Herb Gardiner
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958
Gardiner with the Montreal Canadiens
Born (1891-05-08)May 8, 1891
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Died January 11, 1972(1972-01-11) (aged 80)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Calgary Tigers
Montreal Canadiens
Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career 1921–1935

Herbert Martin Gardiner (May 8, 1891 – January 11, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1920 and 1929. Additionally, he was the head coach of the Black Hawks for part of the 1928–29 season. Gardiner was a member of the WCHL champion Tigers in 1924 and in 1927 won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player after playing every minute of every game for the Canadiens. He coached several minor professional teams in Philadelphia following his retirement as a player. Gardiner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Early life

Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba in 1891, Gardiner first played senior hockey in that city in 1908 before moving on to other pursuits. He began a career as a banker in 1909, winning the Winnipeg banker's league hockey title. He stopped playing entirely for four years as he took on a job as a surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railway. He joined the 2nd Battalion, Canadian Mounted Rifles of the Canadian Expeditionary Force in 1915.[1] Gardiner faced several medical issues while serving: he was reported to have jaundice, pleurisy, and respiratory ailments in medical reports. He was also wounded in combat, shot in the nose in June 1916, possibly at the Battle of Mont Sorrel. Enlisting as a private, he rose to the rank of lieutenant by the time he was sent back to Canada and discharged in March 1918.[1] Returning from the war, Gardiner resumed his surveyors job and settled in Calgary, Alberta.[2]

Playing career

Gardiner in 1919–20 as a member of the Calgary Wanderers.

Returning to hockey, Gardiner joined the Calgary Wanderers of Alberta's Big-4 League in 1919 then shifted to the Calgary Tigers one season later.[3] He turned professional at the age of 29 in 1921–22 when the Tigers joined the newly formed Western Canada Hockey League,[4] and quickly established himself as one of the league's top defencemen.[5] He was a key member of the Tigers' team that won the 1923–24 WCHL championship.[6] Gardiner and the Tigers lost to the Montreal Canadiens in the Stanley Cup Finals,[7] but his performance impressed the Montreal organization.[4] When the WCHL collapsed in 1926, the Canadiens purchased his rights and invited him to join their team.[8]

Gardiner made his NHL debut in 1926 at the age of 35 and immediately showed himself to be one of the league's top defenders.[5] Playing on a rebuilding Montreal team, he was said to have played every minute of every game for the Canadiens,[2] a feat that earned him the nickname of "the ironman of hockey".[9] He was named the winner of the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, nine votes ahead of Bill Cook of the New York Rangers.[10] As of 2022, Gardiner remains the second-oldest player to ever win the award after Eddie Shore, and along with Wayne Gretzky is one of only two players to be named most valuable in their first year in the league.[9]

Gardiner again appeared in all 44 games the Canadiens played in 1927–28, but was loaned to the Chicago Black Hawks to start the 1928–29 season.[5] Serving as a player-coach in Chicago, Gardiner appeared in 13 games as a player,[3] but posted a dismal 5–23–4 record as coach.[2] Montreal recalled him from Chicago in February 1929 and he finished his NHL career with the Canadiens.[3] His rights were sold to the Boston Bruins following the season, before he was purchased by the Philadelphia Arrows of the Canadian–American Hockey League who named him as their head coach. Gardiner remained with the team, renamed the Philadelphia Ramblers in 1935-36, who subsequently joined the American Hockey League as an affiliate of the New York Rangers.[11] He led the Ramblers to the Calder Cup finals in 1937 and 1939.[4] Gardiner continued coaching until 1946. In 1947, efforts were made to relocate the suspended Montreal Maroons franchise to Philadelphia.[12] The organization named Gardiner the general manager of the proposed Philadelphia Maroons but the team was never launched.[4] He remained in Philadelphia following his retirement, living in the city until his death in 1972.[2]

Gardiner was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.[4] He is also in the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame.[13]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1909–10 Winnipeg Victorias WSrHL 23030 —————
1914–15 Calgary Monarchs AAHL 3404— —————
1918–19 Calgary Rotary Club CSRHL ————— 6448—
1919–20 Calgary Wanderers Big-4 1289176 20002
1920–21 Calgary Tigers Big-4 1337106 —————
1921–22 Calgary Tigers WCHL 244156 20000
1922–23 Calgary Tigers WCHL 2993129 —————
1923–24 Calgary Tigers WCHL 2255104 21010
1923–24 Calgary Tigers St-Cup ————— 22130
1924–25 Calgary Tigers WCHL 281282018 20000
1925–26 Calgary Tigers WHL 2731410 —————
1926–27 Montreal Canadiens NHL 44661226 400010
1927–28 Montreal Canadiens NHL 4443726 20114
1928–29 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 130000 —————
1928–29 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70000 30002
1929–30 Philadelphia Arrows Can-Am 10000 —————
1931–32 Philadelphia Arrows Can-Am 10000 —————
1934–35 Philadelphia Arrows Can-Am 120000 —————
WCHL totals 13033185147 113140
NHL totals 1081091959 901116

Coaching record

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsDivision rankResult
Chicago Black Hawks 1928–29 32523414 5th in American(Fired)
Total 32523414

College

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Pennsylvania Quakers (Independent) (1929–1929)
1929–30 Pennsylvania 0–1–0†
Pennsylvania: 0–1–0
Total:0–1–0

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

† Gardiner coached the Penn team for 1 games before turning control over to William Farson.

References

  1. 1 2 MacLeod, Alan Livingstone (2018). From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War. Victoria, British Columbia: Heritage House. p. 66. ISBN 978-1-77203-268-0.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. p. 278. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
  3. 1 2 3 "Herb Gardiner statistics". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Herb Gardiner biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  5. 1 2 3 "Herb Gardiner biography". Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  6. ↑ "Tigers are Western Canada Hockey League champions". Calgary Herald. 1924-03-08. p. 20.
  7. ↑ "Tigers returning, minus Cup". Calgary Herald. 1924-03-26. p. 16.
  8. ↑ "Herb Gardiner to be with Canadiens". Montreal Gazette. 1926-10-20. p. 16. Retrieved 2015-06-13.
  9. 1 2 Kay, Jason, ed. (2009), "A Century of Montreal Canadiens", The Hockey News, p. 48, ISSN 0018-3016
  10. ↑ "Herb Gardiner is voted most useful player in league". Montreal Gazette. 1927-03-26. p. 21. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  11. ↑ "Gardiner in Winnipeg". Montreal Gazette. 1935-10-09. p. 13. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
  12. ↑ Coleman, Charles L. (1969). The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol II. Progressive Publications.
  13. ↑ "Herb Gardiner biography". Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2012-02-15. Retrieved 2010-07-04.
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