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AMATEUR & PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY IN DULUTH 1900-1934

In April, 1945, Reidar Lund - sports editor of the Duluth Herald and News Tribune turned his sports column over to guest writers of various sports columns.  The following is the contributions of Gus Olson, former player and manager of the Duluth Hornets who traced the development of Hockey up to 1934.  Because of his wide interest in the sport and the abundance of materials, his contribution to the game was carried in two parts.  [These were transcribed by VMH from Gus' typewritten excerpts he submitted for publication].  Please remember these articles were initially written in 1945.

Gus Olson was often called the 'Father of Hockey', at the Head of the Lakes and probably did more to promote the sport in this section of the country than any other one man.  Born and raised in Duluth, Gus did all his playing, coaching and managing in his home town.  He organized and captained his first team in a Junior League in 1907; played amateur hockey with different Duluth teams until he went into the service in 1917.  After the war he managed to get the late Gordon Hegardt in interested in hockey and together they took over the operation of the American Legion Hockey in the fall of 1919.  The following year they joined Pittsburgh and St. Paul in forming the United States Amateur Hockey Association, with teams representing Duluth, St. Paul, Pittsburgh and Cleveland.  The spread of hockey throughout the United States was due to the success of this league and in the years to follow, up to 1933, the league expanded from amateur to professional with teams representing the cities of Winnipeg, Eveleth, Sault Ste. Marie, Minneapolis, Tulsa, St. Paul, St. Louis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Buffalo and Chicago at various times.


Gus Olson alongside Duluth hockey historical photos collage(s)

The big cities of the east took notice of the hockey being played here and in Madison Square Garden sent Connie Smythe to Duluth to see what was going on.  Connie liked what he saw, returned to New York and the New York Rangers were organized, taking Ching Johnson, Taffy Abel and Billie Boyd from the Minneapolis club as his nucleus.

Gus Olson will be remembered by old time hockey fans and sports writer as one of the best of the American born hockey players.  He played rover in the days of seven men hockey and when the game was changed to six men he played mostly at right wing, but was powerful enough to play defense and often did.  Always one of the leading scorers, he was especially noted for his clever stick work and great back checking ability which earned him the nickname of the ‘pest’.  At the end of the 1919-1920 season, Gus joined the St. Paul Club to play Pittsburgh for the championship of the United States.  That first year the first U.S. Olympic ten was to represent America in the [Summer] Olympic games in 1920.  Four players were picked from Pittsburgh, four from Boston and four from St. Paul.  In 1924, Gus was picked on the Olympic team, but was forced to turn the invitation down due to business and the fact that he was in charge of the Duluth Hornets.

He retired from playing pro hockey in 1928 on account of pressures of managing the Amphitheater and the Hockey Club.  However, he still did a lot of practicing and occasionally played with the famous West End Amateur Club.  The Duluth Curling Club, with a seating capacity of 1800, was the home rink at the start, but with the coming of players like Mike Goodman, Herbie Lewis, Leo LaFrance, Burr Williams, Jim Seaborn, Moose Jamieson and numerous others, all the pick of the best players an Canada, the rink proved entirely to for the crowds.   In the summer of 1924, Gordon Hegardt arranged for the construction of a new rink and completed the deal, only on the condition that Gus Olson would take over the management of the rink, which he agreed to do.  On December 4, 1924, the Amphitheater was opened, being the first artificial ice rink built primarily for hockey In the U.S.  With an ice surface of 90 feet by 215 feet and a seating capacity of 5000, it was considered by everyone as an ideal hockey rink.  This fine building with its splendid accommodations had a terrific impact and influence on the growth of hockey and other ice activities.  As manager, Gus helped organize teams at Central High, Cathedral High, State Teachers College (UMD), Duluth Junior College and numerous amateur leagues.  At the time the Amphitheater was built there were only two or three amateur leagues in the city.  This total grew to something over fifty in a few years.  All these high school and college teams received free ice time and also played their games at the Amphitheater free.  The Amphitheater also paid most of the expenses for the high school and college teams, giving them bus trips away from home, etc.  In 1938, Gus brought a team of Old Timers to Duluth to play the Duluth Firemen, a team composed of the best amateurs in town.  The Old Timers, with players like Ching Johnson, Moose Goheen, Perk Galbraith, Moose Jamieson, Jim Seaborn , Laurie Scott, Leo LaFrance, Carl Bergl, Iver Anderson, Gus Olson, and several others who had been out of hockey for over ten years or more, but when they scored 6 goals in the first period, there was no question of their class.  Gus was a member of the hockey "Hole in One" scoring a goal from face off, beating Cleveland 1-0 in 1925.  In 1922, the Duluth Hornets beat the Winnipeg Nationals 6-0, with Gus getting all six goals (a double hat-trick).

