Harry Lumley (ice hockey)

Harry Lumley
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1980
Lumley with the Red Wings, c. 1940s
Born (1926-11-11)November 11, 1926
Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada
Died September 13, 1998(1998-09-13) (aged 71)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
New York Rangers
Chicago Black Hawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1943–1961

Harry "Apple Cheeks" Lumley (November 11, 1926 – September 13, 1998) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers, Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Boston Bruins between 1943 and 1960. He won the Vezina Trophy for being the goaltender to allow the fewest goals against in 1954 and won the Stanley Cup with the Red Wings in 1950. He was the second goaltender to win 300 games, doing so in 1958. In 1980, Lumley was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Early life

Born in Owen Sound, Ontario, Lumley—known as "Apple Cheeks"—grew up playing local minor sports but quickly took to hockey and wound up being a top-notch goaltender. Lumley starred for several years with the Owen Sound Mercurys and later with the Owen Sound Orphans (who were called that because they could not find a sponsor) and then the Barrie Colts. He also played with the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League, a minor league team of the Detroit Red Wings.

NHL career

Lumley made his professional debut in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers in the 1943–44 season, when he was loaned to the Rangers for a single game and appeared in 20 minutes of play. With an age of 17 years and 38 days, he became the youngest person to serve as goaltender for an NHL game (with modern NHL rules stating a player must be 18 years of age before September 15 of their draft year, this record cannot be broken). On December 7, 1944, at the age of 18 (and 26 days), he became the first goaltender to record their first win, doing so with a 3-2 win on the road versus the Rangers and a month later became the youngest goaltender with a shutout against Toronto.[1]

In the 1950 playoffs, Lumley led the Red Wings to a Stanley Cup championship, recording three shutouts and a 1.85 GAA in fourteen games. After his performance, however, Jack Adams traded Lumley to the Chicago Black Hawks, with Terry Sawchuk becoming the new goaltender for the Red Wings.[2]

After playing with the Black Hawks for two seasons, he was again traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the 1953–54 season, Lumley won the Vezina Trophy, presented annually to the NHL's best goalie, with a GAA of 1.86. His 13 shutouts that year were a modern National Hockey League record that stood until Chicago's Tony Esposito recorded 15 in 1969–70. Lumley was also named First All-Star Team Goaltender in the 7th National Hockey League All-Star Game.

Lumley was traded back to Chicago in 1956. He refused to play in Chicago and played the following year in the American Hockey League. He played with the Buffalo Bisons and the Providence Reds. Lumley would return to the National Hockey League in 1957 with the Boston Bruins. He played irregularly with them from 1957 to 1960 as he rotated his duties with Don Simmons. He would play one final season with the Winnipeg Warriors in the Western Hockey League.

He retired after the 1959–60 NHL season with 330 wins, 329 losses, 142 ties, and a 2.76 GAA. He was the first goaltender to have won 300 games and lost 300 games. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980. After retiring, Lumley was a longtime co-owner of the successful Orangeville Raceway. He died on September 13, 1998, of a heart attack.

Lumley originated the tactic of creating a pocket at shin level in goalie pads, allowing pucks to drop straight onto the ice instead of deflecting off them to an opponent.

Legacy

After retiring, he became a businessman in his hometown of Owen Sound, where he became a part owner of an auto dealership and a standardbred racing stable. He played senior hockey for six years and also coached the Owen Sound seniors for a time. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980, much to his apparent surprise: "Sure, it’s something you think about occasionally but when it came, it was a great feeling to know that somebody remembered that you could play a little.” The community centre in his hometown of Owen Sound, where he continued to live after retiring, was renamed in his honour before his death. It is now officially known as the Harry Lumley Bayshore Community Centre. There is a trophy named after him that is awarded to the goalie with the best goals against average in the Ontario Sr.A lacrosse league.

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1942–43 Barrie Colts OHA — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —
1943–44 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 0 2 0 120 13 0 6.50 — — — — — — — — —
1943–44 Indianapolis Capitals AHL 52 19 18 15 3120 147 0 2.84 — 5 1 4 300 18 0 3.60 —
1943–44 New York Rangers NHL 1 0 0 0 20 0 0 0.00 — — — — — — — — —
1944–45 Detroit Red Wings NHL 37 24 10 3 2220 119 1 3.22 — 14 7 7 871 31 2 2.14 —
1944–45 Indianapolis Capitals AHL 21 11 5 5 1260 46 2 2.14 — — — — — — — — —
1945–46 Detroit Red Wings NHL 50 20 20 10 3000 159 2 3.18 — 5 1 4 310 16 1 3.10 —
1946–47 Detroit Red Wings NHL 52 22 20 10 3120 159 3 3.06 — — — — — — — — —
1947–48 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 30 18 12 3592 147 7 2.46 — 10 4 6 600 30 0 3.00 —
1948–49 Detroit Red Wings NHL 60 34 19 7 3600 145 6 2.42 — 11 4 7 726 26 0 2.15 —
1949–50 Detroit Red Wings NHL 63 33 16 14 3780 148 7 2.35 — 14 8 6 910 28 3 1.85 —
1950–51 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 64 12 41 10 3785 246 3 3.90 — — — — — — — — —
1951–52 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 17 44 9 4180 241 2 3.46 — — — — — — — — —
1952–53 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 27 30 13 4200 167 10 2.39 — — — — — — — — —
1953–54 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 32 24 13 4140 128 13 1.86 — 5 1 4 321 15 0 2.80 —
1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 23 24 22 4140 134 8 1.94 — 4 0 4 240 14 0 3.50 —
1955–56 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 59 21 28 10 3527 157 3 2.67 .907 5 1 4 304 13 1 2.57 .926
1956–57 Buffalo Bisons AHL 63 25 36 2 3780 264 0 4.19 — — — — — — — — —
1957–58 Buffalo Bisons AHL 17 7 9 1 1029 63 1 3.67 — — — — — — — — —
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 24 11 10 3 1440 70 3 2.92 .909 1 0 1 60 5 0 5.00 .833
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 11 8 2 1 660 27 1 2.45 .923 7 3 4 436 20 0 2.75 .906
1958–59 Providence Reds AHL 58 27 29 2 3480 208 4 3.59 — — — — — — — — —
1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 42 16 21 5 2520 146 2 3.48 .896 — — — — — — — —
1960–61 Kingston Frontenacs EPHL 2 1 1 0 120 7 0 3.50 — — — — — — — — —
1960–61 Winnipeg Warriors WHL 61 17 40 4 3660 213 0 2.49 — — — — — — — — —
NHL totals 803 330 329 142 48,044 2,206 71 2.76 — 76 29 47 4,778 198 7 2.49 —

See also

References

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