–79 WHA season, 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (N ...
during the 1972–73 season. Following his hockey career, Smith was a broadcaster for
CJOH-TV CJOH-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, serving the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region as part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside ...
in Ottawa until 1995, when he was shot and killed by gunman Jeffrey Arenburg.


Life and career


Career

Smith played junior hockey for the Brockville Junior Canadiens in 1959–60, making a
Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...
appearance in 1960. He began his professional ice hockey career with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of the EPHL from 1960 to 1963. He refused to report to the
Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...
in 1963 because he was wary of mistreatment by coach Eddie Shore. He played the 1963–64 season in Austria, under the assumed name Bobby Smith before joining the Indians, but only after being suspended by
International Ice Hockey Federation The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey to ...
President
Bunny Ahearne John Francis "Bunny" Ahearne (19 November 1900 – 11 April 1985) was a British ice hockey administrator and businessman. He served rotating terms as president and vice-president of the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) from 1951 to 19 ...
for playing without his release. He played for the Indians from 1964 to 1967 and participated in the team's strike against Shore in 1966. Smith, along with teammate Bill White, got the little-known lawyer
Alan Eagleson Robert Alan Eagleson (born April 24, 1933) is a disbarred Canadian lawyer, hockey agent and promoter. Clients that he represented included superstars Bobby Orr and Darryl Sittler. He was the first executive director of the NHL Players Assoc ...
to represent the players in the conflict, which eventually started Eagleson's career as an agent. The players refused to practice and ultimately Shore was forced to sell the team to Kings owner
Jack Kent Cooke Jack Kent Cooke (October 25, 1912 – April 6, 1997) was a Canadian American businessman in broadcasting and professional sports. Starting in sales, Cooke was very successful, eventually becoming a partner in a network of radio stations and new ...
for $900,000. When the NHL expanded in 1967, he was one of the players transferred to the new
Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...
franchise when they purchased the Indians franchise and its contracts, and he was one of the original Kings' players, playing the 1967–68 season with the Kings. He scored two goals against his brother, Gary Smith. In the following season, he played for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the Western Hockey League and the Memphis South Stars of the CHL. He then returned to the NHL with the
Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
in 1968–69, and finished his career with the WHA Houston Aeros in 1972–73. He broke his jaw in an exhibition game and soon after his career ended. In 1973, Smith joined Ottawa television station
CJOH-TV CJOH-DT (channel 13) is a television station in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, serving the National Capital Region (Canada), National Capital Region as part of the CTV Television Network. It is owned and operated by network parent Bell Media alongside ...
as the station's 6 PM sports anchor, a position he held until his death. He also participated in charitable activities, especially the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.


Death

On August 1, 1995, Smith was shot in CJOH's parking lot, just minutes after the end of the station's 6 PM newscast. He was on his way to a charitable fund-raising event for the Children's Wish Foundation. He died about 18 hours later on August 2 in the
Ottawa Civic Hospital The Ottawa Civic Hospital is one of three main campuses of The Ottawa Hospital – along with the General and Riverside campuses. With 549 beds (including the Heart Institute), the Civic Campus has the region's only adult-care trauma centre, servin ...
. The gunman, Jeffrey Arenburg, who had
paranoid schizophrenia Schizophrenia () is a mental disorder characterized variously by hallucinations (typically, hearing voices), delusions, disorganized thinking and behavior, and flat or inappropriate affect. Symptoms develop gradually and typically begin ...
, had gone to CJOH because he believed the station was broadcasting messages in his head. Smith was the first broadcast personality that Arenburg recognized coming out of the building. Smith's death was a shock to the Ottawa sports community. The
Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. The Senators compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Di ...
honoured him with a 'Smitty 18' patch on their jerseys, which they wore for the 1995–96 season and with a banner hanging in the rafters at
Canadian Tire Centre Canadian Tire Centre () is a multi-purpose arena in the suburb of Kanata in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It opened in January 1996 as the Palladium and was also known as Corel Centre () from 1996 to 2006 and Scotiabank Place () from 2006 to 2013. ...
. The press box at Canadian Tire Centre was also renamed the "Brian 'Smitty' Smith Press Box" in his honour. Flags flew at half-staff at an
Ottawa Lynx The Ottawa Lynx were a Minor League Baseball team that competed in the Triple-A International League (IL) from 1993 to 2007. The team's home field was Lynx Stadium in Ottawa, Ontario. Over 15 seasons, the team was an affiliate of the Montreal Exp ...
baseball game, and a tribute was held by the
Ottawa Rough Riders The Ottawa Rough Riders were a Canadian Football League team based in Ottawa, Ontario, founded on September 19, 1876. Formerly one of the oldest and longest-lived professional sports teams in North America, the Rough Riders won the Grey Cup cham ...
, whose players raised their helmets while the crowd joined in a one-minute cheer. Gunman Arenburg was found to be not criminally responsible due to his mental disorder and was sentenced to a mental institution in 1997. He had previously been sentenced to a mental institution but had never reported. An inquest into Smith's killing recommended there should be more public protection and significant changes to the ''
Mental Health Act Mental Health Act is a stock short title used for legislation relating to mental health law. Canada *The Mental Health Act (Ontario) India *The Mental Health Care Act, 2017 Ireland *The Mental Health Act 2001 New Zealand *The Mental health ( ...
'' of Ontario. The result, Brian's Law, was passed on June 21, 2000, by the Ontario Legislature. Smith's widow, ''
Ottawa Citizen The ''Ottawa Citizen'' is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. History Established as the Bytown ''Packet'' in 1845 by William Harris (journalist), William Harris, it was renamed the ''Ci ...
'' journalist Alana Kainz, established the Brian Smith Memorial Scholarship fund in Smith's memory, which provides tuition funds to attend college or university. It is administered by the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club. In 2001, the club renamed its summer camp from Camp Minwassin to Camp Smitty in Smith's honour. CJOH-TV established the Brian Smith Foundation to give disadvantaged children and young adults in the Ottawa region an opportunity to participate in athletics, recreation and education. In 2005, he posthumously became a partial namesake of the
Ernie Calcutt Ernest George Calcutt (November 1, 1932January 10, 1984) was a Canadian sports commentator and radio news director. He worked for CFRA 580-AM in Ottawa, and was the voice for the Ottawa Rough Riders radio broadcasts from 1964 to 1983. He served ...
/
Eddie MacCabe Edward William Joseph MacCabe (January 15, 1927May 22, 1998) was a Canadian Sports journalism, sports journalist and writer. He began in journalism with the ''Ottawa Journal'' in 1946, briefly wrote for the ''Montreal Star'' from 1951 and 1952, ...
/Brian Smith Memorial Lifetime Achievement Award, established by the Ottawa Sport Award Society to recognize careers in journalism.


Career statistics


Regular season and playoffs


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Brian 1940 births 1995 deaths 1990s murders in Canada 1995 crimes in Canada 1995 murders in North America 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian murder victims Canadian television sportscasters CTV Television Network people Deaths by firearm in Ontario Denver Spurs (WHL) players Houston Aeros (WHA) players Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Ottawa Los Angeles Kings players Memphis South Stars players Minnesota North Stars players Montreal Royals (EPHL) players Murdered Canadian journalists People murdered in Ontario Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) players SC Bern players Springfield Indians players