The 1955-56 Parkhurst NHL hockey card set consists of 79 cards featuring players from all Original 6 teams. The backs of these cards were a wealth of player information compared to previous years and each card featured a ‘Did You Know’ fact not related to the player on the front of the card.
We’ll gathered up all 79 of those ‘Did You Know’ facts, dug a little deeper and updated each with changes to those facts over the past 60 years. This is a three part series simply because the length would slow load time down to an annoying level. This article looks at cards numbered 1 through 25.
The other two parts can be found here:
Of course, images of both the fronts and backs of all these cards can be found here in our virtual collection (along with a video of all 79 cards): 1955-56 Parkhurst NHL.
1955-56 Parkhurst ‘Did You Know’ 1-25
1 Harry Lumley
Aurel Joliat of Montreal Canadiens played in over 700 NHL games.
The grand total is actually 701. Joliat played 655 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1922-23 and 1937-38, all with the Montreal Canadiens. He also played in 46 Stanley Cup playoff games. Although, depending on the resource, that number varies from 694 to 717.
Joliat was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947. Number 4 was co-retired in his honour by the Habs in 1984, shared with, of course, Jean Beliveau.
2 Sid Smith
Up until 1908 the Stanley Cup was competed for by amateur clubs.
The Stanley Cup was first awarded in 1893 to Montreal AAA. In that 1908 calendar year, the trophy was challenged for on five separate occasions. Each time, the Cup was retained by the Montreal Wanderers.
The Stanley Cup became an East vs. West championship between 1915 and 1926, pitting the best of the NHA against the best from the WHL. In 1926-27, the trophy was first awarded solely for the National Hockey League championship.
3 Tim Horton
Detroit and Montreal set a new NHL playoff record last year scoring 47 goals between them.
Detroit won the Stanley Cup, taking out the Habs in seven games in that final series. Detroit outscored Montreal 27-20. Gordie Howe led the way for the Red Wings with 20 points in eleven playoff games. For Montreal, Bernie Geoffrion and Jean Beliveau each had 13 points over 12 games.
In 1984-85, the Edmonton Oilers made a mess of that record. In their semi-final series with the Chicago Blackhawks, the Oilers scored 44 goals over six games while allowing Chicago to score 25 for a total of 69 goals. The series included 11-2 and 10-5 wins for Edmonton.
4 George Armstrong
Rocket Richard holds the record for most goals scored (12) in one Stanley Cup series.
The wording is a bit off on this one. Richard scored 12 goals in the 1943-44 Stanley Cup playoffs but it was over nine games in two series. Montreal won the Stanley Cup championship, beating the Chicago Blackhawks in the finals.
The record for most goals in a single playoff series belongs to Jari Kurri with 12 over a six game set in 1984-85. The record for most goals in a playoff season is 19. That record is shared between Kurri and Reggie Leach. Jari did it in 18 gms in 1984-85 while it took Leach just 16 games in 1975-76 with the Flyers, in a losing cause.
5 Ron Stewart
Hockey’s Hall of Fame was the brain-child of old-time veteran James Sutherland.
James T. Sutherland played and coached in the Kingston, Ontario area. He was instrumental in the founding of the Memorial Cup in 1919. The Mem is battled for by representatives of the WHL, OHL and QMJHL for junior hockey supremacy in Canada.
Sutherland was huge in establishing the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1943. James was inducted into the IHHOF in 1947. The original hall still exists in Kingston as a museum in the Invista Centre (hockey arena) and is free to visit. The IHHOF inducted nine builders and 32 players between 1943 and 1966.
6 Joe Klukay
The J.P. Bickell Cup is awarded annually to the Leaf judged most valuable to his team.
The J.P. Bickell Memorial Award was first given out in 1953 to Ted Kennedy. This is not an annual award and is presented at the discretion of the Toronto Maple Leafs directors to a member of the organization who performed with a very high standard of excellence.
This award has not been handed out since 2003 when Pat Quinn was honoured. This makes sense since no one in that organization since has performed with a very high standard of excellence…
7 Marc Reaume RC
Detroit Red Wings are only team to sweep Stanley Cup series in 8 straight games, in 1952.
Those Red Wings really had no competition in that 1951-52 playoff season. In the opening round, they swept the Toronto Maple Leafs, outscoring their opponents 13-3 on the series. In the finals, they swept Montreal, outscoring them 11-2 over the four games. Terry Sawchuk recorded four shutouts in the playoffs, two in each series. Detroit was led offensively by Ted Lindsay’s five goals.
The only other team to sweep through the playoffs was the 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens. The Habs swept the Blackhawks in the opening round before giving the broom to the Maple Leafs in the finals. Jacques Plante recorded three shutouts over the eight games. It was the last of five straight Stanley Cup championships for Montreal. It also marked the last time Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard would play in the National Hockey League.
8 Jim Morrison
Eddie Litzenberger of Chicago won the Calder Memorial Trophy last year.
