Smokey Harris

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For his brother, also a hockey player known by the nickname "Smokey", see Henry Harris (ice hockey).
Smokey Harris
Smoky Harris, Vancouver Millionaires.jpg
Smokey Harris with the 1913–14 Vancouver Millionaires.
Born (1890-10-11)October 11, 1890
Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada
Died June 4, 1974(1974-06-04) (aged 83)
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Left Wing/Rover
Shot Left
Played for Vancouver Millionaires
Portland Rosebuds
Vancouver Maroons
Seattle Metropolitans
Boston Bruins
Edmonton Eskimos
Playing career 1911–1932

Thomas Wilfred "Smokey, Fred" Harris (October 11, 1890 – June 4, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Harris played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA), the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). Harris was born in Port Arthur, Ontario. His brother Henry was also a professional ice hockey player. Harris scored the first goal in Boston Bruins' franchise history.

Hockey career[]

Harris with the Portland Rosebuds.

Harris first played senior hockey with the Kenora Thistles in the 1909–10 season. In 1911, he joined the Vancouver Millionaires of the PCHA, playing three seasons before being traded to the Portland Rosebuds before the 1914–15 season. He played four seasons for Portland but abandoned the team after the final season (1917–18) to join the army.[1]

Portland won the PCHA championship in 1916, briefly taking over the Stanley Cup before losing it in the 1916 Stanley Cup Finals to the Montreal Canadiens. After Portland folded, Harris returned to the Millionaires, playing another five seasons. With Vancouver, Harris played in the 1921 and 1923 Stanley Cup series, both times against the Ottawa Senators.

After one season with the Seattle Metropolitans, he was traded to the Boston Bruins of the NHL, scoring the Bruins' first-ever NHL goal on December 1, 1924 in the team's NHL debut game against the other NHL expansion team that year, the Montreal Maroons.[2] Harris's second-period goal tied the game 1-1. Boston prevailed 2-1. Harris played six games for the Bruins before being traded again, to the Vancouver Maroons of the WCHL, the renamed Millionaires franchise.

After one season with Vancouver, Harris moved to California where, except for 1926–27 where he played for the Edmonton Eskimos of the Prairie League, he played out his career for teams in Los Angeles and San Francisco in the California Pro League. His final season was 1931–32 for the San Francisco Rangers. He was briefly playing coach for the Los Angeles Richfield Oil in 1925–26, and coached a full season for the Hollywood Millionaires in 1929–30.

Playing style[]

Fred Harris played primarily as a left winger, where he would make good use of his speed skating down the rink side. Vancouver Daily World prior to the 1921–22 PCHA season described Harris' rushes along the boards in "famous 'fly-on-the-wall'" terms.[3] He was not only a capable goalscorer but also a strong set-up man, which he showed during the 1920–21 PCHA season where his 17 assists led the league and helped him to a shared first place in the overall scoring race (32 points) with Frank Fredrickson of the Victoria Aristocrats. He also co-led (with Art Duncan) the PCHA in assists during the 1923–24 PCHA season with 10 helpers.

Harris also played occasionally as a rover, an archaic position between the offensive defenceman and the centre forward position, where he would display more defensive responsibilities. A match report in the Vancouver Daily World from the 1919–20 PCHA season, covering a game between the Vancouver Millionaires and the Seattle Metropolitans, described Harris' use of the hook-check in breaking up Seattle attacks with the characteristic sweeping motion of the stick along the ice.[4]

Career statistics[]

Caricature of Smokey Harris with the Vancouver Millionaires, 1919.

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1910–11 Kenora Thistles MHL 6 13 0 13 — 2 3 0 3 —
1911–12 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 15 4 0 4 55 — — — — —
1912–13 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 16 14 6 20 61 — — — — —
1913–14 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 15 14 3 17 33 — — — — —
1914–15 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 18 14 3 17 39 — — — — —
1915–16 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 18 10 6 16 75 — — — — —
1915–16 Portland Rosebuds St-Cup — — — — — 5 4 0 4 21
1916–17 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 23 18 13 31 39 — — — — —
1917–18 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 8 6 5 11 19 — — — — —
1918–19 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 20 19 6 25 19 2 2 0 2 3
1919–20 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 22 14 11 25 12 2 0 1 1 0
1920–21 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 24 15 17 32 6 2 6 2 8 0
1920–21 Vancouver Millionaires St-Cup — — — — — 5 2 1 3 6
1921–22 Vancouver Millionaires PCHA 23 10 4 14 21 — — — — —
1922–23 Vancouver Maroons PCHA 20 10 6 16 26 2 0 0 0 0
1922–23 Vancouver Maroons St-Cup — — — — — 4 1 0 1 8
1923–24 Seattle Metropolitans PCHA 30 8 10 18 30 2 0 0 0 4
1924–25 Boston Bruins NHL 6 3 1 4 8 — — — — —
1924–25 Vancouver Maroons WCHL 14 0 1 1 16 — — — — —
1926–27 Edmonton Eskimos PrHL 32 12 12 24 68 — — — — —
1927–28 Los Angeles Richfield Oil Cal-Pro 21 10 5 15 26 — — — — —
1928–29 San Francisco Tigers Cal-Pro 36 13 13 26 43 — — — — —
1929–30 Hollywood Millionaires Cal-Pro 42 7 12 19 28 — — — — —
1930–31 San Francisco Tigers Cal-Pro 31 8 10 18 — — — — — —
1931–32 San Francisco Rangers Cal-Pro 30 3 8 11 — — — — — —
PCHA totals 252 156 90 246 416 10 8 3 11 7
NHL totals 6 3 1 4 8 — — — — —

Awards[]

  • PCHA First All-Star Team – 1913, 1916, 1920
  • PCHA Second All-Star Team – 1922

Transactions[]

  • January 1, 1914 – Traded to Portland (PCHA) by Vancouver (PCHA) for Ken Mallen
  • November 29, 1918 – Transferred to Vancouver (PCHA) after Portland (PCHA) franchise folded
  • October 30, 1923 – Traded to Seattle (PCHA) by Vancouver (PCHA) for cash
  • November 2, 1924 – Traded to Boston (NHL) by Seattle (PCHA) for cash
  • December 21, 1924 – Traded to Vancouver (WCHL) by Boston for cash
  • December 3, 1926 – Signed as a free agent by Edmonton (PrHL)
  • October 17, 1927 – Signed as a free agent by LA Richfield (Cal-Pro)

References[]

  1. ^ "Alec Irvin, Winnipeg, and Fred Harris Are Signed By Patrick for Vancouver – Harris With Vancouver". The Vancouver Daily World, December 23, 1918 (pg. 10).
  2. ^ Pelletier, Joseph (June 2011). "Joe Pelletier's Greatest Hockey Legends.com - Smokey Harris". bruinslegends.blogspot.com. bruinslegends.blogspot.com. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  3. ^ "Three players have signed up". The Vancouver Daily World, November 8, 1921 (pg. 8).
  4. ^ "Vancouver Scores Great Victory Over Seattle Metropolitans, 3 to 2 – Skinner Makes Great Showing". The Vancouver Daily World, January 6, 1920 (pg. 10).

External links[]

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