Gus had the Spaulding Company make the first hockey pants with the padding over the back and kidneys in addition to the hips and thighs.  He was instrumental in getting the late Gordon Hegardt to open one of the first hockey stick factories in the U.S.  This factory wag located on Polk Street in West Duluth and sticks were sold to practically every hockey club in the U.S.  Gus played his last game of hockey at the age of 60, playing 60 minutes in a benefit game with other old timers to raise funds for a kids team.  He had continued his interest in hockey to his death in the Zenith City, being always available for hockey promotions and was an activist in building todays' Duluth DECC Arena long before construction began on the formidable arena. 

PART I
HISTORY OF AMATEUR AND PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY IN DULUTH FROM THE 1900 's to 1934

In Scotland it is called ‘shinty’, and in Ireland ‘hurley’ but in Duluth it goes by the name of ‘ice hockey’.  Although we have not been represented in any organized leagues in the last few years.  Duluth still clings to its enviable reputation as one of the leading ice hockey centers of America and has often been called the home of hockey.

The hockey teams of Duluth have flaunted the banners of this city far and wide, from Canada to the Gulf and from New York to Los Angeles.  Perhaps no single athletic organization in the Northwest can lay claim to having brought more credit to its home city, particularly the buzzing Hornets in the years 1919 through 1932.

The development of modern ice hockey in America can be traced to the Victoria hockey Club and McGill University in Montreal.  The secretary or the former club made the first efforts toward drawing up a recognized code of laws, and for some time afterwards playing rules were agreed upon from time to time whenever an important match was played.

NORTHERN HARDWARE TEAM FIRST

Kid rinks sprang into popularity in Duluth as early as 1900 and were mostly played at first on the bay ice in subzero weather.  The writer can remember cleaning off a place to play in one of the Scott-Graff slips between the lumber piles with the temperature 35 below zero.  Some folks called it ‘shinny’ in the early days but it soon outgrew that name in Duluth.

Probably the first hockey team in Duluth that made a national reputation was the Northern Hardware Club in the years of 1906-1907.  This team had such stars as Roy Deetz, Ray Fenton, Ed Furni, Charlie Horn, Coddy Winters, Earl and Al Cummings, Charlie Cargill and others and all were local boys.

This team won the amateur championship of the U.S. and played teams in the Copper country, Detroit and Cleveland.  Coddy Winters went from here to Cleveland and under his leadership Cleve land went on to take a leading place in the hockey world.  At the same time Andy Grenner had the Columbia team in Superior with many excellent players.  From then until 1913 Duluth had a number of local hockey leagues with the games being played at the old Curling Club, Lincoln Park, French rink, Twenty-fifth Avenue West, Second Street and the Adams rink on the bay.  The accomplishments of the Adams Athletic Club during this period deserves mention.

This club was formed in the West End and for a number of years was represented in every branch of sport including; hockey, baseball, football, bowling, indoor and outdoor baseball.  They built their own on the ice at the foot of Twenty-first Avenue West – where the league played most of its games.  Every one of their teams was outstanding and if this city could get four clubs organized as this one was, to take part in all sports, we would never have to worry about bringing in players for the various teams.


