Art Ross facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Art Ross
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1949
Ross with the Montreal Wanderers, circa 1907–18
Born	(1885-01-13)January 13, 1885 Naughton, Ontario, Canada
Died	August 5, 1964(1964-08-05) (aged 79) Medford, Massachusetts, United States
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position	Point/Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	Montreal Wanderers Ottawa Hockey Club Haileybury Comets Brandon Wheat City Kenora Thistles
Playing career	1905–1918

Arthur Howe Ross (January 13, 1885 – August 5, 1964) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and manager. He played from 1905 until 1918. Many people thought he was one of the best defenders of his time. He was one of the first players to skate with the puck up the ice instead of always passing it.

Ross won the Stanley Cup twice as a player. He won in 1907 with the Kenora Thistles and in 1908 with the Montreal Wanderers. Like other players back then, Ross played for many different teams. He is most famous for his time with the Wanderers in the National Hockey Association (NHA) and later the National Hockey League (NHL).

In 1911, he helped lead one of the first player strikes to get better pay. When the Wanderers' home arena burned down in 1918, the team stopped playing, and Ross retired as a player. After playing, Ross became a referee and then a coach. He was the first coach and general manager for the Boston Bruins when they started in 1924. He coached the Bruins three times until 1945 and stayed as general manager until 1954. Ross helped the Bruins finish first in the league ten times and win the Stanley Cup three times. He personally coached them to two of those wins.

Ross also helped make hockey better. He created a style of hockey puck that is still used today. He also suggested better goal nets, which were used for 40 years. In 1947, Ross donated the Art Ross Trophy. This award goes to the player who scores the most points in the NHL regular season. Ross was put into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1949.

Early Life of Art Ross

Ross was born on January 13, 1885, in Naughton, Ontario, Canada. His father, Thomas Barnston Ross, was from Scotland. His mother, Marguerite McLeod, taught him French. The family lived near a trading post in Northern Ontario. Ross learned to skate on a nearby lake. He grew up speaking English and French.

In 1896, his family moved to Westmount, a part of Montreal. Ross went to Westmount Academy. He was good at many sports, especially hockey and Canadian football. He started playing organized hockey around 1900. He played for the Westmount Amateur Athletic Association. There, he met brothers Lester and Frank Patrick, who also became famous in hockey.

Playing Career Highlights

Starting in Senior Hockey (1905–1909)

The Kenora Thistles posing for a photo with the Stanley Cup in 1907. Ross is in the front row, far right.

In 1905, Ross started playing in a senior league called the Canadian Amateur Hockey League (CAHL). He played for Montreal Westmount and scored ten goals in eight games. People thought he was one of the best defenders who could skate with the puck. Most defenders back then would just shoot the puck away or pass it. Ross, however, would skate the puck into the other team's zone.

Later that year, he moved to Brandon, Manitoba, to work in banking. He joined the Brandon Wheat City Hockey Club. In 1907, the Kenora Thistles, who were champions, paid Ross $1,000 to play for them in the Stanley Cup challenge against the Montreal Wanderers. This was common at the time. The Thistles won the Cup. Ross didn't score, but he helped start many plays. He was the second player to win the Cup with different teams in a row.

In 1908, Ross moved back to Montreal and joined the Wanderers. He scored eight goals in ten games. He helped the team win the ECAHA league and keep the Stanley Cup. In January 1908, he played in the first all-star game in sports history. It was a game to help the family of a former player who had died. For the 1909 season, Ross asked for a salary of $1,600. He ended up getting $1,200, which was a lot more than the average salary of $600.

Playing in the NHA and NHL (1909–1918)

Art Ross circa 1909

In late 1909, a new league called the Canadian Hockey Association (CHA) was formed. Ross was a player-manager for one of the teams. This league didn't last long. Ross then joined the Haileybury Comets in the National Hockey Association (NHA). This league became the top hockey league in Canada. He earned $2,700 for the 1910 season.

Before the next season, the NHA put a limit on how much teams could spend on player salaries. Players, including Ross, were unhappy because this meant less pay. They tried to form their own league but couldn't find arenas to play in. Ross scored four goals in eleven games with the Wanderers in 1911. He was known as a tough player.

In 1914, Ross asked for more money from the Wanderers. When they didn't agree right away, he tried to get other players to form a new league. This led to him being suspended from hockey for a short time. He then joined the Ottawa Senators.

The Ottawa Senators during the 1914–15 NHA season. Ross is in the back row, fourth from left.

In the 1914–15 season, the Senators and Wanderers had the same record. They played a two-game series to decide the NHA champion. Ross scored one goal in the first game, helping Ottawa win. Ottawa won the series and went on to play for the Stanley Cup. To stop the fast Wanderers, Ross created a new defense system. It was called "kitty bar the door." Three defenders would line up across the ice to stop the other team's attacks. This idea later led to the "neutral zone trap" defense.

