Hockey's rollicking readheads

Posted By Glen R. Goodhand

Posted 2 months ago

A man was once reported to have said: "They say brunettes have a sweeter disposition that blondes and redheads. Don't believe it! My wife has been all three, and I don't see any difference!"

Traditionally redheads have been accused of having "fiery tempers". Not long ago an Irish judge fined a man for disorderly conduct, saying: "I am a firm believer that hair colour has an affect on temper, and yours suggests that you have a temper!"

Without a doubt, because carrot tops represent less than four percent of the world's population, those whose hair has that pigment are more readily noticed. Hence, if they do betray a short fuse, the wrong conclusions can be drawn. Science can find no real evidence of this idiosyncrasy—in fact, there was an era when the lock's orangey tinge was equated with a docile and caring demeanor. But, somehow, being ruddy seems to squeeze a person into the mould of hotheadedness.

Current NHL'ers who are easily recognized for that particular tint to their mops include Detroit's Kris Draper, Chicago's Brian Campbell, the Senator's captain, Daniel Alfredson, Jason Blake of the Leafs, Columbus' Mike Commodore with his bushy beard, and the Sedin twins of the Vancouver Canucks.

But, there have been at least 26 NHL players who have been tagged with the nickname "Red". Because only "in-house" bi-names have been in vogue for the many moons, the last puce-thatched skater in the Big Time was Gordon Berenson. Although he had a cup of tea with both the Habs and Rangers commencing in 1962, it wasn't until he was claimed by the St. Louis Blues in the 1967 expansion that he came into his own. He is best remembered for breaking a 24-year-old scoring record, when on November 7, 1968 he bulged the twine 6 times in one game. However, his penalty record contradicts the conviction that people blessed with reddish tresses fly off the handle easily.

The first "name" puckster to be listed as "Red" in league records was William Roxborough Stuart from Sackville, New Brunswick, who lined up with the Toronto St. Pats (forerunners of the Maple Leafs) in 1920. A steady blueliner, he spent seven seasons with the Irish and the Boston Bruins before running out his string in the minor leagues.

Where he spent much of his hockey life. Indeed it was following his Big Time stint that he was voted the American Hockey Association League MVP award in 1928-29, as a member of the Minneapolis Millers. After his retirement he coached two different Senior teams to Allan Cup triumphs in 1934 (Halifax) and 1937 (Sudbury). A native of Sackville, he is a charter member of the New Brunswick Sports Hall of Fame.

His parents christened him Mervyn Alexander, but everyone knew him as "Red", from the time he first laced on a pair of skates until he retired from the presidency of the NHL. One well-known shinny scribe wrote of him: "As NHL characters go, he was in a class by himself—he wasn't just colourful, he was a human rainbow!"

Several different adjectives have been used to describe the Russell, Manitoba native: "fearless", "rough", "bruising", "headlong", "tempestuous", "aggressive", "rambunctious", and "shrewd"—just to name a few. He skated for the Calgary Juniors, dating back to 1919, moved up to the "Big Four" Canadians, then to the Tigers of the Western Canada (pro) circuit. When that league folded, he joined the Montreal Maroons of the NHL. He soon gained the reputation as a defender who forced opponents to keep their heads up and their eyes peel. If they dropped their guard they inevitably found them selves on the seat of their pants—or worse! The fiery blueliner moved to the New York Americans in 1930, where he crashed and bashed his way to stardom. In 1936 he took over coaching and managing the star-spangled contingent, and remained at the helm until 1942, when the sextet ceased operations.

Always a clever business head, he owned a construction company on Calgary, and reluctantly left it in care of his brother, when he was asked to adopt the NHL Presidency when Frank Calder passed away in 1943—a post he held for three seasons.

We would be remiss, however, to overlook some behind-the-scenes realities, which help to explain Red's bombastic on-ice demeanour. When World War I broke out, he lied about his age and enlisted in the army at age 16. In 1917 he was seriously wounded by shrapnel, with his right leg taking the brunt of the blast. Doctors determined that amputation was the only answer.

