Fleming Mackell: Just Shy of the Hockey Hall of Fame

Not quite Hockey Hall of Fame material, Fleming Mackell certainly had his moments of glory during his hockey career. Mackell played in five Stanley Cup finals, was the second ever recipient of the Eddie Powers Trophy and was a top ten scorer in the National Hockey League in 1957-58.

 

Junior Career

Pro Career

Hockey Card Collection

Jack Mackell

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Fleming Mackell – Junior Hockey

Mackell played three years of junior hockey before going pro. In 1944-45, he appeared in a handful of games with the Montreal Junior Royals. In 1945-46 and 1946-47, Fleming starred with Toronto St. Michael’s in the Ontario Hockey Association.

Both St. Michael’s teams went to the Memorial Cup finals. In 1945-46, Toronto lost to the Winnipeg Monarchs with the series going the full seven games. The following year, the Memorial Cup was hosted in Winnipeg, Moose Jaw and Regina. St. Michael’s easily swept the Moose Jaw Canucks for the national championship, outscoring their opponents 29-7. Along with Mackell on the Joe Primeau coached St. Michael’s team, Red Kelly also starred.

In that second season, Fleming scored 49 goals and assisted on 33 for 82 points over just 28 regular season games to lead the league in scoring. The Eddie Powers Trophy had been introduced the year before and Mackell became the second winner of the trophy awarded to the Ontario Hockey League’s top scorer.

Fleming Mackell – Pro Hockey

Mackell played pro from 1947-48 to 1962-63 in the NHL, AHL and WHL. He played in the National Hockey League from 1947-48 to 1959-60 with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Boston Bruins. Over that time, he played 665 regular season games, scoring 149 goals and assisted on 220 for 369 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he played an additional 80 games and added 63 points.

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Fleming Mackell Collection

 

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His NHL career started off slow. Fleming played three games for the Maple Leafs in 1947-48 then another eleven during the regular season in 1948-49. However, Mackell appeared in all nine playoff games for Toronto that year as the Maple Leafs captured the Stanley Cup championship, sweeping the Detroit Red Wings in the finals. Fleming came through with six points over the nine games.

After getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup again the following year with a 4-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens in the finals, Mackell was dealt to the Boston Bruins midway through 1951-52 for Jim Morrison.

1952-53 was Fleming’s first full year with the Bruins and his impact was immediate. He finished fifth in the NHL with 27 goals and tied for tenth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 44 points. Boston finished third in the six team league, one point under .500 with 69 points over 70 games. In the first round of the playoffs, the Bruins upset first place Detroit. In the finals, Boston fell to the Canadiens in five.

With Boston, Mackell would have two more cracks at the mighty Montreal dynasty of late 1950’s. In 1956-57, the Bruins once again lost in five. They lost again in 1957-58 but gave Montreal all they had and more.

Boston finished the 1957-58 regular season in fourth spot with again 69 points over 70 games. Fleming played all 70 games for the Bruins and had a career year with 20 goals and 40 assists for 60 points. He placed fifth in the league for assists and seventh for points.

Montreal once again beat the Bruins in the Stanley Cup finals. However, this time it took six games and Fleming Mackell stole the show. Over 12 playoff games, Fleming scored five and assisted on 14 for 19 points to lead all players in the playoffs for assists and points. Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Canadiens led in goals with 11.

The Conn Smythe Trophy didn’t show up until the 1964-65 season. However, it there was an MVP award in the 1957-58 playoffs, Mackell may very well have been selected. Would that have put over the top and allowed him entrance to the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Like the Bruins, Mackell fizzled out over the next two seasons, his last in the NHL. When Boston let him go, Fleming wouldn’t quit. He was player/coach with the Quebec Aces of the American Hockey League in 1960-61. After a year off, he played part of a season in 1962-63 with the Los Angeles Blades of the WHL.

Over his NHL career, Mackell played in four All-Star Games and was a First Team All-Star in 1952-53.

Jack Mackell

Fleming was the son of National Hockey League pioneer Jack Mackell. The senior Mackell played for the Ottawa Senators in 1919-20 and 1920-21. In both years, the Senators won the Stanley Cup with victories over PCHA teams as the Trophy was still a challenge cup and not exclusive to the NHL.

In 1919-20, the Senators won the championship with a three games to two victory over the Seattle Metropolitans. The following year, the Senators met the Vancouver Millionaires and once again won the series three to two.

Fleming Mackell – Rookie Card

Like so many from the era, the Fleming Mackell rookie card appears as number 83 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set. The first Mackell hockey card is valued at around 1.3 to 1.4 times the value of a common card. However, they are often listed on eBay for much higher.

 

Fleming Mackell Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1944-45	Montreal Royals	QSHL	9	3	4	7	0
1945-46	St. Michael’s Majors	OHA	24	25	25	50	29
1946-47	St. Michael’s Majors	OHA	28	49	33	82	71
1947-48	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL	62	22	43	65	84
1947-48	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	3	0	0	0	2
1948-49	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL	52	38	38	76	65
1948-49	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	11	1	1	2	6
1949-50	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL	36	25	22	47	62
1949-50	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	36	7	13	20	24
1950-51	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	70	12	13	25	40
1951-52	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	32	2	8	10	16
1951-52	Boston Bruins	NHL	30	1	8	9	24
1952-53	Boston Bruins	NHL	65	27	17	44	63
1953-54	Boston Bruins	NHL	67	15	32	47	60
1954-55	Boston Bruins	NHL	60	11	24	35	76
1955-56	Boston Bruins	NHL	52	7	9	16	59
1956-57	Boston Bruins	NHL	65	22	17	39	73
1957-58	Boston Bruins	NHL	70	20	40	60	72
1958-59	Boston Bruins	NHL	57	17	23	40	28
1959-60	Boston Bruins	NHL	47	7	15	22	19
1960-61	Quebec Aces	AHL	62	13	22	35	54
1962-63	Los Angeles Blades	WHL	29	10	21	31	26
1963-64	New Glasgow Rangers	NSSHL	7	5	14	19	4
1964-65	New Glasgow Rangers	NSSHL	57	49	75	124	85
1965-66	St-Hyacinthe Saints	QPHL	20	10	10	20	29
	NHL Totals		665	149	220	369	562