Hod Stuart

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Defence
nationality = Canada
birth_date = February 20, 1879
birth_place = Ottawa, ON, CAN
death_place = Belleville, ON, CAN
death_date = June 23, 1907
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lbs = 190
career_start = 1902
career_end = 1907
halloffame = 1945

William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart (February 20, 1879 – June 23, 1907), of Ottawa, Ontario, was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He also played briefly for the Ottawa Rough Riders football team. He was a member of the 1907 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Wanderers team. In the 1907 off-season he died in a diving accident and the club held the original All-Star Game for the benefit of his family. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with his brother Bruce.

Playing career

Stuart joined the Ottawa Hockey Club for the 1899 season of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League(CAHL) along with his brother Bruce. In the CAHL, Stuart played for Ottawa and the Quebec Bulldogs.

In 1902, he became a professional player in the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Bankers. He later played in the Calumet Wanderers and Pittsburgh Professionals of the International Professional Hockey League and Portage Lakes Hockey Club. He was voted as a first team all star in both his full seasons in the IPHL. A big man with a fluid skating stride, Stuart was considered the finest defenceman of his era for his outstanding play on both offence and defence.

In 1907, professionals became eligible to play in the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association(ECAHA) and to compete for the Stanley Cup. Stuart was very much in demand, but he earned more money in the IPHL than he was offered by ECAHA teams. Stuart decided to leave the IPHL after suffering frequent on-ice violence, and signed with the Montreal Wanderers.

Stuart did not escape violence in the ECAHA. On January 12, the Wanderers faced the Ottawa Senators in a game notorious for its brutality. Montreal's stars, including Stuart and Ernie "Moose" Johnson were struck in the head several times by the sticks of Ottawa. This led to legal action against Ottawa players Charles Spittal, Harry Smith and Alf Smith, but none were convicted, or suspended. Due to public outrage over the incident and the lack of punishment, the president of the league, Fred McRobie, resigned.

Hod Stuart helped lead the Montreal Wanderers to an undefeated season and their first Stanley Cup victory in 1907. After the season, he died in a diving accident when he dived into unknown water head first and fractured his neck in the Bay of Quinte, near Belleville, Ontario. He was found floating in three feet of water.

An estimated 3,800 spectators attended a Hod Stuart Memorial Game on January 2, 1908. The event, featuring the Montreal Wanderers against a squad of All-Stars, raised nearly $2,000 for Stuart's widow and two children, and was the first such "all-star" contest in hockey.

He was one of the original twelve inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.

ee also

*List of ice hockey players who died young

References

*
*
*Montreal Star, Jan 14, 1907
*Montreal Star, March 3, 1907

External links

*Legendsmember|Player|P194511|Hod Stuart
* [http://www.biographi.ca/009004-119.01-e.php?&id_nbr=7089 Biography at the "Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online"]