But the gritty Dutton would have none of that. He doggedly refused on the basis that this would "prevent him from playing hockey!" He was in hospital for 18 months before returning to Canada in 1919. By his own admission he "played in seven different leagues" in an attempt to home his skills—"sometimes in two leagues the same night, well past midnight!"

That determination is demonstrated by two candid anecdotes, both which involved his days in Montreal. One night the referee stood ready to drop the puck at the opening face-off, but realized one had not been provided. An appeal to the timekeeper's bench is met with a helpless shrug. Meanwhile. Mervyn Alexander is standing there, fuming. Finally he shouted to the official: "Never mind the blankety blank puck! Let's start the game!"

On another occasion, because he was earning so many trips to the sin bin, the Maroon's bench boss, Eddie Gerard, benched the big carrot top, in an effort to cool him down. Chomping at the bit he rushed into the coach's office, pleading to be reinstated. When asked if he thought he could control his temper if he was granted his request, he exclaimed: ""Temper? There's nothing wrong with my temper! It's my enthusiasm I can't control!"

If there is another competitor with orangey tresses who comes close to matching the rabidity of Dutton, it has to be one Reginald Horner. Big for his time at 6' and 190 pounds, he is remembered for being one of the most intimidating body checkers in NHL history. Not always careful about the applications of the same, he led the loop in penalty minutes for 8 straight campaigns, beginning in 1932-33. When he finally hung up the blades in 1940 he had accumulated a total of 1,254 minutes in the sin bin.

Incredibly, when he first joined Toronto he weighed a scrawny 160 pounds, and was ordered by Conn Smythe to add some brawn. A summer hauling bricks for the Robert Simpson Company took care of that. When discovered by the entreprenural Maple Leaf owner, he was playing for two amateur teams—one was the "Little Major"'s own Senior Marboros, and the other the Solway Mills club, which was part of an league sponsored by brokerage firms. One Saturday afternoon Smythe turned up at the Solway dressing room and urged "Red" to "forget this amateur stuff", inviting him to join the Leafs that very night. He offered him $2,500 for the rest of the season.

"Let's do it this way, Mr. Smythe. Why don't you pick me up on your way to the game. If it's OK with my parents, you can drive me to the arena and introduce me to the rest of the team!"

That was the beginning of a twelve-season career with the Queen City sextet. He is a member of the Hall of Fame.

"Red" Hamill was never able to stick with the Boston Bruins, even after a 30-game stint in 1939-40, spending most of his early pay-for-play career on the "farm" in Hershey with the Bears. But the Blackhawks saw his potential, and, apart from a year out in the service during the 1944-45 campaign, he was a valued member of the Windy City squad for eight seasons. Although gritty and hard hitting he was never cast in the roll of a "dirty" performer.

So it was one of those strange cases where a normally gentlemanly player erupts, when Hamill tangled with Toronto's Vic Lynn, ending with his being fined $250 and suspended for the next game between the two clubs. Up until February 20th, 1949, he had only made three trips to "the fence', in each case for a minor infraction. He was better known for spending time killing penalties incurred by his mates. But that night he clobbered the Leaf winger with his stick, opening a six-stitch cut, and inflicting a possible skull fracture. One might assume some hidden "fiery temperament" gene let loose just once!

It was said of George Sullivan that "he played every game as if the Stanley Cup were up for grabs!" Enthusiasm and commitment were "Red's" his middle names! Sometimes that spilled over into evidences of that "fiery temper" of which carmine-crowned personalities are accused. Although he appeared to comparatively mild-mannered during his short-lived trials in Boston, 58, 61, and 81 minutes in penalties during his days in Chicago and New York revealed his increasing volatility with the passing of time.

Hint of his talented touch around the cage came to the fore during an emergency call up to Beantown in February of 1953. He scored one goal and assisted on five others. But, the B.'s had their allotment of forwards, so he was returned to the AHL. When he was voted MVP of that circuit the following season, the Blackhawks took notice, and doled out $25,000 for the determined centre. There he came into his own, impressing with his tenacious forechecking and needling his opponents. He moved the Rangers in 1956, and while there his persistent irritating ways almost cost him his life. When he repeatedly took runs at the Hab's Jacques Plante, defenseman Doug Harvey speared the pest in the stomach, rupturing his spleen. He recovered, was named the Blueshirt's captain, and eventually became their bench boss.

