Francis Joseph "Duke" McCurry (June 13, 1900 – November 8, 1965) was a 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...

 left winger

Winger (ice hockey)

Winger, in the game of hockey, is a forward position of a player whose primary zone of play on the ice is along the outer playing area. They typically work by flanking the centre forward. Originally the name was given to forward players who went up and down the sides of the rink...

 who played 145 games in 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...

, with the Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL)

The Pittsburgh Pirates were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League , based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from 1925–26 to 1929–30. The nickname comes from the baseball team also based in the city...

.

Born in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

, Ontario, McCurry played his junior hockey in Toronto with the Canoe Club in 1919-20 and led them to the Memorial Cup

Memorial Cup

The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...

 with an incredible 21 goals and 32 points in 12 games.

He also played football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 for the Toronto Argonauts

Toronto Argonauts

The Toronto Argonauts are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League. The Toronto, Ontario based team was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest existing professional sports teams in North America, after the Chicago Cubs and the Atlanta...

 from 1922 to 1923, as well as Captaining several baseball teams. McCurry was also a member of the all-star Canadian lacrosse team from 1920 to 1922, and being the welter-weight champion of Canada in 1916.

From 1923 to 1925 he played in Pittsburgh with the USAHA's Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets

Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets

The Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets was an amateur hockey team that existed between . They evolved from being an amateur to a semi-pro team and are one the earliest sports organizations in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Yellow Jackets played primarily in the United States Amateur Hockey Association...

. In September, 1925 McCurry was signed as a free agent when the Yellow Jackets became the NHL's Pittsburgh Pirates and had 17 points in 36 games. McCurry remained with the Pirates for another three years but he seemed to lose his scoring touch which was a major concern for the team. So much so that in September, 1929 the Pirates dealt him to the Montreal Maroons

Montreal Maroons

The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...

 for cash. However, McCurry refused to report to Montreal and he sat out the entire season. Although it was evident the Pirates did not want him, he liked the city of Pittsburgh and signed a one-year pact with the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets, now playing in the IHL

International Hockey League (1929-36)

The International Hockey League was a professional ice hockey league operating in Canada and the United States from 1929 to 1936. It was a direct ancestor of the American Hockey League....

. He retired from hockey after the 1930-31 season.

After his athletic career, he retired to become a doctor. McCurry moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Pittsburgh is the second-largest city in the US Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Allegheny County. Regionally, it anchors the largest urban area of Appalachia and the Ohio River Valley, and nationally, it is the 22nd-largest urban area in the United States...

, and took up dentistry

Dentistry

Dentistry is the branch of medicine that is involved in the study, diagnosis, prevention, and treatment of diseases, disorders and conditions of the oral cavity, maxillofacial area and the adjacent and associated structures and their impact on the human body. Dentistry is widely considered...

, before returning to Toronto, in the 1930s. McCurry died in 1965 at the St. Michael's Hospital in Toronto, Ontario.

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