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Bill Cowley
William Mailes "Cowboy" Cowley (June 12, 1912 – December 31, 1993) was a Canadian professional ice hockey center who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Eagles and Boston Bruins. Described as the Wayne Gretzky of his era, Cowley twice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP, and is widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in hockey history.
Born in Quebec and raised in the Ottawa Valley, Cowley played junior ice hockey locally, for the Ottawa Primrose and Ottawa Shamrocks of the Ottawa City Hockey League. He led the competition in scoring while playing for the Primroses in the 1931 Memorial Cup, where they lost in the finals by the Elmwood Millionaires, two games to one.
He was selected by Cecil Duncan to be on an Ottawa All-Stars team which went undefeated on an exhibition series in Europe during December 1931 and January 1932. Following the tour, he played a partial season for the Shamrocks' senior team in 1933, before moving on to play for the Halifax Wolverines of the Maritime Senior Hockey League in 1934, leading the league that season in goals, assists and points.
After playing a single minor professional game for the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association at the start of the 1934–35 season—scoring no points but getting into a fight—Cowley broke in as a rookie with the St. Louis Eagles, formerly the Ottawa Senators. After the season, the Senators/Eagles franchise was terminated and Bruins general manager Art Ross selected Cowley with the sixth selection in the subsequent dispersal draft, paying a dispersal fee of $2,250 to the Senators.
Originally playing for Boston as a left winger instead of at his natural center position due to the presence on the Boston roster of star centers Cooney Weiland and Dit Clapper, Cowley scored his first goal for Boston on December 1, 1935, in the Bruins' 2–0 victory over the New York Rangers at Boston Garden. He finished the 1936 season with 21 points, good for fourth in team scoring that year. By the playoffs, he had improved enough to be a starter, centering a checking line with Paul Runge and Peggy O'Neil, and contributed two goals in the Bruins' two-game total-goals loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In his second season, he moved permanently to center on a line with Ray Getliffe and Charlie Sands, Cowley broke through to stardom, leading the Bruins in scoring and tying for eighth in the league that season. While the injury-riddled Bruins failed in the playoffs again—losing in three games to the Montreal Maroons—Cowley was rewarded by a fourth place finish in voting for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
Augmented by the first full season of the famous Kraut Line, comprising Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart, the 1938 season saw the Cowley-led Bruins rocketing to the top of the standings, recording 30 wins, a mark only surpassed in league history to that date by the 1930 Bruins. Again Cowley led Boston in scoring with 38 points, good for fifth in the league, and he was named a First Team All-Star at center for the first time.
As the 1939 season got underway, Cowley was assigned new linemates, Roy Conacher and Mel Hill. Even though Cowley missed over a quarter of the season with a knee injury, he finished third in league scoring behind Toe Blake and Sweeney Schriner, and set a new single-season NHL record for assists with 34 (a record Cowley would break himself in 1941). The opening playoff series against the Rangers was the first in league history to go a full seven games, and famously won by Hill, who with his three overtime goals earned the nickname "Sudden Death"; Cowley assisted on all three of his goals and scored three himself. The Bruins went on to defeat Toronto in the finals for their second Stanley Cup; Cowley led all playoff scorers with 14 points.
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Bill Cowley
William Mailes "Cowboy" Cowley (June 12, 1912 – December 31, 1993) was a Canadian professional ice hockey center who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Eagles and Boston Bruins. Described as the Wayne Gretzky of his era, Cowley twice won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's MVP, and is widely regarded as one of the best playmakers in hockey history.
Born in Quebec and raised in the Ottawa Valley, Cowley played junior ice hockey locally, for the Ottawa Primrose and Ottawa Shamrocks of the Ottawa City Hockey League. He led the competition in scoring while playing for the Primroses in the 1931 Memorial Cup, where they lost in the finals by the Elmwood Millionaires, two games to one.
He was selected by Cecil Duncan to be on an Ottawa All-Stars team which went undefeated on an exhibition series in Europe during December 1931 and January 1932. Following the tour, he played a partial season for the Shamrocks' senior team in 1933, before moving on to play for the Halifax Wolverines of the Maritime Senior Hockey League in 1934, leading the league that season in goals, assists and points.
After playing a single minor professional game for the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association at the start of the 1934–35 season—scoring no points but getting into a fight—Cowley broke in as a rookie with the St. Louis Eagles, formerly the Ottawa Senators. After the season, the Senators/Eagles franchise was terminated and Bruins general manager Art Ross selected Cowley with the sixth selection in the subsequent dispersal draft, paying a dispersal fee of $2,250 to the Senators.
Originally playing for Boston as a left winger instead of at his natural center position due to the presence on the Boston roster of star centers Cooney Weiland and Dit Clapper, Cowley scored his first goal for Boston on December 1, 1935, in the Bruins' 2–0 victory over the New York Rangers at Boston Garden. He finished the 1936 season with 21 points, good for fourth in team scoring that year. By the playoffs, he had improved enough to be a starter, centering a checking line with Paul Runge and Peggy O'Neil, and contributed two goals in the Bruins' two-game total-goals loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In his second season, he moved permanently to center on a line with Ray Getliffe and Charlie Sands, Cowley broke through to stardom, leading the Bruins in scoring and tying for eighth in the league that season. While the injury-riddled Bruins failed in the playoffs again—losing in three games to the Montreal Maroons—Cowley was rewarded by a fourth place finish in voting for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.
Augmented by the first full season of the famous Kraut Line, comprising Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart, the 1938 season saw the Cowley-led Bruins rocketing to the top of the standings, recording 30 wins, a mark only surpassed in league history to that date by the 1930 Bruins. Again Cowley led Boston in scoring with 38 points, good for fifth in the league, and he was named a First Team All-Star at center for the first time.
As the 1939 season got underway, Cowley was assigned new linemates, Roy Conacher and Mel Hill. Even though Cowley missed over a quarter of the season with a knee injury, he finished third in league scoring behind Toe Blake and Sweeney Schriner, and set a new single-season NHL record for assists with 34 (a record Cowley would break himself in 1941). The opening playoff series against the Rangers was the first in league history to go a full seven games, and famously won by Hill, who with his three overtime goals earned the nickname "Sudden Death"; Cowley assisted on all three of his goals and scored three himself. The Bruins went on to defeat Toronto in the finals for their second Stanley Cup; Cowley led all playoff scorers with 14 points.
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