Hap Holmes

Hap Holmes
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1972
Holmes with the Toronto Arenas in 1917
Born (1888-02-21)February 21, 1888
Aurora, Ontario, Canada[1][2][3][4][5]
Died June 27, 1941(1941-06-27) (aged 53)
Fort Lauderdale, Florida, U.S.[6]
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Toronto Blueshirts
Seattle Metropolitans
Toronto Arenas
Victoria Cougars
Detroit Cougars
Playing career 1912–1928

Harry George "Hap" Holmes (February 21, 1888 – June 27, 1941) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. As a professional, Holmes won the Stanley Cup four times, with four teams. He tied the record of his 1914 Stanley Cup winning Toronto Blueshirts teammate Jack Marshall, who also won Cups with four teams.[7] No other player has duplicated this record.

Holmes played as an amateur for three seasons with the Parkdale Canoe Club of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1908 to 1911, before joining the professional Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA) in 1912–13. Holmes won the first of his four Stanley Cups in 1914. Although being under contract to the Blueshirts, Holmes joined the Seattle Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) for the 1915–16 season, winning his second Stanley Cup (1917) in his second season with the Metropolitans. For the 1917–18 season, Holmes ended up playing for the Torontos (the following year renamed as the Toronto Arenas) of the National Hockey League (NHL) through a series of loans by other teams. Holmes won his third Stanley Cup in his only full season with the Torontos. After playing two games in the 1918–19 season for the Toronto Arenas, Holmes was recalled by the Metropolitans. Holmes played for the Metropolitans for the next six seasons, until the team folded.

In the 1924–25 season, Holmes joined the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL/WHL). Holmes played for the Cougars for two seasons, winning the Stanley Cup for his fourth and last time. After the WCHL/WHL folded, Holmes joined the Detroit Cougars of the NHL, playing with the Cougars for two seasons before retiring.

Holmes was a stand-up style goaltender; later on in his career, Holmes wore a cap in goal to protect his head from objects thrown by spectators. Holmes coached minor-league teams after his retirement, notably the Toronto Millionaires of the Canadian Professional Hockey League (CPHL) and the Cleveland Indians of the International Hockey League (IHL). Holmes died in 1941, near Fort Lauderdale, Florida, and was inducted posthumously into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference b99 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "Hap Holmes". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  3. ^ "Harry "Hap" Holmes". hockeydb.com. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  4. ^ "Harry "Hap" Holmes". hockeygoalies.org. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  5. ^ "Detroit Cougars goaltending history". goaliesarchive.com. Archived from the original on 2019-03-15. Retrieved 2008-07-27.
  6. ^ "Happy Holmes Dead in East" The Leader-Post, June 28, 1941.
  7. ^ "Players on Stanley-Cup Winning Teams". Retrieved 2010-04-13.