What’s unique about this one is that Ed Litzenberger was traded midseason during his Calder Trophy winning 1954-55 season. On December 10, 1954, the Montreal Canadiens shipped him to the Chicago Blackhawks for cash. With Montreal, he had just 11 points in 29 games. With Chicago, he exploded for 40 points in 44 games.
He is the only Calder Trophy winner to ever get traded during his winning season. Because of the difference in schedules, Litzenberger is unique for playing 73 games in that 1954-55 season when team’s played just 70 each. Ed went on to play 618 regular season and 40 Stanley Cup playoff games in the NHL between 1952-53 and 1963-64 with the Canadiens, Blackhawks, Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs.
9 Parker MacDonald RC
The Howe-Lindsay-Reibel line of Detroit set a new play-off record last year scoring 51 points.
Leading the way for the 1954-55 Stanley Cup champions, Gordie Howe had nine goals and 11 assists over 11 games. Ted Lindsay had 19 points on seven goals and 12 points. Earl ‘Dutch’ Reibel had 12 points.
It was Reibel that led Detroit during the regular season. Dutch led the Wings with 41 assists and 66 points.
10 Tod Sloan
Fabulous Frank McGee of old-time Ottawa teams had the use of only one eye.
McGee lost the sight in that one eye during an amateur game in 1900 when he was hit by a puck. However, he was able to get in the military and fight during World War One. It is said that he tricked the recruitment office during the vision test by switching the hand the covered his eye but covering the same eye. It was his demise, dying in France while in combat in 1916 at the age of 33 years old.
Frank once scored 14 goals in a playoff game with the Ottawa Silver Seven vs. Dawson City. He was one of 12 original inductees to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.
11 Jim Thomson
Boston was the first United States city to join the NHL.
The Bruins joined the National Hockey League for the 1924-25 season. They finished last overall in the six team NHL in their inaugural season and were coached by Art Ross. That year, the other teams were from Hamilton, Toronto and Ottawa, along with two teams from Montreal.
The follow year, the Hamilton Tigers moved to the New York Americans and the Pittsburgh Pirates joined the league, increasing the U.S. foothold to three. By 1926-27, there was a five team American Division featuring the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Pirates and Detroit Cougars. With the New York Americans playing in the Canadian Division, it meant the six of the ten teams were now based in the United States.
In 1934-35, the Ottawa Senators relocated and became the St. Louis Eagles for a single season. That meant that just three of the nine teams in the NHL were located in Canada.
12 Rudy Migay
Terry Sawchuk of Detroit Red Wings won the Vezina Trophy last year.
Sawchuk played 68 of Detroit’s 70 regular season games, posting a 1.94 goals against average and chalking up 12 shutouts for the second year in a row. Playing the other two games for Detroit was Glenn Hall. It was the third of four Vezina Trophy wins for Terry.
In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Terry allowed six goals in the opening round as the Red Wings swept the Toronto Maple Leafs. In the finals, it was a more high scoring affair with Detroit outscoring Montreal 27-20, taking the championship in seven games.
13 Brian Cullen RC
The National Hockey League was organized November 22, 1917 in Montreal.
The NHL took over immediately after the NHA suspended operations. The 1917-18 season started out with four teams (Toronto Arenas, Montreal Canadiens, Montreal Wanderers, Ottawa Senators) but was reduced to three early in the season. The Montreal Wanderers dropped from the league after six games. The other three teams played 22 games each.
Joe Malone put up his historic performance with 44 goals in 20 games for the Habs. Toronto won the NHL championship and went on to win the Stanley Cup over the Vancouver Millionaires of the PCHL.
14 Hugh Bolton
Ted Kennedy of Toronto Maple Leafs is the only player to play on 5 Stanley Cup winning teams.
Kennedy played a few more years in the NHL but the number remained at five. With the Canadiens dynasty catching fire in 1955-56, Teeder’s record would not hang around long.
15 Eric Nesterenko
Doug Harvey of Canadiens set a new record for defensemen by getting 43 assists last season.
Harvey would top his record two years later with 44 assists in 1956-57. Pat Stapleton of the Chicago Blackhawks briefly held the mark when he recorded 50 assists in 1968-69. But, then came Orr. Bobby Orr shattered the mark with 102 assists in 1970-71. The record stands pretty much untouchable today.
16 Larry Cahan RC
The Allan Cup is symbolic of senior hockey supremacy in Canada.
The Allan Cup has been competed for since 1909 and the winner is crowned the national senior amateur men’s ice hockey champion of Canada. Team compete from all across Canada but winners overwhelmingly have come from Ontario.
Joe Primeau is the only man to coach teams to Allan Cup, Memorial Cup and Stanley Cup championships. Danny Lewicki won all three of those trophies before the age of 21.
17 Willie Marshall RC
Butch Bouchard of Canadiens set a record by playing in his 112th Stanley Cup game last year.
