Cecil Hart

Cecil Hart.

Cecil Mordecai Hart (November 28, 1883 – July 16, 1940) was a head coach of the Montreal Canadiens.

Biography[]

Cecil Hart was Jewish, a direct descendant of Aaron Hart who was Canada's first Jewish settler,^[1] and was born in Bedford, Quebec.

Hart helped lead the team to three Stanley Cups, in 1924, 1930, and 1931. He was fired after a dispute with Canadiens' owner Léo Dandurand after leading the Canadiens to first place in the 1931–32 season, but after Dandurand and Joseph Cattarinich sold the Canadiens to Ernest Savard and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company, the Canadiens hit bottom in 1935–36.

To rebuild the team, they rehired Hart in 1936–37, but Hart would only come back if Howie Morenz did. A deal was arranged and with Morenz back, and despite the death of Morenz during the season, Hart managed to lead the Canadiens to first place. After that, the team eroded as age caught up with some key players. When the Canadiens were reclining near the cellar in 1938–39, Cecil resigned as coach and manager.^[2]

Hart later became vice president and treasurer of the Quebec, Ontario and Vermont Baseball League also before his untimely death.

Hart died after a lengthy illness in July 1940. Hart's father, David Hart, donated the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1923. Hart was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

NHL coaching record[]

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	Pts	Division rank	Result
Montreal Maroons	1924–25	19	8	9	2	18		(Fired)
Montreal Canadiens	1926–27	44	28	14	2	58	2nd in Canadian	Lost in Semi-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1927–28	44	26	11	7	59	1st in Canadian	Lost in Semi-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1928–29	44	22	7	15	59	1st in Canadian	Lost in Semi-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1929–30	44	21	14	9	51	2nd in Canadian	Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens	1930–31	44	26	10	8	60	1st in Canadian	Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens	1931–32	48	25	16	7	57	1st in Canadian	Lost in Semi-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1936–37	48	24	18	6	54	1st in Canadian	Lost in Semi-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1937–38	48	18	17	13	49	3rd in Canadian	Lost in Quarter-Finals
Montreal Canadiens	1938–39	30	6	18	6	(18)	6th in NHL	(Fired)
NHL Total		413	204	134	73

References[]

^ "Jews In Sports". jewsinsports.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-01-16.
^ "Cecil Hart - Bio, pictures, stats and more - Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens". canadiens.com.

Preceded by Position created	Head coach of the Montreal Maroons 1924–25	Succeeded by Eddie Gerard
Preceded by Leo Dandurand	Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens 1926–32	Succeeded by Newsy Lalonde
Preceded by Sylvio Mantha	Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens 1936–39	Succeeded by Jules Dugal
Preceded by Ernest Savard	General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens 1936–39	Succeeded by Jules Dugal

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[1] "Jews In Sports". jewsinsports.org. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2018-01-16.

[2] "Cecil Hart - Bio, pictures, stats and more - Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens". canadiens.com.

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