Duke Keats
Encyclopedia
Gordon Blanchard "Duke, Iron Duke" Keats (March 21, 1895 – January 16, 1972) was a Canadian
professional ice hockey
centre
who played for the Toronto Blueshirts
of the National Hockey Association
(NHA), Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League
(WCHL) and the Boston Bruins
, Detroit Cougars
and Chicago Black Hawks
of the National Hockey League
(NHL). He was most famous for his time in the WCHL where he was named a First-Team All-Star by the league in each of its five seasons of existence. He won the league championship and appeared in the 1923 Stanley Cup Final with the Eskimos. Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1958.
, Quebec and at a young age moved with his family to North Bay
, Ontario where he was given his nickname of "Duke" at the age of six. He joined the Cobalt Mining League at the age of 14, and three years later was being paid $75 a week to star in the league. He joined the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts
in 1915 and finished fifth in league scoring that year. After playing part of a second season with Toronto in 1916–17, he enlisted in the Canadian military and as a member of the 228th Battalion, spent the following three years fighting in World War I
.
Keats settled in Edmonton
, Alberta after the war and joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Big-4 League
in 1919, leading the league in scoring in both 1919–20 and 1920–21. Officially an amateur league, there were rumours that Keats and several other players were secretly being paid a professional salary to play in the Big-4. The team officially turned professional when it helped forme the WCHL in 1921 with Keats as the league's greatest star. He played for the Eskimos in all five seasons of the league's existence and was named a First-Team All-Star at centre in each. One of the most gifted offensive players of his time, legend has it that he once collected a puck in his own zone and scored a goal after skating the length of the ice surface backwards. Keats led the Eskimos in scoring in 1921–22, recording 31 goals and 24 assists in 25 games, to lead the Eskimos to the top record in the league and the WCHL final where they lost to the Regina Capitals
. The Eskimos again finished with the league's top record in 1922–23, and again faced the Regina Capitals in the final. The Eskimos avenged the previous season as Keats scored the championship winning goal in overtime of the second game. Keats and the Eskimos went on to lose the 1923 Stanley Cup Final to the Ottawa Senators
.
Facing financial ruin, the Eskimos sold the rights to Keats and six other players to the Boston Bruins
for $50,000 in 1926. He played half of the 1926–27 NHL season in Boston before he was traded to the Detroit Cougars
, along with Archie Briden
, in exchange for Frank Fredrickson
and Harry Meeking
. Keats began the following season in Detroit but was suspended early in the season after swinging his stick at a spectator in Chicago who was heckling him. He missed three weeks of play as a result. The day after his reinstatement, the Cougars sent him to the Chicago Black Hawks
for Gord Fraser and $5000 cash.
After three games with Chicago in 1928–29, he left the team and helped organize the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association
(AHA), and was the league's top scorer that season. He played parts of two more seasons in Tulsa before taking a season off in 1931–32. Keats returned to Edmonton in 1932 as a player, coach and owner of a reformed Eskimos team. He played two seasons before retiring as a player. Keats went on to coach several teams in the Canadian prairies and briefly worked for the Black Hawks before settling in Victoria
, British Columbia in 1947 where he worked for the government and served as president of the Victoria Commercial Hockey League.
Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1958, and into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 1964.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
centre
Centre (ice hockey)
The centre in ice hockey is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play is the middle of the ice, away from the side boards. Centres have more flexibility in their positioning and are expected to cover more ice surface than any other player...
who played for the Toronto Blueshirts
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
of the National Hockey Association
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League...
(NHA), Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League
Western Canada Hockey League
The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:...
(WCHL) and the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, Detroit Cougars
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
and Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
of the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL). He was most famous for his time in the WCHL where he was named a First-Team All-Star by the league in each of its five seasons of existence. He won the league championship and appeared in the 1923 Stanley Cup Final with the Eskimos. Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1958.
Playing career
Keats was born in MontrealMontreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
, Quebec and at a young age moved with his family to North Bay
North Bay, Ontario
North Bay is a city in Northeastern Ontario, Canada. It is the seat of Nipissing District, and takes its name from its position on the shore of Lake Nipissing.-History:...
, Ontario where he was given his nickname of "Duke" at the age of six. He joined the Cobalt Mining League at the age of 14, and three years later was being paid $75 a week to star in the league. He joined the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts
Toronto Blueshirts
The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada...
in 1915 and finished fifth in league scoring that year. After playing part of a second season with Toronto in 1916–17, he enlisted in the Canadian military and as a member of the 228th Battalion, spent the following three years fighting in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
.
Keats settled in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta after the war and joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Big-4 League
Big-4 League
The Big-4 League was a top level senior ice hockey league that operated in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta for two seasons between 1919 and 1921. Created with the intention of competing for the Allan Cup senior-amateur championship, the league's existence was marred by accusations that its teams...
in 1919, leading the league in scoring in both 1919–20 and 1920–21. Officially an amateur league, there were rumours that Keats and several other players were secretly being paid a professional salary to play in the Big-4. The team officially turned professional when it helped forme the WCHL in 1921 with Keats as the league's greatest star. He played for the Eskimos in all five seasons of the league's existence and was named a First-Team All-Star at centre in each. One of the most gifted offensive players of his time, legend has it that he once collected a puck in his own zone and scored a goal after skating the length of the ice surface backwards. Keats led the Eskimos in scoring in 1921–22, recording 31 goals and 24 assists in 25 games, to lead the Eskimos to the top record in the league and the WCHL final where they lost to the Regina Capitals
Regina Capitals
The Regina Capitals were a professional ice hockey team originally based in the city of Regina, Saskatchewan in the Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921.-Franchise history:...
