Rat Westwick
| Rat Westwick | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 1963 | |||
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| Born |
April 23, 1876 Ottawa, ON, CAN |
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| Died | April 3, 1957 (aged 80) Ottawa, ON, CAN |
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| Position | Rover | ||
| team | Ottawa Hockey Club | ||
| Playing career | 1894–1909 | ||
Harry "Rat" Westwick (April 23, 1876 – April 3, 1957) was a Canadian athlete in ice hockey and lacrosse. Westwick, nicknamed the Rat by a journalist, is most noted for his play with the Ottawa Hockey Club, nicknamed the Silver Seven during his day which won and defended the Stanley Cup from 1903 until 1906. He was a member of the Ottawa Capitals lacrosse team from 1896 until 1904, winning three championships. His brother Tom was also a professional ice hockey player.
Westwick, who played during a period when hockey players received little or no money, also worked as a book binder for various companies, and later, the Canadian government printing bureau. He enlisted in the Army in 1914 during World War I. When he married his wife Ruby Duval (sister of former Ottawa team mate Peg Duval) in February 1903, he combined his honeymoon with a team trip to Montreal. During the game, he suffered a broken ankle and watched the rest of the game from an arena seat with his bride. Ruby and Harry had six children: Bill, Thomas, Barberry, Elaine, Ula and Beatrice. His son Bill became the sports editor of the Ottawa Journal. Westwick died at home in Ottawa on April 3, 1957.
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Westwick played hockey for Ottawa teams, joining the intermediate Ottawa Aberdeens of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) in 1893. He moved up to the senior-level Ottawa Hockey Club the next season. At the time, Ottawa had lost its goaltender Albert Morel and Westwick played several games as goaltender before moving up to rover on the advice of a coach who saw his fast skating ability. During the summer, Westwick would play for the Ottawa Capitals in lacrosse. The Capitals, ostensibly an amateur team, were discovered to be paying players in 1896 and Westwick was suspended from ice hockey play. Westwick would deny receiving any money and he was reinstated by Ottawa in 1898, only to be suspended again in 1898 by the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union. In 1899, Westwick moved out of town to find work in Waterloo, Ontario but returned to Ottawa in time to play some games for the Capitals ice hockey team, by then playing in Ontario Hockey Association (OHA).
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