Mystery Men

Mystery Men
Paul Jacobs Leading the way is Paul Jacobs. Was this pioneering native hockeyist the first native to play in the NHL? What happened to him after 1925? Where did he live and die? When? To learn more about Jacobs, read Was NHL History Made in 1918?.

Neil Mullen On Saturday, November 25, 1922, The Toronto Star featured a photo of three hockey players who had been signed by the Toronto St. Pats NHL club, just prior to the team leaving on an exhibition game road trip to the west. Ganton Scott and Gerry Deniord, former Aura Lee players who would indeed play for the Irish were featured along with a fellow named Neil Mullen. Mullen, who apparently hailed from North Battleford, Saskatchewan, was a defencemen. However, he does not appear to have played in any of those games, or any others for that matter. Ernie Fitzsimmons, who has stats on virtually every player to ever lace up skates in junior, pro and semi-pro hockey, has absolutely no data on Mullen and has never heard of him. Did he stay in the west? Is this photo of another player, and the paper simply printed the wrong name?


Charlie Cotch Charles Cotch, whom Total Hockey 2 lists as having been born in Sarnia, Ontario, in 1902 is certainly another elusive player, despite having made two Stanley Cup appearances with the Vancouver Maroons in the 22-23 and 23-24 seasons. His World War I attestation papers offer a couple of other interesting points. His date of birth is actually listed as January 1, 1898, and his birthplace appears to have been originally written as "Lobough, Russia", in two seperate places, but was then stricken, and Sarnia, Ontario written in it's place. Could he have been born in Russia? Is Cotch a shortened variation of a longer name?
He played one season with the London Tecumsehs in 1921-22 before heading west. Following the 1923-24 Stanley Cup loss to the Canadiens, the team owners decided to swap Bobby Boucher for Charlie Cotch, as Dandurand figured Boucher was "too small" for his lineup. Cotch had about 3 inches and 35 pounds on Boucher. The following fall Cotch was training in Montreal and headed west with the Habs to play some exhibition games, but on Christmas eve, they decide to trade him to Hamilton for cash, and he never played a regular season game with the Canadiens. This photo is indeed of Cotch, which I was able to confirm against a photo from the Montreal Gazette. The photo was taken at training camp in Grimsby, Ontario In addition to a lot of bench duty, he played only 7 games with the Tigers who cut him on January 31, 1924, because they had a good thing going, and couldn't afford to "tinker with the lineup with substitute players" according to newspaper reports. He then landed in Toronto in February of the same year, where he put in 5 games with the St.Pats club. That is the last trace of info I have on Cotch. Pat Houda, a Swedish hockey historian, obtained info at some point that claimed Cotch had died in a car crash, but he has no date or location, and unfortunately does not remember the source. UPDATE! Thanks to researcher Eric Zweig, the clip below claims that Coth was the only Jewish player in the game at the time.

Hobie Kitchen Hobie Kitchen may have developed mental problems, as he began to miss practices and was eventually fined and suspended by the Montreal Maroons. He was later encountered in New York City and appeared to be living on the streets (To read the full story, click here). What happened to Hobie? Did he die in the U.S or did he return to Canada?

Charles Fortier Quite simply, absolutely nothing is known about this guy. That's right. No source lists anything about this guy. Not his birthdate, size, or hockey background. All we know for sure is that he apparently dressed for the Montreal Canadiens for a game during the 1923-24 season. His name lies on the official game sheet for a game that season. It can only be assumed that Fortier was a local at the right place at the right time - an emergency addition to the lineup due to injury or illness. Again, that's just an assumption. Its not even known what position the guy played. However Zander Hollander's Encyclopedia of Hockey lists him as a forward. (written by Joe Pelletier) It is believed that Fortier hailed from Rockland , Ontario, but I have not been able to confirm this.

George Carey Not a lot is known about Carey, who was around in the very early days of the NHL. One source claims he was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, but I have not been able to confirm this. He lived in Quebec City and played for the Bulldogs of the NHA in 1916-17. Following the team's decision to take a hiatus, his rights were transfered to the Montreal Wanderers of the NHL for the 1917-18 season. However, he refused to report to the club, opting instead to remain with his job a Dominion Armouries, an ammunition manufacturer, in Quebec City. The following year found him serving n the military before once again joining the Bulldogs who had returned to the NHL. However, by December of 1920, he was in a Hamilton Tigers uniform with the relocated franchise where he would play three seasons. 1923 found him with the Toronto St-Pats at training camp. Despite not being invited, he was welcomed and newspapers often commented on his stick-handling and skating ability. However, they also said he was very small, which could be a problem in physical play. He play only 4 games with the Pats. I have no idea what became of him after that season.

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