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Milt Schmidt
Milton Conrad Schmidt (March 5, 1918 – January 4, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach and general manager, mostly for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), He was a member of the famed "Kraut Line" with teammates Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart. The trio led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships and became the first line to finish first, second and third in NHL scoring, in 1939–40. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. In 2017, Schmidt was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
After retiring as a player, Schmidt remained with the Bruins, as head coach for eleven years, then as general manager as the Bruins won two Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.
Schmidt's early years were spent in Kitchener, where he attended King Edward Public School. In high school, he briefly attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, but dropped out at age 14 to work to support his family (his father had become too ill to work regularly), and took a job at a shoe factory. He made 18 cents per hour ($3.94 per hour in 2025 dollars) while working there and claimed that he knew the value of the dollar. He continued playing junior hockey with the Kitchener Empires and Kitchener Greenshirts. Schmidt was a childhood friend of fellow Hall of Famers Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer. At the age of 20, while playing for the Boston Bruins' AHL farm team, the Providence Reds, Schmidt was invited to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals pro baseball team, but knew himself well enough from his youth baseball experience that while he could hit the ball out of the park, he would strike out many more times than hitting home runs.
Schmidt played junior hockey with Dumart and Bauer in Kitchener, Ontario, before their rights were all acquired by the Bruins in 1935. After playing a final year of junior hockey in Kitchener, Ontario, and half a year with the Providence Reds, Schmidt was called up to the Bruins during the 1937 season. He quickly proved himself to be a hardnosed centre, a skilled stick handler and smooth playmaker.
Schmidt and his childhood friends Bauer and Dumart were teamed up together in the NHL as well. They formed the Kraut Line and were a strong and dependable line for the Bruins for most of the following fifteen seasons. They were a key ingredient to the Bruins' success as they rampaged to 4 straight regular season titles and a hard-fought Stanley Cup victory in 1939. The following season Schmidt became a star, as he led the league in scoring and guided the Bruins to another first-place finish and the third-most goals in team history to date. That year the Kraut line would make history with Schmidt leading the NHL in points with 52 while Dumart and Bauer finished second and third respectively with 43 each. It was the first time in league history that three linemates finished in the top three spots in NHL scoring.
The 1941 season saw Schmidt spearhead the Bruins to their second Cup win in three years with 38 points and a postseason high 11 points in 11 playoff games. However, the powerhouse Brown and Gold were decimated by World War II the following year as Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart were all the first players to enlist in the Canadian military, and superstar American goaltender Frank Brimsek enlisted with the United States Coast Guard. In their final game with the bruins before deployment the Kraut Line recorded eight points in a dominating victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Following the contest, players from both teams fêted the trio, hoisting them up on their shoulders and parading them around the ice. While training in Ottawa, The Kraut line found success playing for the Ottawa RCAF Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League winning the Ottawa City Hockey League championship and the Allan Cup before heading overseas. Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart ultimately missed three productive NHL seasons due to their service in the War. Schmidt and Dumart would serve as a member of a Bomber squadron and Bauer would serve as a radio technician.
Schmidt returned for the beginning of the 1946 season reuniting with the Kraut line. He resumed his starring ways and finished fourth in league scoring in 1947 with a career high 62 point season (27 goals 35 assists). Named captain in 1951, Schmidt won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player that year having a 61 points with 22 goals and 39 assists.[citation needed] Schmidt would follow this up with a 50-point season the following year and would continue to put up solid numbers for the Bruins until his retirement.
In the later part of his career, Schmidt became friends with journalist Leo Monahan who travelled with the team on overnight train rides. One train ride Schmidt recalled that "Leo was in the berth above me and I was down below. Throughout the night, he told me, he did not move for fear he would do something that would keep me awake".
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Milt Schmidt
Milton Conrad Schmidt (March 5, 1918 – January 4, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre, coach and general manager, mostly for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League (NHL), He was a member of the famed "Kraut Line" with teammates Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart. The trio led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup championships and became the first line to finish first, second and third in NHL scoring, in 1939–40. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. In 2017, Schmidt was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
After retiring as a player, Schmidt remained with the Bruins, as head coach for eleven years, then as general manager as the Bruins won two Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.
Schmidt's early years were spent in Kitchener, where he attended King Edward Public School. In high school, he briefly attended Kitchener-Waterloo Collegiate and Vocational School, but dropped out at age 14 to work to support his family (his father had become too ill to work regularly), and took a job at a shoe factory. He made 18 cents per hour ($3.94 per hour in 2025 dollars) while working there and claimed that he knew the value of the dollar. He continued playing junior hockey with the Kitchener Empires and Kitchener Greenshirts. Schmidt was a childhood friend of fellow Hall of Famers Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer. At the age of 20, while playing for the Boston Bruins' AHL farm team, the Providence Reds, Schmidt was invited to try out for the St. Louis Cardinals pro baseball team, but knew himself well enough from his youth baseball experience that while he could hit the ball out of the park, he would strike out many more times than hitting home runs.
Schmidt played junior hockey with Dumart and Bauer in Kitchener, Ontario, before their rights were all acquired by the Bruins in 1935. After playing a final year of junior hockey in Kitchener, Ontario, and half a year with the Providence Reds, Schmidt was called up to the Bruins during the 1937 season. He quickly proved himself to be a hardnosed centre, a skilled stick handler and smooth playmaker.
Schmidt and his childhood friends Bauer and Dumart were teamed up together in the NHL as well. They formed the Kraut Line and were a strong and dependable line for the Bruins for most of the following fifteen seasons. They were a key ingredient to the Bruins' success as they rampaged to 4 straight regular season titles and a hard-fought Stanley Cup victory in 1939. The following season Schmidt became a star, as he led the league in scoring and guided the Bruins to another first-place finish and the third-most goals in team history to date. That year the Kraut line would make history with Schmidt leading the NHL in points with 52 while Dumart and Bauer finished second and third respectively with 43 each. It was the first time in league history that three linemates finished in the top three spots in NHL scoring.
The 1941 season saw Schmidt spearhead the Bruins to their second Cup win in three years with 38 points and a postseason high 11 points in 11 playoff games. However, the powerhouse Brown and Gold were decimated by World War II the following year as Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart were all the first players to enlist in the Canadian military, and superstar American goaltender Frank Brimsek enlisted with the United States Coast Guard. In their final game with the bruins before deployment the Kraut Line recorded eight points in a dominating victory over the Montreal Canadiens. Following the contest, players from both teams fêted the trio, hoisting them up on their shoulders and parading them around the ice. While training in Ottawa, The Kraut line found success playing for the Ottawa RCAF Flyers of the Quebec Senior Hockey League winning the Ottawa City Hockey League championship and the Allan Cup before heading overseas. Schmidt, Bauer, and Dumart ultimately missed three productive NHL seasons due to their service in the War. Schmidt and Dumart would serve as a member of a Bomber squadron and Bauer would serve as a radio technician.
Schmidt returned for the beginning of the 1946 season reuniting with the Kraut line. He resumed his starring ways and finished fourth in league scoring in 1947 with a career high 62 point season (27 goals 35 assists). Named captain in 1951, Schmidt won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player that year having a 61 points with 22 goals and 39 assists.[citation needed] Schmidt would follow this up with a 50-point season the following year and would continue to put up solid numbers for the Bruins until his retirement.
In the later part of his career, Schmidt became friends with journalist Leo Monahan who travelled with the team on overnight train rides. One train ride Schmidt recalled that "Leo was in the berth above me and I was down below. Throughout the night, he told me, he did not move for fear he would do something that would keep me awake".