Dr. Roderick Thomas Smylie
Dr. Smylie is likely the only doctor to ever to have been on a Stanley Cup winning team.
Born in Toronto in 1895, Rod and his family moved to New Liskeard in 1901, where he and older
brother Clifford learned to skate and play hockey on the Wabi River.
The boys returned to Toronto for high school, where they attended Harbord Collegiate. To earn
some money, they both took jobs delvering the Toronto Globe. Beginning at 5 a.m., the brothers would
run 3 kilometers to and from their delivery neighbourhoud. This training laid he foundation
for Rod's athletic feats still to come.
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With family finances stretched to the limit, the boys returned home in the summer of 1913
to work in the Casey Cobalt Mine, where they were cook's helpers and remained until the fall of
the following year. During the winter months at the Mine, a recreational hockey
team was organized, where Rod honed his skills, and was said to have been the best player in
the area.
With their earnings in the bank, the brothers returned to Toronto in 1914 and applied to medical
school at the University of Toronto, and began classes in the fall of 1916. University allowed
Rod's athletic career to flourish, exceling at track and field, becoming the Canadian 440 yard
track champion. He also tried out for the 1920 Canadian Olympic track team, but was overlooked
because he failed to qualify in more than one event, which was a requirement to cut costs.
He continued with hockey in university, playing with the Toronto Dentals, with who
he won the Allan Cup in 1917.
In 1920, Smylie joined the Toronto St-Pats of the fledgling NHL, playing in 23 games netting
2 goals. The next year he graduated and began his internship at St-Michael's hospital in
Toronto. It was surely a hectic time for Dr. Smylie, balancing hospital duties with a 24 game
NHL season, but he persevered and he and the Pats made it to the Stanley Cup playoffs against
the Vancouver Millionaires. Toronto went on to beat the Millionaires in game 5, winning the 1922
Stanley Cup.
After the victory, Rod told reporters he planned to retire and devote all of his time to medicine,
but hockey no doubt still had a hold on him, as he played part of the following four seasons in
Toronto and one in Ottawa with the Senators. He finally hung up his skates in 1926.
Smylie went on to marry and have two sons, both of who were also accomplished athletes who played
professional football in the 1940s and 1950s. He stayed in Toronto and worked into his 70s. He died
at age 90 in March of 1985.
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Dr. Francis Joseph "Duke" McCurry
A native of Toronto, Duke McCurry was an all around athlete who made a name for himself in the OHA before
heading to Pittsburgh to play pro hockey. He also was a good baseball player and tried out for a position
with the Toronto Leafs baseball team along side other hockeyists Babe Dye and Lionel Conacher in the summer
of 1926 while home for the summer.
I must admit that I was quite surprised to learn that Duke McCurry was a dentist. He played 4 seasons with
the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1925 to 1929 until he was traded to the Montreal Maroons in October. However,
he refused to report to the Maroons, possibly to complete dental school, and sat out the entire 1929-30 season.
He then signed with the Pittsburgh Yellowjackets of the IHL where he remained for one more year.
Duke returned to Toronto in the early 1930s, where a newspaper article quoted him as saying that his time in Toronto
was temporary as he expected the revive a dental practice in the US shortly. However, I was able to determine that he
continued to be a referee in the Toronto area for many years thereafter and died suddenly at St-Michael's Hospital in
Toronto on November 8, 1965.
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Dr. Stephen George "Duke" MacIsaac
Duke MacIsaac, who got his nickname because of his dapper attire, was a substitute goaltender for the
St-Pats, but he never suited up for an actual NHL game. Most of his ice time was with the Sydney
Millionaires, the Glace Bay Miners and the powerful Dalhousie University team.
For almost half a century, until his death on March 28, 1972, Duke had a dental practice in Glace Bay
where he settled after graduating.
Duke was one of the very first athletes to be named to the hockey section of the Nova Scotia Sports
Hall of Fame.
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Dr. Lou Hudson
Although not an NHL player, Lou Hudson was part of a truly amazing hockey story. In 1925,
a number of University of Toronto
grads weren't quite ready to jump right into their careers and forget about hockey just
yet. They set about putting together an unofficial team made up of doctors, lawyers, reporters
and more. It wasn't long before they became "official", and before they knew it they were in
Vacouver contesting Fort William for the Allan Cup, which they won. Not only did this place them
at the top of amateur hockey in Canada, but it also earned them the privilege of representing
Canada at the 1928 Winter Olymipics.
Dr. Hudson put on a great show alongside team captain Red Porter and future NHL players Hugh Plaxton
and Dave Trottier, where they easily won the gold medal racking up 38 goals and allowing none. The closest
competitor was Sweden with 7 goals and 12 against. Upon returning from Europe, the papers
figured that the double call of family and a medical practice would make it difficult to continue
with hockey. They must have been right, as Dr. Hudson's trail on the Toronto sports pages went cold
after 1928.
