Earl Seibert

Earl Walter Seibert (December 7, 1910 in Kitchener, Ontario - May 20, 1990) was a Canadian defenceman who played for 15 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.

Playing Career
Earl was an important member of the 1933 Ranger and 1938 Black Hawk Stanley Cup victories. Each year from 1935 to 1944, Seibert was selected to the first or second all-star team (4 times to the first, 6 times to the second). A tenacious defender, Seibert was renowned for rugged physical play, famously being the only player Eddie Shore was unwilling to fight.

An accident during a January 28, 1937 game cast a shadow over Seibert's great career. Seibert and the legendary Howie Morenz became tangled up behind the Chicago net. Morenz fell awkwardly against the boards and broke his leg in several places. Morenz died in the hospital from complications of the injury several weeks later. Seibert was always haunted by the accident, even saying he killed Morenz.

After his NHL retirement, Seibert served as coach of Eddie Shore's Springfield Indians.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963, and joined his father Oliver Seibert as the first father and son combination in the Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 72 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Career Statistics
--- Regular Season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1929-30 Springfield Indians         CAHL   40    4    1    5   84  --  --  --  --  -- 1930-31 Springfield Indians         CAHL   38   16   11   27   96  --  --  --  --  -- 1931-32 New York Rangers            NHL    44    4    6   10   88   7   1   2   3  14 1932-33 New York Rangers            NHL    45    2    3    5   92   8   1   0   1  14 1933-34 New York Rangers            NHL    48   13   10   23   66   2   0   0   0   4 1934-35 New York Rangers            NHL    48    6   19   25   86   4   0   0   0   6 1935-36 New York Rangers            NHL    15    3    3    6    6  --  --  --  --  -- 1935-36 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    29    2    6    8   21   2   2   0   2   0 1936-37 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    43    9    6   15   46  --  --  --  --  -- 1937-38 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    48    8   13   21   38  10   5   2   7  12 1938-39 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    48    4   11   15   57  --  --  --  --  -- 1939-40 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    37    3    7   10   35   2   0   1   1   8 1940-41 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    44    3   17   20   52   5   0   0   0  12 1941-42 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    45    7   14   21   52   2   0   0   0   0 1942-43 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    44    5   27   32   48  --  --  --  --  -- 1943-44 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    50    8   25   33   40   9   0   2   2   2 1944-45 Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    22    7    8   15   13  --  --  --  --  -- 1944-45 Detroit Red Wings           NHL    25    5    9   14   10  14   2   1   3   4 1945-46 Indianapolis Capitals       AHL    24    2    9   11   19  --  --  --  --  -- 1945-46 Detroit Red Wings           NHL    18    0    3    3   18  --  --  --  --  -- 1946-47 Springfield Indians         AHL    19    0    0    0    0  --  --  --  --  -- --        NHL Totals                        653   89  187  276  768  65  11   8  19  76

Coaching Statistics
Season Team                  Lge Type       GP  W  L  T OTL   Pct  Result 1946-47 Springfield Indians  AHL Head Coach 64 24 29 11  0   0.461 Lost in round 1 1946-47 Indianapolis Capitals AHL Head Coach 1947-48 Springfield Indians  AHL Head Coach 68 19 42 7   0   0.331 Out of Playoffs 1948-49 Springfield Indians  AHL Head Coach 68 22 37 9   0   0.390 Lost in round 1 1949-50 Springfield Indians  AHL Head Coach 70 28 34 8   0   0.457 Lost in round 1 1950-51 Springfield Indians  AHL Head Coach 70 27 37 6   0   0.429 Lost in round 1

Video
Game 1 of the Quarter-finals at Madison Square Garden on March 24, 1935, is remembered for its high level of physicality. In one sequence, an injured Earl Seibert is carried off the ice. Later, Nels Crutchfield of the Montreal Canadiens swings his stick into the head of Rangers captain Bill Cook. As a result, Cook collapses to the ice and a bench-clearing brawl ensues. Cook returns to the ice wearing a helmet and scores the game-winning goal in a 2-1 decision. Game 2 was tied 4-4 and the Rangers won the total goals series 6-5.