Marty Barry: A Forgotten NHL Legend?

It’s been over 70 years since he played his last game in the National Hockey League and 45 since he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Marty Barry is somewhat of a lost legend from the first half century in NHL history.

Marty Barry played in the NHL from 1927-28 to 1939-40. His career began with the New York Americans but he only played six games with the club in 1927-28. From 1929-30 to 1934-35, he played for the Boston Bruins.

For the following four years, he played for the Detroit Red Wings. In those ten years, Barry was an ironman, playing in each of his team’s scheduled regular season games. His career ended with a final season with the Montreal Canadiens in 1939-40.

For seven consecutive seasons from 1930-31 to 1936-37, Marty was among the top ten goal scorers in the NHL. In 1932-33, he finished third with 24. The following season, he finished second with 27. In his first year with the Red Wings, he scored 21 and finished third in the NHL.

In the points department, Barry finished in the top ten six times. His best season was 1936-37 with the Red Wings when he totalled 44 points and finished third in the league.

Marty finished each season with more goals than assists until 1936-37. That season, his game changed and he became a decent set-up man. He finished second in the league with 27 assists. Two years later he placed fourth with 28 helpers. Incidentally, that season he spent just six minutes in the penalty box and earned the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

As a member of the Red Wings, Barry got his name scribed on the Stanley Cup twice. In 1935-36, the Red Wings swept the Montreal Maroons in three games in the semi-finals before taking out the Toronto Maple Leafs 3-1 in the finals. The following year, Marty contributed 11 points in 10 games as Detroit beat the Canadiens 3-2 in the semis and downed the New York Rangers 3-2 in the final.

Marty finished his NHL career with 195 goals and 387 points in 508 regular season NHL games. He played another 43 in the playoffs, contributing 33 points. Barry was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965 and died four years later.

Unfortunately, Marty played during an era of hockey card scarcity. There were only a handful of cards with the likeness of Barry on the front. Two cards are classified as the Marty Barry rookie card, each from 1933-34. The World Wide Gum Ice Kings V357 #27 is valued at $250. The V129 #38 is valued higher at $300.

 

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1927-28	Philadelphia Arrows	CAHL	34	11	3	14	70
1927-28	New York Americans	NHL	6	1	0	1	2
1928-29	New Haven Eagles	CAHL	35	19	10	29	54
1929-30	Boston Bruins	NHL	44	18	15	33	34
1930-31	Boston Bruins	NHL	44	20	11	31	26
1931-32	Boston Bruins	NHL	48	21	17	38	22
1932-33	Boston Bruins	NHL	48	24	13	37	40
1933-34	Boston Bruins	NHL	48	27	12	39	12
1934-35	Boston Bruins	NHL	48	20	20	40	33
1935-36	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	21	19	40	16
1936-37	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	17	27	44	6
1937-38	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	9	20	29	34
1938-39	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	13	28	41	4
1939-40	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	30	4	10	14	2
1939-40	Pittsburgh Hornets	IAHL	6	2	0	2	0
1940-41	Minneapolis Millers	AHA	32	10	10	20	8
			508	195	192	387	231