Henry James Smith (December 29, 1883 – May 6, 1953) was a Canadian 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 98 games in various professional and amateur leagues, including the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...

and

Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association The Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA) was a men's amateur – later professional – ice hockey league in Canada that played four seasons. It was founded on December 11, 1905 with the top clubs from two other leagues: four ...

. Among the teams he played with were the

Cobalt Silver Kings The Cobalt Silver Kings of Cobalt, Ontario, were a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey Association, the predecessor to the National Hockey League. Established t ...

Toronto Tecumsehs The Tecumseh Hockey Club, also known as the Toronto Tecumsehs and nicknamed the Indians, were a team in the National Hockey Association in 1912–13. They then became the Toronto Ontarios. History The NHA was founded in 1909 without any teams ...

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

, and

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 ...

. He was a member of the famous "

Ottawa Silver Seven The Ottawa Senators were an ice hockey team based in Ottawa, which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League (NHL) and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934. The c ...

" from 1905 to 1907. His brothers Alf and

Tommy Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

also played ice hockey.

Playing career

Harry Smith first played senior-level hockey with the

Ottawa Aberdeens The Ottawa Aberdeens (or Aberdeen Hockey Club) were an amateur ice hockey team from Ottawa that played in various junior, intermediate and senior amateur leagues from the 1890s to the 1910s. Between 1915–1919 the club figured in the Ottawa C ...

of the CAHL-Intermediate league in 1901. He played for Arnprior of the Upper Ottawa Valley Hockey League before joining Smiths Falls of the Southern Ontario Hockey Association. He played two seasons with Smiths Falls before returning home to play in Ottawa with the

, already the

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 ...

champion. He played two seasons with the ''Silver Seven'' with his brother Alf who was playing-coach. In the 1905–06 season, Alf, Harry and brother Tommy all played for the Silver Seven, occasionally playing together on one line. Smith was known as a rough player. In 1907 Smith and teammates Alf Smith and

Charles Spittal Charles Douglas "Baldy" Spittal (November 17, 1874–January 29, 1931) was a Canadian athlete and soldier. He was notable as an amateur and professional ice hockey player, and as a competitive marksman with a rifle. He was a member of the 1903 Ott ...

were charged with assault after beating

players

Hod Stuart William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart (February 20, 1879 – June 23, 1907) was a Canadian professional ice hockey cover-point (now known as a defenceman) who played nine seasons for several teams in different leagues. He also played briefly for the ...

, Ernie "Moose" Johnson and

Cecil Blachford Cecil William Blachford (June 24, 1880 – May 10, 1965) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward player who played for the Montreal Hockey Club and the Montreal Wanderers. He was a member of Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1903, 1906, 1907, ...

with their sticks. Harry Smith was acquitted while Spittal and Alf Smith were each fined $20. When Smith played in an exhibition game with the

Winnipeg Maple Leafs The Winnipeg Maple Leafs, or Maple Leaf Hockey Club, were a professional men's ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Winnipeg Maple Leafs played in the Manitoba Professional Hockey League from 1907–1909. In March 1908, as 1907–08 MPHL cha ...

against the

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 ...

on December 19, 1907, the Winnipeg Hockey Club players refused to carry on the contest after it had degenerated into a number of violent displays, the last of which involved blows between Harry Smith and Winnipeg Hockey Club defenseman Percy Browne. He was subsequently expelled from the MHA along with Maple Leafs teammate

Joe Hall Joseph Hall may refer to: Sports * Joe Hall (American football) (born 1979), American football player * Joe Hall (baseball) (born 1966), American baseball player * Joe Hall (ice hockey) (1881–1919), Canadian ice hockey player * Joe B. Hall (192 ...

."Maple Leaf club excluded – Harry Smith and Joe Hall expelled from the league"
''Montreal Gazette''. Dec. 23, 1907 (pg. 12). Retrieved 2020-10-23. Smith was also known to have one of the better shots in the game during his era, which helped him score many goals."The Sport Realm" – "One of hockey's greatest shots"
Westwick, Bill. ''Ottawa Journal''. May 7, 1953 (pg. 22). Haileybury Hockey Club, 1908–09

He became a professional player in 1907–08 with the

Pittsburgh Bankers The Pittsburgh Bankers were one of the earliest professional ice hockey clubs. The club was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, the first league to openly hire hockey players, from 1899–1 ...

of 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). On February 15, 1908, he was involved in a riot with spectators in a game against the

Pittsburgh Athletic Club The Pittsburgh Athletic Club (PAC) was one of the earliest professional ice hockey teams. It was based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from around 1895 until 1904 and again from 1907 to 1909. The team was a member of the Western Pennsylvania Hockey Le ...

at the

Duquesne Gardens The Duquesne Gardens (officially Duquesne Garden until 1940 and The Gardens afterward) was the main sports arena located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, during the first half of the 20th century. Built in 1890, the building originally served as a tr ...

where he went into the stands swinging his stick after he had been hit on the ice by a chair thrown by a spectator. In 1908–09 he was a 'for hire' player playing for the Bankers, Toronto Pros ( OPHL),

Haileybury Comets The Haileybury Hockey Club (also known as the ''Haileybury Comets'' or ''Haileybury Miners'') of Haileybury, Ontario, was a professional ice hockey club established in 1906. The team is notable for being a founding member of the National Hockey Ass ...

( TPHL) and Montreal Wanderers (

ECHA The European Chemicals Agency (ECHA; ) is an agency of the European Union which manages the technical and administrative aspects of the implementation of the European Union regulation called Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restricti ...

), where he was member of the Wanderers 1909 Stanley Cup challenge championship squad, although the team did not hold the Cup at the end of the season. In December 1909, prior to the 1909–10 season, Smith was badly scalded on one if his legs by the bursting of a valve in a

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

while working for his father Henry in Fort William. He was laid up in hospital for several days, and it was first thought that he would not be able to play any hockey during the season, but he did play later on for both the

and the Haileybury Comets in the

."Badly scalded"
''Ottawa Citizen''. Dec. 13, 1909 (pg. 3). He moved on to the Waterloo Colts of the OPHL in 1911, the Schreiber Colts in 1912, before returning to the NHA with the

. He returned to Ottawa in 1913–14, playing two games with the Ottawa Hockey Club (now known as the ''Senators'') before ending his career with the

Halifax Crescents The Halifax Crescents were an early amateur and later, professional ice hockey team operating in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. The team operated in several leagues, gone defunct and been resurrected. The original club challenged for the Stanley Cu ...

of the

Maritime Professional Hockey League Maritime may refer to: Geography * Maritime Alps, a mountain range in the southwestern part of the Alps * Maritime Region, a region in Togo * Maritime Southeast Asia * The Maritimes, the Canadian provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Princ ...

Playing career

Statistics

References

Bibliography

Notes

See also