Duluth Hardware Company Amateur Champions 1907-1908

JOE LINDER TAKES OVER THE REIGNS

In 1913 the Curling Club was built and the Curling Club team was formed that year, bringing Joe Linder up from the Copper country to run it for three seasons.  Joe got together a fine team composed of; Linder, Monette, Tamblyn, Barkell, Mahan, Mohan, Bogan, Arnie Olson, Helmer Grenner and others, playing league games with Calumet, Portage Lake, Houghton, Hancock and Sault Ste. Marie.  Exhibition games were played with Cleveland, Fort William, Port Arthur and Winnipeg teams and drew big houses.

Mentioning Portage Lake recalls the fact the Copper country was really the home of hockey in America, instead of Duluth.  Back about 1904, Doc Gibson is credited with bringing in the Canadian players that put Portage Lake on the hockey map.  Calling on Joe Linder the other day he informed me that Portage Lake held the championship of the United States and Canada for a couple of years.  Names such as Hod Stuart, Bruce Stuart, Connie Shields, Doc Gibson, Cyclone Taylor and Fred Lake are always mentioned when old time great players are discussed and the exploits that I have heard credited to Hod and Bruce Stuart rank with the ones of Paul Bunyan.  They had a league at that time composed of Portage Lake, Calumet, Canadian and American Soo and Pittsburgh.

Interest in hockey in the copper country at this time was at fever pitch.  Games were rough and players tough.  Linder tells me that they charged as much as $5 per ticket for some games, remembering when he himself paid $3.85 to see a game at one time.  One time he recalled that a special train was sent from Portage Lake to Sault Ste. Marie to get a player for one game, for which the player received $500 to play. (Herald players pay no attention).


Duluth American Legion Hockey Iver Anderson & Gus Olson January 9, 1922

In 1920 Gordon Hegardt and the writer took over the American Legion Team and entered the United States Amateur Hockey Association, composed of; Duluth, Cleveland, Pittsburgh and St. Paul.  This lineup also carried through the next season and in 1922-23 Milwaukee entered the league as a new member.

The succeeding season saw the withdrawal of Milwaukee and addition of Eveleth and Minneapolis as members.  The same teams went through the 1924-25 season and in 1925-26 the name of the league was changed to the Central Hockey Association with teams from; Duluth, Eveleth, St. Paul, Sault Ste. Marie, Winnipeg and Pittsburgh.  One year later in 1926-27, the league turned outright "pro" and changed the name to the American Hockey Association.

Up to this time it was supposed to be an amateur league.  The teams that season were Duluth, Chicago, Winnipeg, Minneapolis, and St. Paul.  From the start in 1920, hockey took hold and grew each season.  Where the first year we thought we had a big crowd if we had an attendance of 300 people, during the season of 1923-24, we were continually playing to sellout crowds, turning people away each game.  From the start we were convinced that hockey was a spectator’s game and if we showed the public well organized teams with good players and staged properly, the crowds would turn out to support the game.  This was shown when we managed to get Mike Goodman to come to Duluth in the fall of 1921.  Mike was just what the doctor ordered and overnight his spectacular play was the talk of the town, and we knew we were on our way.

The limited seating capacity of the Curling Club was a handicap to any further expansion and in the summer of 1924 the Amphitheater was built and opened for hockey in December, 1924.  This rink had artificial ice and had a seating capacity of 5,000.  We were promptly told that this was too many and that the rink would never be filled, but we were soon to find out that wasn’t true.

We had brought quite a few Canadian boys to Duluth since Goodman made such a showing and in the season of 1926-27 the Hornets went out and captured the league championship, winning the finals in three straight games from a strong Minneapolis club.

