Eddie Oatman
Encyclopedia
Edward Cole "Eddie" Oatman (June 10, 1889–November 5, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey
player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years (1907–39) playing professional ice hockey, Eddie was named an all-star for ten consecutive seasons by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
(PCHA). He was a star with the Quebec Bulldogs
when it won the 1912 Stanley Cup
. Eddie played with clubs that won five league championships, and he was a successful coach and captain of five different hockey teams. His brother Russ
also played professional ice hockey.
, Eddie Oatman began playing organized hockey at age ten and continued for the next eight years in youth leagues in his hometown. He moved away to play hockey for a career, and he coached hockey before returning home and becoming a barber
. He married Helen Durning in 1921 and had one son, Ted, born in 1922. He died 1973-11-05 and was interred at the Springford Cemetery, Oxford County, Ontario, where he is buried next to his brother Russ
. He was the subject of a Ripley's "Believe It Or Not"
article for playing 30 years in professional hockey and is featured on at least two trading cards.
, club of the International League. The next season he played on a line with Joe Malone and Jack McDonald for Waterloo of the Ontario Professional Hockey League
. In 1911, when Quebec was admitted into the NHA
, the three played with the Bulldogs and helped win the 1912 Stanley Cup.
Because of that championship, he and every member of the Bulldogs were offered a contract by PCHA
teams. Mr. Oatman signed with New Westminster Royals
. In the 1914–15 season
, he was named to the PCHA All-Star team. The Royals became the Portland Rosebuds
and Eddie became the team captain. The following year, he also was its coach and was an All-Star again when the club won the league championship. However, in 1916 the Montreal Canadiens
won their first Stanley Cup
title beating Portland three games to two in a best of five playoff series. With Portland's near victory over Montreal, expectations grew for their chances in the 1916–1917 season, but these hopes ended when Eddie enlisted in the Canadian armed forces as part of the 228th Battalion.
When the 228th Battalion secured a franchise in the NHA for the 1916–17 season, Oatman joined the roster. But when the 228th was sent to Europe for military action in the First World War, Oatman was discharged "for special circumstances." The following season Eddie went back to Portland, again as its coach and captain. When the Rosebuds suspended operations, Eddie joined the Victoria Aristocrats as their captain and remained with the team for the next five years. As result of another player's injury, he saw action with the Vancouver Millionaires
when they lost the Stanley Cup to the Toronto St. Pats in 1922.
Oatman was traded to the Calgary Tigers
in 1923–24. He helped the team win the Western Canada Hockey League title, but were denied a Stanley Cup championship when they again lost to the Montreal Canadiens
. From 1924 to 1926, he was the Tigers' coach and captain, leading them to back-to-back championships in 1924 and 1925. Unfortunately, pro hockey collapsed in the West after the 1925–26 season, but he continued to play minor-league hockey. Eddie was the team captain of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, club in the American League in 1927. Then, for the next three years, he played for the Boston Tigers
in the Canadian-American Hockey League
(1928–1930), and as their captain led them to the league championship in the 1929. In 1931, he played as captain for the Buffalo Majors in the American Hockey League
. He later served as a player-coach in Yorkton, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, until his hockey-playing career ended when he was 50.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years (1907–39) playing professional ice hockey, Eddie was named an all-star for ten consecutive seasons by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
(PCHA). He was a star with the Quebec Bulldogs
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs were a men's senior-level ice hockey team officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club, later as the Quebec Athletic Club. Their recorded play goes back as far as the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada in 1889, although the Quebec Hockey Club is known to have played since 1880...
when it won the 1912 Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. Eddie played with clubs that won five league championships, and he was a successful coach and captain of five different hockey teams. His brother Russ
Russell Oatman
Warren Russell Oatman - was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Oatman played 121 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Cougars, Montreal Maroons and New York Rangers...
also played professional ice hockey.
Personal life
Born and raised in Springford, OntarioOntario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Eddie Oatman began playing organized hockey at age ten and continued for the next eight years in youth leagues in his hometown. He moved away to play hockey for a career, and he coached hockey before returning home and becoming a barber
Barber
A barber is someone whose occupation is to cut any type of hair, and to shave or trim the beards of men. The place of work of a barber is generally called a barbershop....