Butch Bouchard played just one more playoff game for 113, retiring after the 1955-56 season. His son, also a defenseman with Montreal, appeared in 76 Stanley Cup playoff games. The current record belongs to Chris Chelios with 266 games. Chelios not only holds the record for defensemen, but for any player to appear in the NHL. The second most also belongs to a blue liner with Nicklas Lidstrom playing 263 post season games.
18 Dick Duff RC
The Memorial Cup is symbolic of junior hockey supremacy in Canada.
The Memorial Cup has been awarded to the top major junior hockey team in Canada since 1919. At one time, teams from Western Canada competed for the Abbott Cup while teams from the east competed for the George Richardson Memorial Trophy. The winners of those two championships would meet for a best of seven series to determine the Mem Cup champion.
The Richardson Trophy was last awarded in 1971 to the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL. The Abbott Cup was last awarded to a major junior ‘A’ team in 1970 to the Weyburn Red Wings.
In 1972, the format changed from east vs. west to a three team tournament with the champions of the WHL, OHL and QMJHL competing. In 1983, a fourth team was added to the mix.
19 Jack Caffery RC
Fastest goal in one game is held by Kennedy of Leafs and Martin of old-time Americans in 8 seconds.
The current record for the fastest goal to start a regular season NHL game is five seconds and held by three different players. Doug Smail of the Winnipeg Jets did it in 1981. Bryan Trottier equaled the mark in 1984 with the New York Islanders. Alexander Mogilny was the last to accomplish the rare feat with the Buffalo Sabres in 1991.
The Martin of old-time Americans referred to on the card is Ronnie Martin. Ronnie played just 94 games in the National Hockey League and scored just 13 goals. He played for the New York Americans for the 1932-33 and 1933-34 seasons.
20 Billy Harris RC
Montreal Canadiens set a record last year by making the Stanley Cup finals for the fifth straight time.
It was a record that the Habs were no where done with. They would win the Stanley Cup in each of the next five seasons for a grand total of ten consecutive visits to the finals. Over those ten years, the Canadiens met the Detroit Red Wings four times, with three showdowns each with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins.
21 Lorne Chabot
Maurice Richard of Canadiens holds the record for most goals in one Stanley Cup game (5).
This is a record that still stands today. The Rocket did it for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1943-44 playoffs. Newsy Lalonde previously had a five goal game with the Habs in 1918-19. Darryl Sittler of the Maple Leafs and Reggie Leach of the Flyers both scored five in a game during the 1975-76 playoffs. Mario Lemieux was the last to accomplish the feat in 1988-89 with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
22 Harvey “Busher” Jackson
Gordie Howe scored the fastest Stanley Cup goal in 9 seconds, April 1, 1954.
That record now belongs to Don Kozak with a goal in the first six seconds of a game. It was one of just seven goals Kozak scored during the playoffs over his NHL career. The goal came in game four of the 1976-77 quarter-final series between Kozak’s Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins. L.A. won the game 7-4 but lost the series in six games.
Don Kozak played 437 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1972-73 and 1978-79 with the Kings and Vancouver Canucks. He appeared in 29 Stanley Cup playoff games.
23 Walter “Turk” Broda
Sid Smith of Toronto Maple Leafs won the Lady Byng Trophy last year.
For Smith, it was his second of two Lady Byng wins. Over 70 games, he sat just 14 minutes in the penalty box while scoring 33 goals and assisting on 21 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. He won the award previously in 1951-52 with Toronto.
Sid played 601 regular season NHL games between 1946-47 and 1957-58, sitting just 94 minutes. Over 44 Stanley Cup playoff games, Smith was called for just one minor penalty.
24 Joe Primeau
In 1907-08 Kenora Thistles won the Stanley Cup in January, and Montreal Wanderers won in March.
Kenora won the Stanley Cup from the Wanderers in January and defended the championship against the Brandon Wheat Cities on March 18. The then lost it back to Montreal on March 25. The Wanderers retained the Stanley Cup through five different challenges during the 1908 calendar year.
The Thistles ceased operations in 1907 after losing to Montreal. They played in the Manitoba Professional Hockey League. On the roster were three Hockey Hall of Fame members: Art Ross, Joe Hall and Alf Smith.
25 Gordie Drillon
The Bickell Memorial Cup is now valued at over $10,000.00.
In comparison, although slightly a case of apples and oranges, the Stanley Cup is estimated by one source to be valued at $650,000 today. Lord Stanley spent a little less than $50 to create the trophy back in 1893. The cost of engraving the names of the winning players each season alone is $1,000.
Continue on to Part 2
In #11… you mention that the Hamilton Tigers moved to Pittsburgh to become the Pirates. That’s incorrect. The Hamilton Tigers franchise was suspended when the players went on strike for more money to play in the 1925 playoffs. The players were suspended by the NHL, but their suspensions were lifted and they were all signed to the New York Americans franchise which began play in the 25-26 season.
You’re absolutely right, Lynn – not sure what I was thinking. Pirates were an new franchise for that same 1925-26 season, later becoming the Philadelphia Quakers before disappearing..
Comments are closed.