As an interesting side note, in 1951, Dr. Hudson was to accompany his brother Henry and Maple Leafs'
star Bill Barilko on a
fishing trip to northern Ontario, but he withdrew because the plane could only carry the weight
of two men. Henry Hudson was piloting the plane which went missing on August 27th, 1951, the same
year Barilko scored the winning goal in overtime to win the Stanley Cup. The plane and the men's
remains were not discovered until January 6, 1962, the first time the Leafs would win the Stanley
Cup again since 1951.
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Dr. Joe Sullivan
Joe Sullivan was a golatender for the 1928 Allan Cup & Olympic Gold Medal winning teams along side
Dr. Lou Hudson. Joe was stellar in his two Olympic appearances, backstopping the team to an 11-0 win and a 13-0
win. He also used his influence to get his brother placed on the team by threatening to boycott the games,
as did team mate Hugh Plaxton. The final lineup featured five brothers.
That is about all I know about Dr. Sullivan.
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Dr. Bill Carson
Bill Carson was a great hockey player, and he just happened to be a dentist as well.
While in his first year of dental school at the University of Toronto in 1920, which was also his
first season in senior hockey, he helped lead the university's OHA team to an Allan Cup victory.
His classmates and professors were so impressed that they held a special ceremony at the lecture hall
of the Royal College of Dental Surgeons to honour him and the other dental students on the team
where he was presented with a gold watch and a leather club bag.
He continued to play for the university team for three more years, winning the Allan Cup again
in 1921. He then spent a year in Grimsby with the Peach Kings and two more in Stratford with the Indians,
where he had a stellar year in 1924-25 netting 29 goals and 8 assists in 20 games. All of this did not
go unnoticed and Toronto St-Pats manager and coach Mike Rodden made sure there was a lot of hoopla
when he signed Carson to a contract in 1926. Saying that he was "getting rid of dead wood and bringing
in new blood", Rodden was placing a lot of hope and trust in Carson.
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The Pats soon became the Maple Leafs and Carson put in two solid seasons becoming a fan favorite.
On February 4, 1928, in his third season with the Buds, the leafs met the Detroit Cougars in a very
physical game. Carson was badly hurt when Detroit tough guy Puss Traub spilled him with a hard body-check
sending him to the ice, receiving a severe concussion and a fractured skull. He did recover and returned
to the lineup, but was never the same player. Toronto management soon noticed as well, and traded him
to Boston on January 25, 1929. He hung around Beantown for one more season before being traded to
the London Tecumsehs of the IHL where he only played 7 games. He then retired from hockey for two years
before attempting a comeback in 1933 when he played a full season with the New Haven Eagles of the Can-Am league
before hanging up his skates for good.
Bill Carson died on May 29, 1967.
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Dr. Charles "Doc" Stewart
Doc Stewart, another dentist from the University of Toronto, played for the powerful OHA Toronto
Dentals and Hamilton Tigers teams before going on to play for the Boston Bruins for three seasons
from 1924 to 1927. I have not been able to get more details on his life after hockey.
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Dr. Gordon Roberts
Dr. Gordon Roberts was a great player who managed to play
professional hockey while acquiring an education in medicine at McGill
University.
Although one of the best left wings of all time, Roberts never
figured on a championship team. When he joined Ottawa in 1910 they were
holders of the Stanley Cup and he helped them defend it against
Edmonton, being the star of the series. The line of Walsh, Ridpath and
Roberts was outstanding that year but they lost the Cup to Wanderers.
Ottawa regained the Cup the following year but Roberts had left for McGill.
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Gordie joined the Wanderers in 1911 and entered McGill University
to study medicine. He remained with the Redbands for six years, during
which time they reached the playoffs once. He played on a line with all
the notable Wanderer stars including Ernie Russell, Harry Hyland, Odie
Cleghorn, Carl Kendall, Brownie Baker and Don Smith. He was at his
best during 1914 and 1915 playing with Hyland and Cleghorn. He was
a strong and tireless player, greatly admired by his teammates. He had
a terrific shot and Clint Benedict, the Ottawa goaler, always claimed that
Roberts could curve the puck with his powerful wrist action.
On graduation from McGill in 1916 he left for the west coast to
commence his practice of medicine. In his early years as a doctor he
continued in pro hockey. He signed with Vancouver and proved a
sensation with the Millionaires. He played on a line with Barney Stanley
and Speed Moynes backed by Mickey Mackay at rover. In 1917 he
established the all-time scoring record of the PCHA when he scored
43 goals in 23 games.
His hospital duties took him to Seattle the next year and he joined
the Mets. He was again a star on a line with Cully Wilson and Bernie
Morris. Seattle led the league by a good margin but lost the playoffs to
Vancouver.
He did not play hockey in 1919 when Seattle won the championship
but returned to Vancouver in 1920. This was his last year but playing
with Alf Skinner, Jack Adams and Fred Taylor he was just as impressive
as ever.
In 1922 he returned east to do some post-graduate work in medicine
and Ottawa tried to sign him. He was publicized as a mystery star while
negotiations were going on but his medical studies now took preference
and he retired.
Roberts died on September 2nd, 1966.
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