Jesse Leonard Spring (March 18, 1899 – March 25, 1942) was an American-born Canadian professional athlete best known for playing six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL); he also played several seasons in minor league baseball. He later was a coach in both sports.
Spring was born in Alba, Pennsylvania, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario. He played junior and amateur ice hockey in Canada for De La Salle College, the Parkdale Canoe Club, and various senior amateur teams in the Toronto and Timmins areas before turning professional. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hamilton Tigers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Americans. He went back to coach in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) after retiring as a player.
Spring also played professional baseball for several minor league teams between 1924 and 1928.[1] He was player-manager of the Brockville Pirates in 1936.[1]
Spring played for both the ice hockey Toronto Maple Leafs and the baseball Toronto Maple Leafs. In addition to playing two sports professionally, Spring played amateur lacrosse and gridiron football; he also was a boxer. Spring died in March 1942 in Toronto; he was survived by his wife and two daughters.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1917–18 | Toronto De La Salle | OHA Jr | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1918–19 | Parkdale Canoe Club | OHA Jr | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Toronto A.R. Clarke | TMHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1920–21 | Timmins Open Pit Miners | GBHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1921–22 | Toronto A.R. Clarke | TMHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1922–23 | Toronto A.R. Clarke | TMHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1923–24 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1924–25 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 29 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1925–26 | Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 32 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 23 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1926–27 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | Niagara Falls Cataracts | Can-Am | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | Niagara Falls Cataracts | Can-Am | 39 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | New York Americans | NHL | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | New Haven Eagles | Can-Am | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1929–30 | Pittsburgh Pirates | NHL | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Detroit Olympics | IHL | 28 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | Cleveland Indians | IHL | 30 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1932–33 | Oshawa Blue Imps | OHA Sr | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 133 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 74 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||||
