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Back in 1928-29 Goalie George Hainsworth of the Montreal Canadiens made a fabulous big-league record. In a 44-game season, he had 22 shutouts to his credit, had only 43 goals scored against him. Even though nowhere near that mark, a goalie may still be great.
Out in front last week for this year's goalie honors was Cecil ("Tiny") Thompson, 200 pounds of brawn, whom the Boston Bruins have had for ten years since they picked him up from the famed Minneapolis Millers. Aided by famed Defenseman Eddie Shore, the Bruins' No. 1 performer for the past twelve years. Tiny Thompson had up to last week chalked up six shutouts this season, had allowed only 81 goals to be scored against him.
A hair's breadth behind Tiny Thompson stood the goalie who has been the sensation of this season: Dave Kerr of the Rangers. Kerr last week had had 83 goals scored against him, and if Tiny Thompson should lose his slim two-goal advantage, Kerr would lead the race because in an extraordinary early season performance he had chalked up eight shutouts.
Born in Toronto 27 years ago, Dave Kerr started to skate as soon as he could toddle, played organized hockey (for boys up to 15) when he was 9, was a star player in the Ontario Junior Hockey Association when he was 12. He got his high-school education (and an "expense account") by playing hockey at Iroquois Falls for the Abitibi Paper Co., which made a practice of rounding up the best available amateurs to keep its employes in good temper during a long Canadian winter. He went to McGill University while playing for the Montreal Amateur Athletic Association. After his team won the Allan Cup, Canada's No. 1 amateur trophy, Goalie Kerr turned professional, joined the Montreal Maroons, from whom the Rangers bought him in 1934.
In the summer, Dave Kerr works for a Toronto stockbroker, plays tennis and handball to keep in trim. In a sport which batters and bruises players so badly that the average hockey player is forced to retire after five years, he is outstanding. Only one stitch has been taken in his anatomy in the past four years. Famed Ching Johnson in twelve seasons of big-league hockey has had bones broken in 27 different parts of his body. Even more outstanding may be the records Dave Kerr establishes by the time he is Ching Johnson's age.
Patrickmen. Striking fact about this year's Rangers is that they have Dillon and Kerr, top team rating in goals scored, a standing of 55 points* last week and as a team are only two years old. Only team with a higher standing (59 last week) was the seasoned Boston Bruins, managed by Art Ross, who in his playing days once got $10 a minute for six exhibition games.
Manager of the Rangers is silver thatched, 54-year-old Lester Patrick. Patrick has been a name known to hockey fame since the early days of the century. Trained on Montreal's corner-lot rinks, where the game was played with tin cans and tree-branches, Lester Patrick went on to star at McGill University.* In 1909, the year after the sport was first professionalized, he became the most publicized player in Canada when he got $3,000 for playing twelve games for the famed Renfrew Millionaires.