We then challenged the Ottawa Senators, winners of the National League, to a series of games for the championship of the U.S., but they refused.  At the time we were confident we could beat them as our club was playing at top speed.  The season 1927-28 following this championship victory saw Bill Grant, manager of the Hornets for several years, go to Kansas City and enter a team in the league, taking the place of Chicago, which had dropped out after one year.  Bill was president of the league at that time.  He took with him to Kansas City players Seaborn, Chubby Scott and Dunfield of the Hornets.  Duluth finished second that season.

MAKE-UP OF LEAGUE CHANGES

The next year, 1928-29, saw a lineup of Duluth, Tulsa, Kansas City, Minneapolis, St. Paul and St. Louis which also went through the season 1929-30.  The next year Chicago came back into the league and for two seasons formed the league with Tulsa, Kansas City, Buffalo, St. Louis and Duluth.  In 1932-33 Mike Goodman returned to Duluth to coach a team for Johnny Farquhar in a league composed of Duluth, Kansas City, St. Louis and St. Paul.

They had a rough going and in January, 1933, the Duluth franchise was transferred to Wichita.  In 1933-34, Cub Lajoy took a fling at hockey and one season was enough for him in a League with Eveleth, Hibbing, Minneapolis, Duluth and St. Paul.

During the seasons of 1934-35 and 35-36 there was not any hockey at the Amphitheater.  It was being used for roller-skating and basketball games instead.  Lyle Wright came up from Minneapolis in the fall of 1936 and took over the Amphitheater and organized the International Amateur Hockey League, composed of Duluth, Port Arthur, Fort William, Eveleth and Virginia.  The following year Fort Frances was added to the league and the next season Port Arthur and Fort William dropped out.  The Duluth entry did not finish the season, as on February, 12 1939 the roof of the Amphitheater caved in while the Duluth Policemen team was playing the Virginia Firemen.  Fortunately, no one was seriously hurt in the accident, but it gave hockey a serious setback in Duluth.

DULUTH WILL SUPPORT HOCKEY

Regardless of what some people may think, Duluth did and will support a venture such as the Amphitheater.  We had quite a large investment in the ‘Amp’, something around $275,000, and during the first seven years always earned the interest on the investment.  When the depression came along, naturally the Amphitheater suffered the same as any other business.  During the season of 1927-28 we averaged about 4,000 people to a game and grossed about $90,000 for the season, if my memory is correct.  Duluth has always been and always will be a good hockey town.

Give the fans teams with good hockey players and they will support the game.  The past season proved this.  I am sure that we would have doubled and tripled our crowds if we would have had the seating capacity.

PART II
ANECDOTES AND REMINISCENCES OF THE BYGONE HOCKEY DAYS


Moose Goheen & Gus Olson Game Detail with Fight March 1, 1922

Wonder if the fans remember the fights that took place? Jimmie Wahl and Moose Goheen, almost every time they took the ice.  Artie Somers (Winnipeg) and Leo LaFrance (Duluth).  Herbie Lewis (Duluth) climbing all over Duke Dutkowski (Kansas City).  The night Slim Halderson (Kansas City) knocked three of Charlie Langlois' (Duluth) teeth down his throat, had to take Charlie to the hospital and finally got him to swallow them.  The time Andy Mulligan (St. Paul) stood out in center ice and defied even the cops to come out and get him, Bob Davis finally calmed him down.  The battles we had with Eveleth and the crowds chat followed us to the the iron range.  The sensational showing Mike Goodman made in his first two games here, when we beat the strong Eveleth team two straight games.  Eveleth with an all-star team if there ever was one including; Ching Johnson, Ade Johnson, Monette, Seaborn, Nicklin, Breen, Galbraith, Gray, and Des Jardin.  The time Herbie Lewis decided to go to Montreal - without permission.  The time Joey Thorsteinson was lost for two weeks NO? WELL I DO!  Iron man, Johnny Mitchell.  Jack ‘Newsy’ Leswicks stick handling and wrist shots.  Jim Seaborns poke checking.  Nelson Stewarts (Cleveland) hook checking.

