George Prodgers
Encyclopedia
Samuel George "Goldie" Prodger (often misspelled Prodgers) (February 18, 1892 – October 25, 1935) of London, Ontario
was a professional
ice hockey
player. He was a member of the 1912 Stanley Cup
champion Quebec Bulldogs
and the 1916 Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens
. He also played professionally for the Hamilton Tigers, Montreal Wanderers
, Toronto St. Pats, Victoria Aristocrats and Waterloo Colts.
and Jack McDonald joined the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association
(NHA). The Bulldogs won the NHA championship and the Stanley Cup
, and defeated Moncton in a Stanley Cup challenge series. Prodgers joined the Victoria Aristocrats for the 1912–13 season despite being under contract with Quebec. He returned to Quebec for one season, before joining the Montreal Wanderers
for a season and a season with the Montreal Canadiens
. While playing for the Canadiens, the Canadiens went to its first Stanley Cup finals, winning the series on a goal by Prodgers.
He enlisted with the Canadian army and played for the Toronto 228th Battalion
for the last NHA season (1916–17) before being shipped overseas. He returned to Canada in 1919, but refused to report to Quebec which was assigned his playing rights in the new National Hockey League
(NHL). He was traded between several teams before he settled in with the new Toronto St. Patricks
. After that one season with Toronto, he joined the Hamilton Tigers where he had his best offensive seasons, scoring 18 goals in 1920–21. He stayed with the Tigers until the end of the 1924–25 season. The Tigers were suspended at the end of the season after a player's strike and their contracts sold to the New York Americans
. Prodgers retired at that point, but after a season away, he joined the London Panthers of the Canadian Professional League, whom he would coach in the following season.
This was the first time that a best-of-five Cup championship went the distance and the first cup for the Canadiens. Also, the Rosebuds were the first team based in the United States to play for the Cup. The Canadiens defeated the Rosebuds three games to two in the best-of-five game series.
London, Ontario
London is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada, situated along the Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. The city has a population of 352,395, and the metropolitan area has a population of 457,720, according to the 2006 Canadian census; the metro population in 2009 was estimated at 489,274. The city...
was a professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
ice hockey
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 a member of 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...
champion 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...
and the 1916 Stanley Cup champion 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 ...
. He also played professionally for the Hamilton Tigers, Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
, Toronto St. Pats, Victoria Aristocrats and Waterloo Colts.
Playing career
George Prodgers played amateur hockey for the London Athletic, joining its junior team in 1908, and graduating to their intermediate team for the 1909–10 season. He turned professional for the Waterloo Colts of the Ontario Professional Hockey League for the 1910–11 season. When Waterloo folded its team, Prodgers, along with Eddie OatmanEddie Oatman
Edward Cole "Eddie" Oatman was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years playing professional ice hockey, Eddie was named an all-star for ten consecutive seasons by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association...
and Jack McDonald joined the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association
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...
(NHA). The Bulldogs won the NHA championship and the 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...
, and defeated Moncton in a Stanley Cup challenge series. Prodgers joined the Victoria Aristocrats for the 1912–13 season despite being under contract with Quebec. He returned to Quebec for one season, before joining the Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
for a season and a season with 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 ...
. While playing for the Canadiens, the Canadiens went to its first Stanley Cup finals, winning the series on a goal by Prodgers.
He enlisted with the Canadian army and played for the Toronto 228th Battalion
Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA)
The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season....
for the last NHA season (1916–17) before being shipped overseas. He returned to Canada in 1919, but refused to report to Quebec which was assigned his playing rights in the new National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). He was traded between several teams before he settled in with the new Toronto St. Patricks
Toronto St. Patricks
The Toronto St. Patricks professional men's ice hockey team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto National Hockey League franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when...
. After that one season with Toronto, he joined the Hamilton Tigers where he had his best offensive seasons, scoring 18 goals in 1920–21. He stayed with the Tigers until the end of the 1924–25 season. The Tigers were suspended at the end of the season after a player's strike and their contracts sold to the New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...
