Alcide Laurin
February 24, 1905: For what is believed to be the 1st time, a hockey player dies during a game. And it led to a charge of murder.
Joseph Onésime Maxime Laurin, a.k.a. Alcide Laurin, was born on November 21, 1880 in Sainte-Marthe, Quebec, about 45 miles west of Montreal, and 80 miles east of Ottawa. He played for the Alexandria Crescents, in Alexandria, across the Provincial line in what is now North Glengarry, Ontario. I can find no further information about him, not even what position he played.
On February 24, 1905, the Crescents played the Maxwell Hockey Club, of Maxwell, Ontario. This was a long roadtrip: Maxwell is in the northern part of the southern Ontario peninsula, about 90 miles northwest of Toronto. Allan Loney, a 19-year-old defenseman for Maxwell, struck Laurin in the temple with his stick. Laurin was dead within minutes, at the age of 24.
Loney was charged with murder. He claimed self-defense. The charges were later reduced from murder to manslaughter, and he was subsequently acquitted.
According to the February 28, 1905 issue of The Windsor Star, 2,000 people attended Laurin's funeral in Alexandria the day before.
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February 24, 1905 was a Friday. Hockey was the only major sport in season at the time, and calling it "major" is a bit of an exaggeration, as it was still, at least officially, all-amateur at the time. So there were no scores in other sports on this day.
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