The fine coaching of Dick Carroll.  The year Moose Jamieson coached the St. Louis Club.  Old Rusty Crawford.  When Iver Anderson first appeared with a fielder’s glove - that, my friends, was the origin of the present-day goaltender glove.  The attractions between periods of the game.  Shipstad and Johnson.  Heinie Brock.  Charlotte – world famous figure skater.  Broomball games between civic clubs, roller skating races on ice.

THE TRAINERS AND COACHES

Fred Trepanier, Al Olson, Andy Grenner, Billie Hughes, Sam Kernes, Marshall Gebert, Dick Carroll, Shorty Green and the opening game ceremony for a number of seasons.  Presenting Moose Jamieson with a cartoon of Piper Hiedshieck chewing tobacco, and seeing it run down the front of his jersey the rest of the season.  Artie Olson, the announcer.

THE REFEREES

Helmer Grenners (Duluth), Jack Hughes (Winnipeg), Steve Vair (Toronto), Carl Batell (Saskatoon), Tom Munro (Toronto), Joe Sills, O’Leary, O’Hara, Tony Conroy, Jack Chambers, the colorful Mitchell - the small guy with the mustache and so much authority and of course the sellout crowds.

THE PLAYERS

Cleveland: Jimmie Cree, Nels Stewart, Joe Debenardi, Coddy Winters
 
Colorful ‘Soo’ team: Bill Phillips, Flat Walsh, Doc Brown, Babe Donnelly, Johnny Woodruff, Gloomy Lessard  

Winnipeg Maroons: Johnny Gottselig, Cece Browne, Artie Somers, Chuck Gardiner, Lola Couture

Tulsa Oilers: Duke Keats, Red McCusker, Sonny Wakeford, Ron Moffat, Bob Trapp 

St. Paul: Taffy Abel, Geo and Tony Conroy, Eddie Fitzgerald, Moose Goheen, Bob Capen, Doc Romnes

Kansas City Club: Wasp Campbell, Wilf Ranger, Pete Mitchell, Paddy Brynes, Slim Halderson

Minneapolis Millers: Tiny Thompson, Connie Wieland, Red Stuart, Stu Adams, Helge Bostrom

Eveleth Rangers: Ching and Ade Johnson, Nobby Clark, Perk Galbraith, Denny Breen, Percy Nicklin, Bernie McTeigh

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets: Ray Bonney, Herb Drury, Hib Milks, Hal Cotton, Roy Worters, Lionel Conacher

World Famous Duluth Hornets: Mike Goodman, Herbie Lewis, Iver Anderson, Laurie Scott, Gus Olson, Burr Williams, Leo La France, Ken Dunfield, Moose Jamieson, Charlie Langlois, Jim Seaborn, Shorty Green, Gordy Hegardt

THE RINKS

We played in a variety of rinks when organized hockey started in the 1920’s.  In Duluth we played our first league games at the Duluth Curling Club, one of the finest combination skating and curling rinks in the U.S.  The Club had natural ice, and a small ice surface and seating capacity.

Gordon Hegardt promoted and opened the Duluth Amphitheater on December 4, 1924.  This was actually the first artificial ice rink in the U.S., primarily for hockey.  Heated, with a seating capacity of 5,000 and an ice surface of 80 x 215 feet, it was considered the ideal hockey rink.

The Duluth rink was followed in successive years by artificial ice rinks in Minneapolis, Tulsa, Kansas City, Eveleth, St. Louis and Milwaukee.  In Pittsburgh the games were played at the Duquense Gardens, a converted skating ice rink with an ice surface of 90 x 250 feet.  The rink had a bench around the ice in front of the boxes for the spectators and they used portable banking boards that they put in front of boxes for hockey games.  When these boards were not up, the players had to be very careful to stay away from body checks.  The Cleveland Blues played their games at the Elysium Gardens, another rink with a big ice surface.