. Prodgers retired at that point, but after a season away, he joined the London Panthers of the Canadian Professional League, whom he would coach in the following season.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1908–09 | London Athletics | OHA Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the... Jr. |
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1909-10 | London Wingers | OHA Int. | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1911 | Waterloo Colts | OPHL | 16 | 9 | 0 | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1911–12 | 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... |
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... |
18 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 15 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1912–13 1912–13 PCHA season The 1912–13 PCHA season was the second season of the professional men's ice hockey Pacific Coast Hockey Association league. Season play ran from December 10, 1912 until March 18, 1913. Like the previous season, teams were to play a 16 game schedule, but one game was cancelled. The Victoria... |
Victoria Aristocrats | PCHA | 15 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 21 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1913–14 1913–14 NHA season The 1913–14 NHA season was the fifth season of the National Hockey Association . At the end of the regular season, a tie for first place necessitated a playoff to determine the championship. The Toronto Hockey Club defeated the Montreal Canadiens 6–2 in a two-game, total-goals playoff... |
Quebec Bulldogs | NHA | 20 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 11 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1914–15 1914–15 NHA season The 1914–15 NHA season was the sixth season of the National Hockey Association and played from December 26, 1914 until March 3, 1915. Each team played 20 games. The Ottawa Senators won the NHA championship in a two game, total goal playoff against the Montreal Wanderers... |
Montreal Wanderers Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are... |
NHA | 18 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 54 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 1915–16 | 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 ... |
NHA | 24 | 8 | 3 | 11 | 86 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 11 | ||
| 1916–17 | Toronto 228th Battalion Toronto 228th Battalion (NHA) The Toronto 228th Battalion was an ice hockey team, composed entirely of troops in the 228th Battalion, CEF of the Canadian Army, in the National Hockey Association for the 1916–17 season.... |
NHA | 12 | 16 | 3 | 19 | 30 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1919–20 | Toronto St. Patricks Toronto St. Patricks The Toronto St. Patricks professional men's ice hockey team started as an amateur ice hockey organization. In 1919, the club purchased the Toronto National Hockey League franchise from the NHL. The club renamed the franchise the Toronto St. Patricks club and operated the franchise until 1927, when... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
16 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1920–21 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 24 | 18 | 9 | 27 | 8 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1921–22 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 24 | 15 | 6 | 21 | 4 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1922–23 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 23 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 17 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1923–24 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 23 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| 1924–25 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||
| NHL totals | 111 | 63 | 29 | 82 | 39 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | ||||
Transactions
- Signed as a free agent by Waterloo (OPHL), January 5, 1911.
- Signed as a free agent by Quebec (NHA), November 1911.
- Signed by Victoria (PCHA) after jumping contract with Quebec (NHA), November 18, 1912.
- Traded to Montreal Wanderers (NHA) by Quebec (NHA) for cash, December 4, 1914.
- NHL rights transferred to Quebec by NHL when Quebec franchise returned to NHL, November 25, 1919.
- Suspended by Quebec after refusing to report to training camp, November 27, 1919.
- Traded to Montreal by Quebec for Ed Carpenter, December 21, 1919.
- Traded to Toronto by Montreal for Harry Cameron, January 14, 1920.
- Traded to Montreal by Toronto with Joe Matte for Harry Cameron, November 27, 1920.
- Traded to Hamilton by Montreal with Jack Coughlin, Joe Matte and loan of Billy Coutu for 1920–21 season for Harry Mummery, Jack McDonald and Dave Ritchie, November 27, 1920.
Awards
- Played on the OHA-Jr. first All-Star Team (1909)
- In his second pro season, Goldie joined the Quebec Bulldogs of the NHA where he helped lead his club to a Stanley Cup victory against Moncton (1912)
- Scored the game and series-winning goal to clinch the Stanley Cup for the Canadiens vs the Portland Rosebuds (1915-1916).
This was the first time that a best-of-five Cup championship went the distance and the first cup for the Canadiens. Also, the Rosebuds were the first team based in the United States to play for the Cup. The Canadiens defeated the Rosebuds three games to two in the best-of-five game series.
- Inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame (November 2009)