Charles Albert Siebert grew up in Zurich, Ontario, on the shore of Lake Huron, about 130 miles west of Toronto and 120 miles northeast of Detroit. He played left wing and won Stanley Cups with the 1926 Montreal Maroons and the 1933 New York Rangers. With Nels Stewart and Hooley Smith on the Maroons, he formed one of the first nicknamed forward lines in hockey, the S-Line.
In 1934, while with for the Boston Bruins, he played in the 1st All-Star benefit game for an NHL player, Ace Bailey of the Toronto Maple Leafs, whose career, and very nearly his life, was ended by a vicious check by Bruin defenseman Eddie Shore. (There had been benefits for players in the pre-NHL era, including in 1908 for the family of Montreal Wanderers star William Hodgson "Hod" Stuart, who had died in a diving accident the year before, only 28.)
Indeed, Bruins general manager Art Ross traded for Siebert specifically to convert him to a defenseman and play in place of the suspended Shore. When Shore returned, they formed a formidable defensive pairing.
But the 2 stars couldn't get along, and, in 1936, the Bruins traded him to the Montreal Canadiens. He was immediately named their Captain, led them to the Canadian Division title (though they got knocked out of the Playoffs by the Detroit Red Wings in the Stanley Cup Semifinals), and won the 1937 Hart Trophy as NHL Most Valuable Player.
The following fall, he played in another All-Star benefit game, this time for Canadiens superstar Howie Morenz, who had died in March from complications from leg surgery. The Habs had slumped since his injury, and this, plus the thought that he would never play again, and all the well-wishers coming in and bringing him booze, brought on a heart attack. With today's medicine, Morenz would have had his leg in an immobilizer, been out of the hospital the next day, and would have been back on the ice at the start of the next season, presuming he didn't want to retire. He was only 34, so he should have had several years left if he so chose.
Siebert's wife Bernice was left a paraplegic following complications during the birth of their 2nd child. Babe spent most of his income on her medical bills and various means of making life more convenient for her. Fans at the Forum routinely saw him carry his wife to her seat before every home game, and then carry her out after. This made him immensely popular with fans, especially women.
In 1939, 35 years old and plagued with injuries, he retired. This made him, probably, the last NHL player other than a goaltender to wear Number 1. He was immediately offered the Canadiens' head coaching position.
He never got the chance to coach a game. On August 25, 1939, while vacationing with his family and swimming with his daughters Judy and Joan, then just 11 and 10 years old, at a family cottage on the shore of Lake Huron, he drowned attempting to retrieve an inflatable tire they were playing with.
The league organized an all-star benefit game to aid Siebert's widow and daughters. It was the 3rd such benefit game in NHL history, and, as I said, Siebert had played in the 1st 2. The Canadiens faced an all-star team composed of the best players from the remaining teams. The All-Stars won, 5-2. Though only about 6,000 fans showed up, the organizers met their target of $15,000.
Albert "Babe" Siebert should not be confused with Earl Seibert (note the different spelling), a defenseman who also played in the 1930s, and most of the 1940s. He was a teammate of Babe Siebert on the Cup-winning 1933 Rangers, and also won the Cup with the 1938 Chicago Black Hawks.
Siebert's wife Bernice was left a paraplegic following complications during the birth of their 2nd child. Babe spent most of his income on her medical bills and various means of making life more convenient for her. Fans at the Forum routinely saw him carry his wife to her seat before every home game, and then carry her out after. This made him immensely popular with fans, especially women.
In 1939, 35 years old and plagued with injuries, he retired. This made him, probably, the last NHL player other than a goaltender to wear Number 1. He was immediately offered the Canadiens' head coaching position.
He never got the chance to coach a game. On August 25, 1939, while vacationing with his family and swimming with his daughters Judy and Joan, then just 11 and 10 years old, at a family cottage on the shore of Lake Huron, he drowned attempting to retrieve an inflatable tire they were playing with.
The league organized an all-star benefit game to aid Siebert's widow and daughters. It was the 3rd such benefit game in NHL history, and, as I said, Siebert had played in the 1st 2. The Canadiens faced an all-star team composed of the best players from the remaining teams. The All-Stars won, 5-2. Though only about 6,000 fans showed up, the organizers met their target of $15,000.
Albert "Babe" Siebert should not be confused with Earl Seibert (note the different spelling), a defenseman who also played in the 1930s, and most of the 1940s. He was a teammate of Babe Siebert on the Cup-winning 1933 Rangers, and also won the Cup with the 1938 Chicago Black Hawks.
Sadly, he was the player who got tangled up along the boards with Morenz, and, until his own death in 1990, blamed himself -- unfairly, since it wasn't the broken leg that killed Morenz. Seibert is also in the Hockey Hall of Fame, as is his father, Oliver Seibert (the 1st father & son in the Hall), and in 1998, as part of its 50th Anniversary celebrations, The Hockey News ranked him Number 72 on their list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. (Babe Siebert didn't make the list.)
Babe Siebert was buried in Woodland Cemetery in Kitchener, Ontario, outside Hamilton. Kitchener is the hometown of New Jersey Devils Hall-of-Famer Scott Stevens.
*
October 29, 1939 was a Sunday. The NHL's regular season began 4 days later. The NBA hadn't been founded yet. Baseball season ended 21 days earlier, with the New York Yankees' sweep of the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series. These games were played in the NFL:
* The New York Giants beat the Brooklyn Dodgers, 7-6 at Ebbets Field. The football version of the Dodgers went out of business after the 1949 season. The most notable thing about them is that they were owned by Yankees co-owner Dan Topping, and, in 1951, Topping brought the football Dodgers' public address announcer to Yankee Stadium. His name was Bob Sheppard, and he would be the Yankees' P.A. announcer until 2007, also doing the football Giants' games from 1956 to 1996.
* The Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Rams played to a tie, 14-14 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Pittsburgh vs. Cleveland would eventually become a great NFL rivalry, but not under those names, and not with both of those teams. The Pirates renamed themselves the Steelers in 1940. The Rams moved to Los Angeles for the 1946 season, and the Browns became Cleveland's new NFL team in 1950, after dominating the All-America Football Conference for 4 years.
* The Detroit Lions beat the Chicago Bears, 10-0 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
* The Green Bay Packers beat the Washington Redskins, 24-14 at the Dairy Bowl in the Milwaukee suburb of West Allis, Wisconsin. The Dairy Bowl was a football stadium built in the infield of a speedway, now known as the Milwaukee Mile, at the Wisconsin State Fair Park.
* And the Philadelphia Eagles and the Chicago Cardinals each had a bye week.
No comments:
Post a Comment