. He married Helen Durning in 1921 and had one son, Ted, born in 1922. He died 1973-11-05 and was interred at the Springford Cemetery, Oxford County, Ontario, where he is buried next to his brother Russ
Russell Oatman
Warren Russell Oatman - was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Oatman played 121 games in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Cougars, Montreal Maroons and New York Rangers...
. He was the subject of a Ripley's "Believe It Or Not"
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...
article for playing 30 years in professional hockey and is featured on at least two trading cards.
Playing career
He played in 1907 with the Tillsonburg (Ontario) Junior Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) club. The next year he played with the Simcoe Intermediate OHA and, in 1909, he turned professional with the Cleveland, OhioCleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...
, club of the International League. The next season he played on a line with Joe Malone and Jack McDonald for Waterloo of the Ontario Professional Hockey League
Ontario Professional Hockey League
-External links:*...
. In 1911, when Quebec was admitted into the NHA
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
, the three played with the Bulldogs and helped win the 1912 Stanley Cup.
Because of that championship, he and every member of the Bulldogs were offered a contract by PCHA
Pacific Coast Hockey Association
The Pacific Coast Hockey Association was a professional men's ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League...
teams. Mr. Oatman signed with New Westminster Royals
New Westminster Royals
The New Westminster Royals was the name of several professional and junior ice hockey teams based in New Westminster, British Columbia.The first team played from 1912-1914 in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association which was established in 1911....
. In the 1914–15 season
1914–15 PCHA season
The 1914–15 PCHA season was the fourth season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 8, 1914 until March 9, 1915. The schedule was made for each team to play 18 games, but like the previous three seasons, one game was cancelled....
, he was named to the PCHA All-Star team. The Royals became the Portland Rosebuds
Portland Rosebuds
Portland Rosebuds is the name of at least three professional teams based in Portland, Oregon during the first half of the 20th century. Two were professional men's ice hockey teams playing their home games at the Portland Ice Arena, one from 1914 to 1918 and another in 1925-6...
and Eddie became the team captain. The following year, he also was its coach and was an All-Star again when the club won the league championship. However, in 1916 the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
won their first Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
title beating Portland three games to two in a best of five playoff series. With Portland's near victory over Montreal, expectations grew for their chances in the 1916–1917 season, but these hopes ended when Eddie enlisted in the Canadian armed forces as part of the 228th Battalion.
When the 228th Battalion secured a franchise in the NHA for the 1916–17 season, Oatman joined the roster. But when the 228th was sent to Europe for military action in the First World War, Oatman was discharged "for special circumstances." The following season Eddie went back to Portland, again as its coach and captain. When the Rosebuds suspended operations, Eddie joined the Victoria Aristocrats as their captain and remained with the team for the next five years. As result of another player's injury, he saw action with the Vancouver Millionaires
Vancouver Millionaires
The Vancouver Millionaires were a professional ice hockey team that competed in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and the Western Canada Hockey League between 1911 and 1926...
when they lost the Stanley Cup to the Toronto St. Pats in 1922.
Oatman was traded to the Calgary Tigers
Calgary Tigers
The Calgary Tigers, often nicknamed the Bengals, were an ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada from 1920 until 1927 as members of the Big Four League, Western Canada Hockey League and Prairie Hockey League. The Tigers were revived in 1932, playing for a short-lived four years in the...
in 1923–24. He helped the team win the Western Canada Hockey League title, but were denied a Stanley Cup championship when they again lost to the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
. From 1924 to 1926, he was the Tigers' coach and captain, leading them to back-to-back championships in 1924 and 1925. Unfortunately, pro hockey collapsed in the West after the 1925–26 season, but he continued to play minor-league hockey. Eddie was the team captain of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, club in the American League in 1927. Then, for the next three years, he played for the Boston Tigers
Boston Tigers
Boston Metros were an American soccer club based in Boston, Massachusetts that were a member of the American Soccer League. In their second season, the Metros joined the Eastern Professional Soccer Conference. After the EPSC folded at the end of its only season, the Metros returned to the ASL as...
in the Canadian-American Hockey League
Canadian-American Hockey League
The Canadian-American Hockey League, popularly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional ice hockey league that operated from 1926 to 1936. It was a direct ancestor of the American Hockey League....
(1928–1930), and as their captain led them to the league championship in the 1929. In 1931, he played as captain for the Buffalo Majors in the American Hockey League
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
. He later served as a player-coach in Yorkton, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, until his hockey-playing career ended when he was 50.