Calvin Pearly Gardiner was called "Ginger"—a variation of the usual nickname. But if every the concept of "red" described an individual, it was in this case. Someone once wrote that he was "a volcano ready to erupt"! Purchased by the Leafs to replace the retired Syl Apps, he racked up above average penalty minutes, even in the infraction tolerant 1940's and 1950's. Sadly, he is most remembered for his violent clash with Ken Reardon of the Canadiens in January 1949. The tall pivot initiated the brawl by breaking his shillelagh over the rearguard's shoulder. It sparked one of the most vicious stick-swinging duels in league history. Both were give game misconducts, fined, and suspended.

Perhaps the most enigmatic reddish-thatched skaters of all was Leonard Kelly— gentleman farmer, Member of Parliament, NHL coach, and slick-skating jack-of-all-trades on the ice. He was the first winner of the Norris Trophy as the loop's Best Defenseman in 1954, earned 7 All Star ballots, and won the Lady Byng Trophy for clean and effective play four times. Overlooked by Toronto because "he was too slow", he starred for the Red Wings before finally ending up in the Queen City in 1960 over a dispute with Detroit management.

But it was an incident in October 1955 which shocked the hockey world. Known as a mild-mannered sportsman, he unexpectedly got into a squabble with Eric Nesterenko of the Leafs. He was given 22 penalty minutes in one period, more than he normally incurred in an entire campaign. Nester crashed him into the boards, and there was something about the hit which caused him to see "red". He retaliated with his fists. An amateur boxer in school, called "Cornflakes Kelly", these punches earned him five minutes for fighting. That was added onto another major for highsticking. A misconduct, plus a minor he had received earlier, brought the total to 22.

Kelly never drank, smoke, nor cussed. So, one other verbal eruption also prompted alarm—this time on the part of the Toronto players he was coaching. In the mid-1970's, after a carelessly-played contest, he growled at his troop: "Dang! You guys aren't playing worth h---!"

Henry "Hank" Bassen was known in hockey circles as "Mr. Emergency". He filled in for some of the best goalies in the game's history. The first time was for Chicago in 1954 when Al Rollins was hurt. He was again between the pipes, this time for Detroit, when the Blackhawks on the Stanley Cup in 1961. He let in two soft ones in a 5-1 loss. But he redeemed himself the following schedule, taking the place of the injured Terry Sawchuck, and posted two shutouts, and two low-scoring ties in five games. He took over from Roger Crozier in the 1966 Cup finals against the Habs. Pittsburgh chose him in the 1967 expansion draft, and in this first game with the Penguins he promptly surrendered Jean Beliveau's 400th career marker. That was his final year in the pro game.

One of the few skaters whose hair colour stood out like a sore thumb, who was not tagged with the nickname "Red", Keith Magnuson "erupted on the NHL scene like an angry carrot". His route to the Big Time was not the usual one—he was a graduate of college shinny, where rough stuff is usually frowned upon. But in his first three seasons with Chicago, he set records for penalty minutes. In fact, even in a number of seasons shortened by injury, only twice did he spend less than 100 minutes cooling his heels in the sin bin.

One night in Philadelphia, with Flyer's pugilists Dave Schultz and Rick Foley sharing the "bad man" spotlight with the Saskatoon-born rearguard, the bombastic redhead was crowned "world champion" in the naughty naughty department, with more time in the box than these former record setters.

Not surprisingly his headlong approach to the game took its toll. On at least four occasions he suffered serious hurts—including a busted ankle and broken vertebrae. During his last six seasons in the Windy City he missed major portions of the schedule in sick bay. After three games in the 1979-80 campaign, with braces on his back and knee, he ignored a challenge to drop his gloves and scrum. He marched into Manager Bob Pulford's office and announced his retirement. If he had to hesitate about whether or not to duke it out, it was time to quit.

Are all carrot tops hot headed? Hardly. But in the case of each of the above-mentioned competitors, each was driven by a passion within to give 110% in the fastest game on earth.