. The Eskimos again finished with the league's top record in 1922–23, and again faced the Regina Capitals in the final. The Eskimos avenged the previous season as Keats scored the championship winning goal in overtime of the second game. Keats and the Eskimos went on to lose the 1923 Stanley Cup Final to the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (original)
The Ottawa Senators were an amateur, and later, professional, ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which existed from 1883 to 1954. The club was the first hockey club in Ontario, a founding member of the National Hockey League and played in the NHL from 1917 until 1934...
.
Facing financial ruin, the Eskimos sold the rights to Keats and six other players to the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
for $50,000 in 1926. He played half of the 1926–27 NHL season in Boston before he was traded to the Detroit Cougars
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...
, along with Archie Briden
Archie Briden
Edward Archibald Briden was a retired professional ice hockey player who played 72 games in the National Hockey League, 82 games in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, and 55 games in the Western Canada Hockey League...
, in exchange for Frank Fredrickson
Frank Fredrickson
Sigurður Franklin Fredrickson was a Canadian ice hockey centre who was significant to both the amateur and professional sport as it evolved in North America in the early 20th century...
and Harry Meeking
Harry Meeking
Harry "Hurricane Howie" Meeking was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 3 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Toronto Arenas, Detroit Cougars and Boston Bruins. He was born in Berlin, Ontario....
. Keats began the following season in Detroit but was suspended early in the season after swinging his stick at a spectator in Chicago who was heckling him. He missed three weeks of play as a result. The day after his reinstatement, the Cougars sent him to the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
for Gord Fraser and $5000 cash.
After three games with Chicago in 1928–29, he left the team and helped organize the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association
American Hockey Association (1926–1942)
The American Hockey Association was a minor professional hockey league that operated between 1926 and 1942. It had previously operated as the Central Hockey League , and before that as part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association. The founding president was Alvin Warren, who also owned the St...
(AHA), and was the league's top scorer that season. He played parts of two more seasons in Tulsa before taking a season off in 1931–32. Keats returned to Edmonton in 1932 as a player, coach and owner of a reformed Eskimos team. He played two seasons before retiring as a player. Keats went on to coach several teams in the Canadian prairies and briefly worked for the Black Hawks before settling in Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
, British Columbia in 1947 where he worked for the government and served as president of the Victoria Commercial Hockey League.
Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1958, and into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 1964.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1915–16 | Toronto Blueshirts Toronto Blueshirts The Toronto Hockey Club, known as the Torontos and the Toronto Blue Shirts were a professional National Hockey Association team that played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada... |
NHA National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor organization to today's National Hockey League... |
24 | 22 | 7 | 29 | 112 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1916–17 | Toronto Blueshirts | NHA | 13 | 15 | 3 | 18 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1919–20 | Edmonton Eskimos | Big-4 Big-4 League The Big-4 League was a top level senior ice hockey league that operated in Calgary and Edmonton, Alberta for two seasons between 1919 and 1921. Created with the intention of competing for the Allan Cup senior-amateur championship, the league's existence was marred by accusations that its teams... |
12 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 41 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1920–21 | Edmonton Eskimos | Big-4 | 15 | 23 | 6 | 29 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1921–22 | Edmonton Eskimos | WCHL Western Canada Hockey League The Western Canada Hockey League , founded in 1921, was a major professional ice hockey league originally based in the prairies of Canada. It was renamed the Western Hockey League in 1925 and disbanded in 1926.-History:... |
25 | 31 | 24 | 55 | 47 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1922–23 | Edmonton Eskimos | WCHL | 25 | 24 | 13 | 37 | 72 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1923–24 | Edmonton Eskimos | WCHL | 29 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 41 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1924–25 | Edmonton Eskimos | WCHL | 28 | 23 | 9 | 32 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1925–26 | Edmonton Eskimos | WHL | 30 | 20 | 9 | 29 | 134 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 28 | ||
| 1926–27 | Boston Bruins Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
17 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1926–27 | Detroit Cougars Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York... |
NHL | 25 | 12 | 1 | 13 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | Detroit Cougars | NHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1927–28 | Chicago Black Hawks Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10... |
NHL | 32 | 14 | 8 | 22 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1928–29 | Tulsa Oilers | AHA American Hockey Association (1926–1942) The American Hockey Association was a minor professional hockey league that operated between 1926 and 1942. It had previously operated as the Central Hockey League , and before that as part of the United States Amateur Hockey Association. The founding president was Alvin Warren, who also owned the St... |
39 | 22 | 11 | 33 | 18 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1929–30 | Tulsa Oilers | AHA | 3 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Tulsa Oilers | AHA | 43 | 14 | 10 | 24 | 44 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1932–33 | Edmonton Eskimos | WCHL | 25 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 146 | 8 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 0 | ||
| 1933–34 | Edmonton Eskimos | NWHL North West Hockey League The North West Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed from 1933 to 1936... |
25 | 8 | 6 | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| NHA totals | 37 | 37 | 10 | 47 | 166 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| WCHL totals | 137 | 117 | 67 | 184 | 357 | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 38 | ||||
| NHL totals | 82 | 30 | 19 | 49 | 113 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||