Ebbie Goodfellow

Ebenezer Robertson "Poker Face"[1] Goodfellow (April 9, 1907 – September 10, 1985) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Goodfellow played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings from 1929 to 1944 as both a forward and defenceman. He helped the Red Wings win the Stanley Cup in 1935–36, 1936–37 and 1942–43. He served as captain of the Wings for five seasons, and in 1939–40 was the first Red Wing to win the NHL's Hart Trophy as his team's most valuable player. After retiring from playing, he coached in the American Hockey League (AHL) and later with the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL.

Ebbie Goodfellow
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1963
Goodfellow, circa 1931
Born (1907-04-09)April 9, 1907
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died September 10, 1985(1985-09-10) (aged 78)
Sarasota, Florida, U.S.
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Centre/Defence
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Falcons
Playing career 19291943

Hockey career

While still a junior, Goodfellow signed a contract with the professional Saskatoon Sheiks of the Western Canada Hockey League on December 25, 1924. When Saskatoon called him up in December 1926, he refused to report and played senior hockey with the Ottawa Montagnards of the Ottawa City Hockey League instead.[2] In February 1927, his professional rights were sold to the Detroit Olympics of the AHL for $4,000.[2] Goodfellow remained in Ottawa and was a member of the Montagnards' 1927–28 senior championship team. In 1928, he joined the Olympics and played with the club for one season. The following year, he signed with the Detroit Cougars of the NHL, starting a fourteen-year career with the team. Goodfellow was a high-scoring forward and the original center in a famous line with Herbie Lewis and Larry Aurie. During the 1930–31 season, he scored 25 goals (a franchise record that stood for fourteen years) and 48 points and was second to Howie Morenz in league scoring. After three seasons Goodfellow switched to defence, and at that position he won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1940 and was named to the All-Star Team three times.

Goodfellow missed most of the 1942–43 season due to injury, but when coach Jack Adams was suspended during the 1943 playoffs, Goodfellow agreed to serve as coach during the suspension. Detroit went on to win the Stanley Cup, and Goodfellow's name was engraved on the Cup for a third and final time. He was one of the last NHL players to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup as both player and coach, as league rules changed and playing coaches were disallowed. Goodfellow retired the following season after knee problems began to slow him down.

At the start of the 1947-48 season Goodfellow was persuaded out of retirement by the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey League (AHL). In two years as coach of the Flyers, he led them from last place to the AHL Western Division Championship, the team's highest achievement to that date. Goodfellow then became coach of the Chicago Black Hawks in 1950. After two lacklustre seasons with the Black Hawks, Goodfellow retired from the NHL for good.

In 1959 Goodfellow took part in founding the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association, a charitable organization still in operation today. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963 and served for twenty-one years on the Hall's selection committee. He was an avid golfer and one-time caddy master at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He died of cancer on September 10, 1985, in Sarasota, Florida, and is buried at White Chapel Cemetery in Troy, Michigan.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1926–27 Ottawa Montagnards OCHL 4314
1927–28 Ottawa Montagnards OCHL 15729 4314
1927–28 Ottawa Montagnards Al-Cup 2101
1928–29 Detroit Olympics CPHL 422683445
1929–30 Detroit Cougars NHL 4417173454
1930–31 Detroit Falcons NHL 4425234832
1931–32 Detroit Falcons NHL 4814163056 20000
1932–33 Detroit Red Wings NHL 401282047 410111
1933–34 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4813132645 943712
1934–35 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4812243644
1935–36 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48581369 71014
1936–37 Detroit Red Wings NHL 489162543 922412
1937–38 Detroit Red Wings NHL 29077
1938–39 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48881636 60008
1939–40 Detroit Red Wings NHL 4311172831 50229
1940–41 Detroit Red Wings NHL 475172235 30119
1941–42 Detroit Red Wings NHL 82242
1942–43 Detroit Red Wings NHL 111454
NHL totals 554134190324511 45881665

Awards

Coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsDivision rankResult
CHI1950–51 70134710366th in NHLDNQ
CHI1951–52 7017449436th in NHLDNQ
Total14030911979

References

  1. Martinez, Matt (September 28, 2011). "The Best Players Who Sucked at Coaching". Bleacher Report.
  2. "Ebbie Goodfellow - Notes - NHL.com - Players". NHL. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
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