Smokey Harris facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Smokey Harris |
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Smokey Harris with the 1913–14 Vancouver Millionaires.
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| Born | October 11, 1890 Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada |
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| Died | June 4, 1974 (aged 83) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Left Wing/Rover | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Vancouver Millionaires Portland Rosebuds Vancouver Maroons Seattle Metropolitans Boston Bruins Edmonton Eskimos |
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| Playing career | 1911–1932 | ||
Thomas Wilfred "Smokey" Harris (born October 11, 1890 – died June 4, 1974) was a professional ice hockey player from Canada. He played in several major hockey leagues, including the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the National Hockey League (NHL), and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Smokey Harris was born in Port Arthur, Ontario, which is now part of Thunder Bay, Ontario. His brother, Henry, was also a professional hockey player. Smokey Harris made history by scoring the very first goal for the Boston Bruins team.
Hockey Career Highlights
Smokey Harris started playing senior hockey in the 1909–10 season with the Kenora Thistles. In 1911, he joined the Vancouver Millionaires in the PCHA. He played there for three seasons.
Then, he was traded to the Portland Rosebuds for the 1914–15 season. He played four seasons for Portland. After his last season with them in 1917–18, he left the team to join the army.
The Portland Rosebuds won the PCHA championship in 1916. They briefly held the Stanley Cup but lost it in the 1916 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens. After the Portland team stopped playing, Harris went back to the Vancouver Millionaires. He played five more seasons with them.
With Vancouver, Harris played in the Stanley Cup series in 1921 and 1923. Both times, his team played against the Ottawa Senators.
After playing one season with the Seattle Metropolitans, he was traded to the Boston Bruins in the NHL. On December 1, 1924, he scored the Bruins' first-ever NHL goal! This happened in their very first NHL game against another new team, the Montreal Maroons. Harris's goal in the second period tied the game 1-1, and Boston eventually won 2-1.
Harris played only six games for the Bruins before being traded again. He went to the Vancouver Maroons in the WCHL. This team was actually the renamed Millionaires franchise.
After one season with the Vancouver Maroons, Harris moved to California. He played for teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the California Pro League. The only exception was the 1926–27 season, when he played for the Edmonton Eskimos. His final season was in 1931–32 with the San Francisco Rangers. He also coached for a short time. He was a playing coach for the Los Angeles Richfield Oil in 1925–26. He also coached a full season for the Hollywood Millionaires in 1929–30.
How He Played
Fred Harris mainly played as a left winger. He was known for his amazing speed when skating down the side of the rink. People described his quick rushes along the boards as "famous 'fly-on-the-wall'" moves.
He was good at scoring goals, but he was also excellent at setting up plays for his teammates. In the 1920–21 PCHA season, he led the league with 17 assists. This helped him share first place in overall scoring with 32 points. He also shared the lead in assists in the 1923–24 PCHA season with 10 helpers.
Sometimes, Harris also played as a rover. This was an older position in hockey, where a player would be between the offensive defensemen and the center forward. In this role, he would help more with defense. A newspaper report from 1919–20 described how Harris used a "hook-check" to stop attacks from the other team. He would sweep his stick along the ice to break up their plays.
Images for kids
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Smokey Harris with the 1913–14 Vancouver Millionaires.
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Harris with the Portland Rosebuds.
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Caricature of Smokey Harris with the Vancouver Millionaires, 1919.
