George Prodgers

George Prodgers
Prodgers with the Victoria Aristocrats in the 1912–13 PCHA season
Born (1891-02-18)February 18, 1891
London, Ontario, Canada
Died October 25, 1935(1935-10-25) (aged 44)
London, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre/Defence
Shot Right
Played for Quebec Bulldogs
Victoria Aristocrats
Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Canadiens
Toronto 228th Battalion
Toronto St. Patricks
Hamilton Tigers
Playing career 1908–1925

Samuel George "Goldie" Prodgers[1][2] (often misspelled Prodger) (February 18, 1891 – October 25, 1935) was a Canadian ice hockey player. During his career he played for the Waterloo Colts, Quebec Bulldogs, Victoria Aristocrats, Montreal Wanderers, Montreal Canadiens, Toronto 228th Battalion, Toronto St. Pats, and Hamilton Tigers. He won the Stanley Cup in 1912 with the Bulldogs, and in 1916 with the Canadiens, and retired in 1925.

Playing career

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George Prodgers was born in London, Ontario, and played amateur hockey for the London Athletic, joining its junior team in 1908, and graduating to their intermediate team for the 1909–10 season. He turned professional for the Waterloo Colts of the Ontario Professional Hockey League for the 1910–11 season. When Waterloo folded its team, Prodgers, along with Eddie Oatman and Jack McDonald joined the Quebec Bulldogs of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The Bulldogs won the NHA championship and the Stanley Cup and defeated Moncton in a Stanley Cup challenge series. Prodgers joined the Victoria Aristocrats for the 1912–13 season despite being under contract with Quebec. He returned to Quebec for one season, before joining the Montreal Wanderers for a season and a season with the Montreal Canadiens. While playing for the Canadiens, the Canadiens went to its first Stanley Cup finals, winning the series on a goal by Prodgers.

He enlisted with the Canadian Expeditionary Force and played for the Toronto 228th Battalion for the last NHA season (1916–17) before being shipped overseas. He returned to Canada in 1919 but refused to report to Quebec which was assigned his playing rights in the new National Hockey League (NHL). He was traded between several teams before he settled in with the new Toronto St. Patricks. After that one season with Toronto, he joined the Hamilton Tigers where he had his best offensive seasons, scoring 18 goals in 1920–21. He stayed with the Tigers until the end of the 1924–25 season. The Tigers were suspended at the end of the season after a player's strike and their contracts were sold to the New York Americans. Prodgers retired at that point,[3] But after a season away, he joined the London Panthers of the Canadian Professional League, whom he would coach in the following season.

Post-playing career

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He died on October 25, 1935, in London, Ontario.[4]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1908–09 London Athletics OHA Jr
1909–10 London Wingers OHA Int
1910–11 Waterloo Colts OPHL 16 9 0 9 1 0 0 0
1911–12 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 18 3 0 3 15
1911–12 Quebec Bulldogs St-Cup 2 0 0 0 0
1912–13 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 15 6 0 6 21
1912–13 Victoria Aristocrats Exhib 3 1 0 1 0
1913–14 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 20 2 3 5 11
1914–15 Montreal Wanderers NHA 18 8 5 13 54 2 0 0 0 15
1915–16 Montreal Canadiens NHA 24 8 3 11 86
1915–16 Montreal Canadiens St-Cup 4 3 0 3 13
1916–17 Toronto 228th Battalion NHA 12 16 3 19 30
1919–20 Toronto St. Pats NHL 16 8 6 14 4
1920–21 Hamilton Tigers NHL 24 18 9 27 8
1921–22 Hamilton Tigers NHL 24 15 6 21 4
1922–23 Hamilton Tigers NHL 23 13 4 17 17
1923–24 Hamilton Tigers NHL 23 9 4 13 6
1924–25 Hamilton Tigers NHL 1 0 0 0 0
1926–27 London Panthers Can-Pro 16 1 0 1 10
1927–28 London Panthers Can-Pro
NHA totals 92 37 14 51 196 2 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 111 63 29 82 39

Transactions

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  • Signed as a free agent by Waterloo (OPHL), January 5, 1911.
  • Signed as a free agent by Quebec (NHA), November 1911.
  • Signed by Victoria (PCHA) after jumping contract with Quebec (NHA), November 18, 1912.
  • Traded to Montreal Wanderers (NHA) by Quebec (NHA) for cash, December 4, 1914.
  • NHL rights were transferred to Quebec by the NHL when the Quebec franchise returned to NHL, November 25, 1919.
  • Suspended by Quebec after refusing to report to training camp, November 27, 1919.
  • Traded to Montreal by Quebec for Ed Carpenter, December 21, 1919.
  • Traded to Toronto by Montreal for Harry Cameron, January 14, 1920.
  • Traded to Montreal by Toronto with Joe Matte for Harry Cameron, November 27, 1920.
  • Traded to Hamilton by Montreal with Jack Coughlin, Joe Matte and loan of Billy Coutu for 1920–21 season for Harry Mummery, Jack McDonald and Dave Ritchie, November 27, 1920.

Awards

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  • Played on the OHA-Jr. first All-Star Team (1909)
  • Inducted into the London Sports Hall of Fame (November 2009)

References

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  1. ^ "Prodgers induction papers to World War I" (PDF). Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 2009-05-08.[permanent dead link]
  2. ^ "Library and Archives Canada Medical Enlistment Papers" (PDF). onlineacademiccommunity.uvic.ca. Retrieved 31 July 2015.
  3. ^ "Goldie Prodgers Through With Professional Hockey Calgary Daily Herald. March 1, 1924. Retrieved 2020-10-23.
  4. ^ "George Prodgers Dead – Former Hockey Star Victim of Heart Attack" The Montreal Gazette, October 26, 1935.
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