November 2, 1947: The Toronto Maple Leafs trade Gus Bodnar, Bud Polie, Gaye Stewart, Ernie Dickens and Bob Goldham to the Chicago Black Hawks, for Max Bentley and Cy Thomas.
The trade sent shockwaves throughout the league. The 5 players sent to Chicago essentially formed an entire starting unit. NHL President Clarence Campbell stated he was "astounded" by the deal, and stated it ranked with the Maple Leafs' purchase of King Clancy in 1930 as one of the most significant transactions in league history. "It is the biggest deal in NHL hockey in a long, long time," he said, "and only goes to emphasize the worth of such a player as Bentley, and puts him on a very high plane."
Nevertheless, he allowed it -- because, many Montreal Canadiens fans thought, he was secretly a Maple Leafs fan.
The trade was still being discussed weeks later as observers throughout the league attempted to assess which team received the better deal. Bentley was initially disappointed to leave his brother in Chicago, but quickly adapted to Toronto where he was immediately popular.
Maxwell Herbert Lloyd Bentley was born on March 1, 1920 in Delisle, Saskatchewan. His brother, Douglas Wagner Bentley, preceded him on September 3, 1916. Preceding them both was another brother, Reginald Stewart Bentley, on May 3, 1914. Their father, Bill Bentley, emigrated from Yorkshire in northern England, and moved to Canada, becoming Mayor of Delisle and building the town's skating rink, where his boys became hockey players, and Max became a local champion speed skater.
Doug was a left wing, and debuted in the NHL with the Black Hawks in 1939. Max was a center, and debuted with the Hawks in 1940. Reg was also a left wing, but, despite being older, he didn't reach the NHL until 1942.
On January 1, 1943, the Bentleys formed what remains the NHL's only all-brother forward line, in a 6-5 win over the New York Rangers at Chicago Stadium. On January 3, in a 3-3 draw with the Rangers at Madison Square Garden, Reg scored what turned out to be his only NHL goal, with Max and Doug assisting, the only all-brother goal in NHL history.
The Black Hawks reached the Stanley Cup Finals in 1944. After the trade to Toronto, Max, known as "the Dipsy Doodle Dandy from Delisle," helped the Leafs win the Cup in 1948, 1949 and 1951. He remained with them through the 1952-53 season, and played the 1954-55 season with the Rangers. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
In the off-season, the brothers ran the family wheat farm and cattle ranch outside Delisle. Doug remained with the Black Hawks into the 1951-52 season, and was still playing professionally as late as 1963. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1964, and died in 1972. Reg's career had lasted only 11 games at the NHL level, last playing professionally in 1952. He died in 1980. Max followed in 1984, only 63 years old.
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November 2, 1947 was a Sunday. That day, before the trade was finalized, the Leafs lost to the New York Rangers, 7-4 at Madison Square Garden. Poile and Stewart were the only players involved in the trade who played in the game.
The Black Hawks lost to the Montreal Canadiens, 4-2 at the Chicago Stadium. Both Bentley brothers played for the Hawks, as the trade hadn't yet been announced. And the Detroit Red Wings beat the Boston Bruins, 2-1 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
Baseball was out of season. The league that would become the NBA began its season 10 days later. There were 5 games played in the NFL:
* The New York Giants lost to the Detroit Lions, 35-7 at Briggs Stadium (later Tiger Stadium) in Detroit.
* The Chicago Bears beat the Boston Yanks, 28-24 at Fenway Park in Boston.
* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Washington Redskins, 38-14 at Griffith Stadium in Washington.
* The Chicago Cardinals beat the Los Angeles Rams, 17-10 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
* And the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Green Bay Packers, 18-17 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 there were 3 games played in the All-America Football Conference:
* The football version of the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Colts, 35-21 at Yankee Stadium.
* The Cleveland Browns beat the Buffalo Bills (not the current version), 28-7 at Civic Stadium (later War Memorial Stadium) in Buffalo.
* And the San Francisco 49ers beat the Los Angeles Dons, 26-16 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
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