Louis Holmes

Louis Charles Carter "Lou" Holmes (January 29, 1911 – March 11, 2010 ) was a professional ice hockey centre who played 56 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks from 1931 to 1933. He was born in Rushall, England but his family moved to Canada when he was 18 months old.

After his playing career, Holmes coached the gold medal winning Edmonton Mercurys at the 1952 Winter Olympics. Holmes was, from 2007 until his death, the oldest living NHL-player, as well as the longest-lived.

He leaves two sons, Chuck and Greg, one daughter, Gail, five grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his wife of 63 years, Helen Ruth Coulson, known as Buddy, who died in 1997.

Playing career
As a youth, Holmes moved to Edmonton to play junior hockey with the Edmonton Bruins from 1928 until 1930. In 1931, he made to move to professional hockey, playing 41 games with the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). It would be his only full season in the NHL, as he played only 18 the following year with the Hawks, the rest with the St. Paul/Tulsa team of the American Hockey Association (AHA). He would spend the rest of his professional career with teams in the AHA and the Pacific Coast Hockey League.

In 1942, he enlisted and fought in World War II. When he returned, Holmes played senior hockey with various teams in the Edmonton area until he retired from active play in 1949.