Duluth Curling Club


Duluth Amphitheater

St. Paul had the prize of them all.  Their games were played at the Hippodrome Ice Rink, one of the State Fair Buildings converted to hockey and skating for the winter.  The natural ice surface was 270 x 119 ft., with the nets set out from each end about 35 feet.  (Players had to be in shape; the early rules called for 30-minute halves; with no substitutions).  We nicknamed the Hipp the ‘Wiedenborners Forty Acres’ after the manager of the St. Paul Club.

The rules of hockey have seen many changes. Originally the team was composed of seven players, a goalie, point, cover point, center, left and right wing and a rover.  The cover point played in front of the point, who was directly in front of the goalie, and the rover played on the forward line, backing up the three forwards.  About 1916-17 the lineup was changed to six men, a goalie, left and right defenses and the three forwards.  This was a big improvement, as it made for more open hockey with two less players on the ice.  Oftentimes I thought this was a great deal too many, the way I was checked.  This is the same lineup being used today and seems to be satisfactory.

Under the seven-man lineup, forward passing was prohibited.  Passes had to be made straight across the ice, which was later changed to permit the puck to be passed forward, but the player taking the puck had to be even or ‘on-side’ when the puck was passed.  This sped up the game a little and later the first blue line appeared.  This was 20 feet out from the goal line and permitted the defending team to pass from its end of the rink up to the blue line, but from there on it had to be played ‘on side’.  About 1927 the blue lines were moved out 60 feet from the goal mouth and forward passing was permitted in each of the three zones between the different blue lines.  Two or three years ago the red was added to the others, being put in the center of the rink permitting the defending team to pass from its end of the rink up to the red line.  If a defending player was over his own blue line, he had to touch the puck before it crossed the red line, but if he was behind his own blue line when the puck was passed-out he was permitted to take the puck past the red line.

These rules were in effect last season and this last rule caused much argument between the players and confusion for the fans.  The National League now is talking of eliminating the red line and permitting forward passing almost the length of the ice.  I feel this would be a bad rule.  The penalty lines also have been added in the later years, being placed 30 feet out from the goal mouths.

We used to play 30-minute halves in the old days, with no substitutions permitted.  The players that started the game had to finish, and if a player was hurt so he could not continue, the opposing team had to drop a man to equalize the teams.  That called for condition, and I certainly agree with Joe Gallop when he criticizes the present crop of boxers for not doing more conditioning.  This also goes for hockey players, and I might say double.  I can remember when we used to start active training around the first of September, working out at the YMCA at least three nights a week, running from the Y out to Thirtieth Avenue East and back each night.  This was quite a grind and I recall that one night I was so tired on the way back that I turned in at the YWCA by mistake.  In addition, we played baseball all summer and the boy who smoked was an exception.

We had some tough road trips in the early days.  The year Milwaukee was in the league we did not have any too many players and on one trip we were to go to the Copper country for some exhibition games after playing Milwaukee.  We left Milwaukee at 5:30 p.m.  For the Canadian Soo, where we were to play Monday and Tuesday nights.  Our train was to make connections with a diner Monday morning between Milwaukee and the Soo, but due to a snow storm missed connections and as a result, we did not get anything to eat until we reached the Soo Monday at 6 p.m.

