Babe Siebert | |||
---|---|---|---|
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1964 | |||
Born |
Plattsville, Ontario, Canada |
January 14, 1904||
Died | August 25, 1939 Lake Huron, Ontario, Canada |
(aged 35)||
Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
Weight | 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb) | ||
Position | Left Wing/Defence | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Montreal Maroons New York Rangers Boston Bruins Montreal Canadiens |
||
Playing career | 1925–1939 |
Charles Albert "Babe" Siebert (January 14, 1904 – August 25, 1939) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Maroons, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens. He won the 1926 Stanley Cup championship with the Maroons, and was a member of the famous "S Line", and another with the Rangers in 1933.
A physical forward known for his fighting ability while with the Maroons and Rangers, an apparent decline in his play was reversed when he switched to defence after he was traded to the Bruins. Siebert was named an all-star three times after the switch and won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1937 as a member of the Canadiens.
Siebert was named the head coach of the Canadiens upon his retirement as a player in 1939. He never coached a game as he drowned in Lake Huron prior to the 1939–40 NHL season. The league organized an all-star benefit game that raised $15,000 for Siebert's family. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.
Born in Plattsville, Ontario, Siebert grew up in the nearby community of Zurich, located on the eastern shores of Lake Huron. He became obsessed with hockey at an early age, playing the game nearly every day. He played intermediate hockey in Zurich and Exeter before moving to Kitchener to play junior hockey. Though his elder brothers mocked his simple playing style—he used his size and strength to push his way through opponents—Siebert was invited to join the Kitchener Greenshirts in 1922. He won the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) and eastern Canadian junior championships with Kitchener in 1922–23, but lost the Memorial Cup final to the University of Manitoba. After a year of senior hockey in Kitchener, he moved on to the Niagara Falls Cataracts, winning the OHA senior championship in 1924–25.