I don’t believe the late Sid Smith is sitting just outside the Hockey Hall of Fame. I believe this guy should be inside the walls. His achievements, not only in the NHL but in pro hockey in general, as well as on the international stage for Canada should reserve him a spot in the Hall.
Sid Smith
Smith played one year of junior hockey with the Oshawa Generals in 1944-45. He went on to play pro hockey from 1946-47 to 1957-58 in the NHL, QSHL and AHL. Over his National Hockey League career, all played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Sid played 601 regular season games, scoring 186 goals and assisted on 183 for 369 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Smith an additional 44 games, scoring 17 and assisting on ten for 27 points.
Sid Smith Collection
With the Maple Leafs, Smith was a part of Stanley Cup championships in 1947-48, 1948-49 and 1950-51. In 1950-51, Sid had a career year offensively, placing fourth in the league with 30 goals. He finished behind Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard of the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto teammate Tod Sloan.
Sid was also team captain of the Maple Leafs during the 1955-56 season. He was the recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy twice, in 1951-52 and 1954-55.
Smith is also part of American Hockey League history. In 1948-49, Sid played most of the regular season with the Pittsburgh Hornets. He played 68 regular season games, scoring 55 goals and assisting on 57 for 112 points. He tied for the league lead in goals with Carl Liscombe of the Providence Reds. Sid was third in assists but most importantly led the league in points to earn the John B. Sollenberger Trophy. The Sollenberger Trophy had been introduced just the year before.
That year, Pittsburgh failed to reach the post season. Smith joined the Maple Leafs for one game at the end of the NHL regular season. He played six games for Toronto in the playoffs, scoring five goals. Toronto won the Stanley Cup championship.
After his NHL career had ended, Smith took on the dual role of player/head coach of the Whitby Dunlops. In 1958, the Dunlops represented Canada at the IIHF World Hockey Championships. Canada won gold and Sid finished fourth in tournament scoring with 14 points over seven games.
The following year, the Dunlops were crowned Allan Cup champions with a four games to one victory over the Vernon Canadians in the final series. Smith scored 12 goals and totalled 20 points over 12 games in the Allan Cup playoffs.
Sid Smith -Rookie Card
The Sid Smith rookie card appears as number 84 in the 1951-52 Parkhurst set. The Smith card is valued at over twice that of a common card.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1946-47 | Quebec Aces | QSHL | 15 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 6 |
| 1946-47 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 23 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 4 |
| 1946-47 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1947-48 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 30 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 11 |
| 1947-48 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 31 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 10 |
| 1948-49 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 68 | 55 | 57 | 112 | 4 |
| 1948-49 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1949-50 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 68 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 6 |
| 1950-51 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 30 | 21 | 51 | 10 |
| 1951-52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 27 | 30 | 57 | 6 |
| 1952-53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 20 | 19 | 39 | 6 |
| 1953-54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 22 | 16 | 38 | 28 |
| 1954-55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 33 | 21 | 54 | 14 |
| 1955-56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 8 |
| 1956-57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 17 | 24 | 41 | 4 |
| 1957-58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 |
| NHL Totals | 601 | 186 | 183 | 369 | 94 |