Then as we had missed the regular train across the straits we climbed into a caboose and put our trunks on the back of the engine.  We arrived at the Soo and started our game about 10 o’clock.  We played again Tuesday night and after the game rented two toboggans and hauled our trunks across the ice as we had to catch a train out of the American Soo at 5:30 a.m. for Marquette, where we were booked for Wednesday night.  We ran into more snow and did not get our game under way that night until after 10 p.m.  Then we sat up until 4 a.m. to take the train back to Duluth where we were playing a team from Winnipeg on Thursday and Friday night.  That was five games in five nights with all the traveling thrown in.  Incidentally, we won four of the five games and if I remember right, we only had one or two spares for this series.  We had many colorful players in these years of hockey and we combed Canada from one end to the other for them.  We had representatives in almost every important hockey center in Canada.  For instance, Jack Leswick was splaying with the Drumheller Club in the Alberta league when I first noticed the nice write-ups he was getting in one of the Calgary papers.  I contacted our party in Calgary and was advised that he was a good prospect.  I got in touch with, offered him a contract of $1,200 to finish the season (one month) with us and $3,000 for the following year.  He accepted and after I had forwarded transportation and expense money, he decided that he would go to Seattle instead.  I found out in time and managed to get him on long distance at the railroad station in Calgary just before he was to leave and explained to him that as long as he had accepted terms from us, that he would have to play with Duluth.  He changed his mind, came to Duluth and although Lloyd Turner in Seattle put in a claim to the National League for Jack, President Calder upheld us and awarded him to Duluth.  Jack turned out to be one of the greatest stick handlers that this town or any other town has ever seen but if he turned out to be a dud, we would have been out $4,200.

We got the great Tiny Thompson under strange circumstances.  The Calgary Canadians’ Junior team of 1923-24 had two outstanding players in Herbie Lewis and Johnny Loucks and after considerable dickering finally convinced Herbie that Duluth was the place for him.  Johnny Loucks also was willing to come, but he said he had a friend goaltender playing for Coleman, Alberta, he wanted to bring with him.  We told him to bring the goalie and Johnny arrived in town with a tall slim kid named Tiny Thompson.

The old master of them all, the one and only, the Muskoko Moose - Clarence Barclay ‘Moose’ Jamieson [who] came to Duluth from Cleveland.  Clarence was very much out of favor with the Duluth fans when we brought him here due to the fact that Mike Goodman had been treated pretty rough by Cleveland the season before.  Mike almost lost the sight of one eye in a mix-up and the fans thought Jamie was at fault.  Jamie still denies it was his fault but nevertheless at the time the fans were pretty bitter against him.  I had telephone call after telephone call telling me that we would lose all our fans if we brought Jamieson here and for a while it had us worried.  However, after Jamieson had played a couple of games for Duluth, these same fans became his most ardent supporter.

Accidents will happen in hockey due to the speed of the game.  I broke my nose twice, had two operations on it.  Played three games with a broken finger that I didn't know about until later.  No doubt everyone has heard how Ching Johnson was cut and sewed up until he looked like a patch work quilt.

Iver Anderson had four of his teeth knocked out in a game with Cleveland one year.  He returned to the ice, finished the game in which we scored four goals to overcome a two-goal lead to beat Cleveland.  A few years later while playing with St. Louis against Duluth, Iver had his lowers knocked out to balance up the job.

Whenever hockey fans get talking about the old times, there is always a discussion of this or that team considered the best.  For my part, I'll take any one of the Hornet teams that Dick Carroll coached in 1925-27.  These teams were well coached, well balanced, and were strong competitors.

The Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets didn’t have such a bad team either in the season of 1924-25, with Roy Worters in goal, Lionel Conacher, Smith, Herb Drury, Hib Milks, Darragh, McCurry, Cotton, White, Sullivan and McKinnon.  As to individual hockey players I have always claimed that Frank ‘Moose' Goheen of the St. Paul Club was the best all-around player I have ever seen.  Goheen weighed about 185 pounds in his prime, played equally as well on defense and offense, was always in top condition and had speed to burn.  He was also a fine team player.

So much for the past.  How about the future?  Well, Duluth needs a new rink, an artificial ice rink.  I am sure city officials and all our leading citizens are pretty well agreed that Duluth should have a rink or an auditorium where hockey games can be played on artificial ice with a sufficient seating capacity.  The Amphitheater could be rebuilt by a private individual.

A new building could be used for hockey, basketball, boxing, etc. the year around.  The seating capacity of 5,000 would be sufficient for some time to come, I am sure.  Or, the city may decide to build a municipal auditorium and I can think of nothing that would be more suitable as a memorial project for the service men.  The tendency all over the country is for memorials that are practical.