Ross returned to the Montreal Wanderers in 1916 to manage his sporting goods store. He played 16 games for them. In November 1917, the Wanderers, along with other teams, formed the National Hockey League (NHL). Ross was named coach and player for the Wanderers. He played in the very first NHL game on December 19, 1917. The Wanderers won 10–9. Ross got the first penalty in NHL history and scored his only NHL goal in that game.

On January 2, 1918, a fire destroyed the Wanderers' home arena, the Montreal Arena. The team had to stop playing after only four games. With the Wanderers gone, Ross retired as a player. He played only three NHL games and scored one goal.

Managerial Career

Coaching and Managing the Bruins (1918–1936)

Ross started coaching even while he was still playing. In 1910, he coached the McGill University hockey team. After his playing career, Ross became an NHL referee. He coached the Hamilton Tigers for one season in 1922–23. He focused on physical fitness in training, but the team still finished last.

In 1924, the Boston Bruins were formed as a new team in the NHL. Charles Adams, the team owner, hired Ross to be the first coach and general manager. Adams asked Ross to come up with a nickname for the team that showed speed and cleverness. Ross named the team the Boston Bruins, which means "bears" in Old English. The name fit well with the team's original brown and yellow colors.

Ross used his many connections to find players for the Bruins. However, the team started poorly. In their first season (1924–25), they won only six games out of 30. This was one of the worst records in league history. The next season, the team improved a lot, winning 17 games.

In 1926, Ross convinced Adams to buy the rights to players from another league that was closing down. This allowed the Bruins to get many future Hockey Hall of Fame players, like defender Eddie Shore. Ross also signed goalie Cecil "Tiny" Thompson in 1928, even though he had never seen him play. These players helped the Bruins improve quickly. They won the Stanley Cup in 1929.

After winning the Cup, Ross guided the team to several league records in the 1929–30 season. The team won 38 out of 44 games, which is the highest winning percentage ever in the league. They also had a 14-game winning streak, which was a record for a long time.

On March 26, 1931, Ross did something new in a playoff game. He took his goalie, Tiny Thompson, off the ice in the last minute to add an extra skater. This was the first time a coach replaced a goalie with an extra attacker. Even though the Bruins lost that game, this tactic became common in hockey. Ross stepped aside as coach in 1934 to focus on being the general manager. He hired Frank Patrick to coach.

Later Years as Manager (1936–1954)

The Art Ross Trophy. Ross donated the trophy in 1947 to be awarded to the leading scorer in the NHL regular season.

Ross took over coaching again in 1936. He had recently signed three new players: Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer, and Woody Dumart. They were known as the "Kraut Line." With these players and a new goalie, Frank Brimsek, the Bruins finished first in the league in 1937–38. Ross was named the second-best coach in the league.

The next season (1938–39), the Bruins won 36 out of 48 games and won the Stanley Cup in the playoffs. Ross was named the best coach in the league. The Bruins won the Cup again in 1941. Ross took over as coach again for the 1941–42 season. During World War II, many Bruins players, including the "Kraut Line" and Brimsek, joined the military. The Bruins missed the playoffs in 1943–44 for the first time in ten years.

On November 11, 1943, Art Ross became the first NHL coach to pull the goalie for an extra attacker to try and tie the game. The other team scored into the empty net, and the Bruins lost. Ross retired as general manager in October 1954. His son, Art Jr., became the business manager for the Bruins.

Art Ross's Legacy in Hockey

Besides his career with the Bruins, Ross also worked to improve the game of hockey. Before the 1927–28 season, the NHL started using a new style of goal net that Ross created. This net was shaped like a "B" at the back, which helped catch pucks better. This net design was used until 1984.

He also improved the design of the puck. Ross's puck had slanted edges, which made it bounce less. It was also made from synthetic rubber instead of natural rubber. Along with New York Rangers coach Frank Boucher, Ross helped create the red line on the ice. This line was added to make the game faster by stopping defenders from passing the puck too far down the ice. Until 2006, it was against the rules to make a "two-line pass." More scoring chances happened because teams couldn't just send the puck down the ice easily. Ross also suggested that the red line be striped so it would be easier to see on television.

Ross was considered one of the best defenders during his playing career. He was put into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1949 for his playing skills. In 1975, he was also inducted into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame. In 1947, he and his two sons donated the Art Ross Trophy to the NHL. This trophy is given to the player who scores the most points in the regular season. In 1984, he was given the Lester Patrick Trophy for his service to hockey in the United States.

Personal Life

After high school, Ross worked at a bank. Later, he opened his own sporting goods store in Montreal, called Art Ross & Co. He ran this store for many years. In 1928, he also worked for the Boston Braves baseball team, which was owned by Charles Adams, the Bruins owner.

On April 14, 1915, Ross married Muriel Kay. They had two sons, Arthur Jr. and John. Both sons served in the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II. After the war, Ross made his son Art Jr. the business manager for the Bruins. When Ross was hired by the Boston Bruins in 1924, he moved his family to Brookline, Massachusetts, near Boston. He became an American citizen in 1938. Art Ross died on August 5, 1964, in Medford, Massachusetts, at age 79.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

Awards

NHL

See also

In Spanish: Art Ross para niños