June 28, 1924: The Death of Jack Darragh

June 28, 1924: Jack Darragh dies in Ottawa. He was only 33 years old, and was the best hockey player of the last 5, maybe 10 years.

John Proctor Darragh was born on December 4, 1890 in Ottawa, Ontario, the national capital of Canada. The right wing arrived with the Ottawa Senators at the start of the 1910-11 season, only 20 years old, and he helped them win the Stanley Cup in his 1st season.

The Senators went into rebuilding mode, and the game was led by men like "Phantom" Joe Malone of the Quebec Bulldogs and Édouard "Newsy" Lalonde of the Montreal Canadiens. Eventually, the Senators built a new team, with Darragh forming a forward-line partnership with Frank Nighbor.

The Ottawa Citizen newspaper called him a "model athlete" who never smoked or tasted liquor in any form, and that he "trained assiduously both in and out of the hockey seasons and always kept himself in perfect condition." According to the newspaper Darragh was a "beautiful specimen of an athlete and his weight, coupled with terrific speed and magnificent stickhandling, made him a terror to opposing teams."

With a 1st line of Nighbor flanked by Darragh and team Captain Eddie Gerard at left wing, plus right wing Harry "Punch" Broadbent, left wing and Cy Denneny, defensemen Sprague Cleghorn and George "Buck" Boucher, and goaltender Clint Benedict, 8 men who would one day be elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Otttawa Senators won the Stanley Cup in 1920 and 1921.

Though only 30 years old, Darragh retired after the 1921 Cup. The Toronto St. Patricks, forerunners of the Maple Leafs, won the Cup in 1922. Darragh came out of retirement, and helped the Senators win the Cup again in 1923. In the 1923-24 season, he collided with Edmond Bouchard of the Hamilton Tigers, breaking his kneecap. He missed much of the season, and retired again.

Three months after the season ended, on June 28, 1924, Darragh's appendix ruptured, and, in those pre-antibiotic days, he died of peritonitis. Indeed, several members of the 1911 Cup-winning Senators died young, none of them as a result of serving in World War I: Marty Walsh of tuberculosis in 1915, Hamby Shore in the Spanish flu epidemic in 1918, Darragh of appendicitis in 1924, Bruce Ridpath of a stroke in 1925, Fred Lake in 1937 from the effects of a car accident 2 years earlier, and Albert Kerr of unknown causes in 1941. Only goaltender Percy LeSueur lived to be older than 54, living to be 80.

Darragh was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962. His brother, Harold Darragh, also played in the NHL, and lived to be 90.

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June 28, 1924 was a Saturday. These baseball games were played:

* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 4-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Bobby Veach hit a sacrifice fly to tie the game for the Red Sox in the bottom of the 9th inning. In the top of the 12th, Everett Scott singled Wally Pipp home, and the Yankees got another run thanks to an error by the Sox' 2nd baseman, Bill Wambsganss, famous for turning an unassisted triple play for Cleveland in the 1920 World Series. The Sox got a run back in the bottom of the 12th, and had the tying run on first. But Herb Pennock got the last out, finishing a 12-inning win.

 * The New York Giants beat the Boston Braves, 9-8 at the Polo Grounds. The Braves scored 2 runs in the top of the 9th, tying the game. But Emil "Irish" Meusel doubled Frankie Frisch home with the winning run.

* The Brooklyn Robins -- as the Dodgers were known during Wilbert Robinson's managing from 1914 to 1931 -- swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Phillies, 9-1 and 10-1 at Baker Bowl in Philadelphia.

* The Washington Senators swept a doubleheader from the Philadelphia Athletics, 4-1 and 4-0 at Griffith Stadium in Washington. George Mogridge pitched a 6-hit shutout in the nightcap.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Chicago Cubs, 3-0 at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. Ray Kremer pitched a 4-hit shutout.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Cleveland Indians, 9-3 at League Park in Cleveland. Ty Cobb, by this point also the manager of the Tigers, went 2-for-5. Tris Speaker, by this point also the manager of the Indians, went 1-for-4.

* The St. Louis Browns beat the Chicago White Sox, 13-12 at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Ken Williams singled George Sisler home with the winning run in the top of the 14th inning. For the Browns, Marty McManus and William "Baby Doll" Jacobson each had 4 hits; Williams, Sisler and Jack Tobin each had 3. Williams and McManus each had 3 RBIs. For the White Sox, Eddie Coolins went 2-for-5 with a home run, 3 walks and 4 RBIs. Bibb Falk had 4 hits; Johnny Mostil, Harry Hooper, Bill Barrett and Roy Elsh (who didn't even start the game), 3 each.

* And the Cincinnati Reds swept the St. Louis Cardinals, 5-2 and 8-7 at Sportsman's Park in St. Louis. Rogers Hornsby went 0-for-4 in the 1st game, but 3-for-3 with a walk and 2 RBIs in the 2nd game.