Art Ross

Arthur Howey "Art" Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and executive from 1905 until 1954. Thought of as one of the best defenders of his time by his peers, he was one of the first to skate with the puck up the ice instead of passing it to a forward. He won the Stanley Cup twice in a playing career that lasted thirteen seasons; in January 1907 with the Kenora Thistles and 1908 with the Montreal Wanderers. Like other players of the time, Ross played for many teams and leagues, and is most familiar for when he played with the Wanderers while they were members of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and its successor, the National Hockey League (NHL). In 1911 he led one of the first player strikes over the players wanting more money. When the Wanderers' home arena burned down in January 1918, the team stopped playing so Ross retired as a player.

After working as an on-ice official for a few years, he became head coach of the Hamilton Tigers for one season. When the Boston Bruins were created in 1924, Ross was hired as the first coach and general manager of the team. He would go on to coach the team four different times until 1945 and stayed as general manager until his retirement in 1954. Ross helped the Bruins finish first place in the league ten times and to win the Stanley Cup three times; Ross coached the team to one of the Stanley Cup victories. After he was hired by the Bruins, Ross, along with his wife and two sons, moved to a city near Boston, and became an American citizen in 1938. He died near Boston in 1964.

Ross was also important in creating different inventions for hockey to make it better. He created a style of hockey puck still used today, and also created an improved style of goal nets, which were used for forty years. In 1947 Ross gave the NHL the Art Ross Trophy, which is given to the best scorer of the NHL regular season. In 1949, the Hockey Hall of Fame named Ross.

Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
     Regular season   Playoffs Season Team League GP  G  A  Pts  PIM GP  G  A  Pts  PIM 1902–03 Montreal Westmount CAHL —  —  —  —  — —  —  —  —  — 1903–04 Montreal Westmount CAHL —  —  —  —  — —  —  —  —  — 1904–05 Montreal Westmount CAHL 8  10  0  10  — —  —  —  —  — 1905–06 Brandon Elks MHL 7  6  0  6  — —  —  —  —  — 1906–07 Kenora Thistles St-Cup —  —  —  —  — 2  0  0  0  10 1906–07 Brandon Elks MHL 10  6  3  9  11 2  1  0  1  3 1907–08 Montreal Wanderers ECAHA 10  8  0  8  27 5  3  0  3  23 1907–08 Pembroke Lumber Kings UOVHL 1  5  0  5  — —  —  —  —  — 1908–09 Montreal Wanderers ECAHA 9  2  0  2  30 2  0  0  0  13 1908–09 Cobalt Silver Kings TPHL —  —  —  —  — 2  1  0  1  0 1909–10 All-Montreal HC CHA 4  4  0  4  3 —  —  —  —  — 1909–10 Haileybury Comets NHA 12  6  0  6  25 —  —  —  —  — 1910–11 Montreal Wanderers NHA 11  4  0  4  24 —  —  —  —  — 1911–12 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18  16  0  16  35 —  —  —  —  — 1911–12 NHA All-Stars Exhib 3  4  0  4  0 —  —  —  —  — 1912–13 Montreal Wanderers NHA 19  11  0  11  58 —  —  —  —  — 1913–14 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18  4  5  9  74 —  —  —  —  — 1914–15 Ottawa Senators NHA 16  3  1  4  55 5  2  0  2  0 1915–16 Ottawa Senators NHA 21  8  8  16  69 —  —  —  —  — 1916–17 Montreal Wanderers NHA 16  6  2  8  66 —  —  —  —  — 1917–18 Montreal Wanderers NHL 3  1  0  1  12 —  —  —  —  — ECAHA totals 19  10  0  10  57 7  3  0  3  36 NHA totals 131  56  16  72  406 5  2  0  2  0 NHL totals 3  1  0  1  12 —  —  —  —  —
*Playing stats from Total Hockey

Coaching record
     Regular season   Playoffs Season Team League GC  W  L  T  Finish GC  W  L  T  Result 1917–18 Montreal Wanderers NHL 6  1  5  0  6th, NHL —  —  —  —  — 1922–23 Hamilton Tigers NHL 24  6  18  0  4th, NHL —  —  —  —  — 1924–25 Boston Bruins NHL 30  6  24  0  6th, NHL —  —  —  —  — 1925–26 Boston Bruins NHL 36  17  15  4  4th, NHL —  —  —  —  — 1926–27 Boston Bruins NHL 44  21  20  3  2nd, American 8  2  2  4  Lost in Finals 1927–28 Boston Bruins NHL 44  20  13  11  1st, American 2  0  1  1  Lost in Semifinals 1929–30 Boston Bruins NHL 44  38  5  1  1st, American 6  3  3  0  Lost in Finals 1930–31 Boston Bruins NHL 44  28  10  6  1st, American 5  2  3  0  Lost in Semifinals 1931–32 Boston Bruins NHL 48  15  21  12  4th, American —  —  —  —  — 1932–33 Boston Bruins NHL 48  25  15  8  1st, American 5  2  3  0  Lost in Semifinals 1933–34 Boston Bruins NHL 48  18  25  5  4th, American —  —  —  —  — 1936–37 Boston Bruins NHL 48  23  18  7  2nd, American 3  1  2  —  Lost in Quarterfinals 1937–38 Boston Bruins NHL 48  30  11  7  1st, American 3  0  3  —  Lost in Semifinals 1938–39 Boston Bruins NHL 48  36  10  2  1st, NHL 12  8  4  —  Won Stanley Cup 1941–42 Boston Bruins NHL 48  25  17  6  3rd, NHL 5  2  3  —  Lost in Semifinals 1942–43 Boston Bruins NHL 50  24  17  9  2nd, NHL 9  4  5  —  Lost in Finals 1943–44 Boston Bruins NHL 50  19  26  5  5th, NHL —  —  —  —  — 1944–45 Boston Bruins NHL 50  16  30  4  4th, NHL 7  3  4  —  Lost in Semifinals NHL totals 758  368  300  90  — 65  27  33  5  One Stanley Cup
*Coaching stats from Total Hockey

Awards
NHL
 Award Year(s) First All-Star Team Coach 1939 Second All-Star Team Coach 1938, 1943 Lester Patrick Trophy 1984
*Awards from Legends of Hockey

Notes

References
























Other websites



 Art Ross's biography  at Canadian Sports Hall of Fame

Category:1886 births
Category:1964 deaths
Category:Boston Bruins coaches
Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Ice hockey people from Ontario
Category:Montreal Wanderers players
Category:Montreal Wanderers (NHA) players
Category:Ottawa Senators (NHA) players
Category:Stanley Cup champions