Harry Cameron facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Harry Cameron
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1963
Born	(1890-02-06)February 6, 1890 Pembroke, Ontario, Canada
Died	October 20, 1953(1953-10-20) (aged 63) Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height	5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight	155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position	Defense
Shot	Right
Played for	Toronto Blueshirts Toronto Arenas Ottawa Senators Montreal Canadiens Toronto St. Patricks Saskatoon Sheiks Minneapolis Millers St. Louis Flyers
Playing career	1912–1933

Harold Hugh Cameron (February 6, 1890 – October 20, 1953) was a Canadian ice hockey defenseman who played professionally for the Toronto Blueshirts, Toronto Arenas, Ottawa Senators, Toronto St. Pats, and Montreal Canadiens. Cameron won three Stanley Cups during his career.

Sports fans considered Cameron one of the first great rushing and scoring defensemen. He was also famous for his "curved shot." Cameron was the first player in NHL history to achieve what was later called a "Gordie Howe hat trick," doing so on December 26, 1917, during a 7-5 defeat of the Montreal Canadiens. In later years, he moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, where he lived when he died in 1953. Ten years after his death, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Playing career

Cameron, seated at far left, with the 1910–11 Pembroke Debaters. Frank Nighbor is seated at the far right.

Born in Pembroke, Ontario, Cameron played with the Pembroke Debaters club from 1908 until 1911, before becoming a professional with the Port Arthur Lake City of the Northern Ontario Hockey League (NOHL). As a condition of his signing, he insisted that his friend Frank Nighbor also be signed.

Cameron and Nighbor joined the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA) for the 1912–13 season, where Cameron stayed until the NHA suspended the franchise in the 1916–17 season. He won a Stanley Cup in 1914 while he was with the Blueshirts.

He played the rest of the 1916-17 season with the Montreal Wanderers and then returned to the Blueshirts, which was now part of the National Hockey League (NHL), operated by the Toronto Arena Company in their Stanley Cup-winning season. Cameron was the highest-paid player on the 1917–18 Toronto Arenas and won a second Stanley Cup with the Arenas in the 1917–18 NHL season.

In the 1918-19 season, Cameron was loaned to the Ottawa Senators. He returned to the Toronto Arenas, now called the Toronto St. Pats (St. Patricks), the next year. He spent another year away from the St. Pats in 1920 but returned to his team until 1923. He won a third Stanley Cup with the St. Pats in the 1921–22 season.

Cameron was released in 1923 and spent three seasons playing for the Saskatoon Crescents of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) as a forward. He dropped into the minor leagues before retiring in 1931. He briefly played for the Saskatoon team again during the 1932-33 season but retired for good in 1933. He became the Saskatoon coach from 1944-1937.

Playing style

Though he was a strong defenseman who used his body to stop opponents, Cameron could electrify the crowd with his speedy rushes up the ice. His defensive skills, combined with his speed, crafty stickhandling, and curved shot, made him a threat to other teams.

Interesting facts about Harry Cameron

• He he accepted a contract with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1911 for $30.00 a week on condition he could bring his friend and left-winger Frank Nighbor.
• In 1914, he scored the winning goal in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final.
• Cameron's best individual season was 1921-22 when his 35 points (18 goals, 17 assists) led NHL defensemen and was fourth among all players.
• Cameron played in 102 NHA games, scoring 53 goals and 22 assists.
• He played in 139 NHL games, scoring 93 goals and 55 assists.
• Cameron used steam to bend the blade of his wooden hockey stick.
• He officiated one NHL game on November 11, 1933, when the Boston Bruins played the Montreal Canadiens at The Forum.
• Cameron was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963, ten years after his death.

Career statistics

Cameron, second from the right in the front row, with the 1913–14 Toronto Blueshirts.

Cameron, in the upper right corner, with the 1917–18 Toronto Arenas.

Regular season and playoffs

* Stanley Cup champion

Awards and achievements

• Stanley Cup – 1914 (with Toronto Blueshirts), 1918 (with Toronto Arenas), and 1922 (with Toronto St. Patricks)
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963