George "Goldie" Cochrane (1882–1952) was a Canadian

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...

 player.

Born in Berlin (today known as Kitchener), Ontario

Ontario

Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....

, in 1882, Cochrane began playing hockey as a boy in Berlin in the 1890s. Beginning in 1900, he played for the amateur senior teams in Berlin and Galt. For the 1906–07 season, he moved to Houghton, Michigan

Houghton, Michigan

Houghton is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula and largest city in the Copper Country on the Keweenaw Peninsula. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 7,708. It is the county seat of Houghton County...

, where he played for Houghton-Portage Lakes

Portage Lakes Hockey Club

The Portage Lakes Hockey Club was one of the first professional ice hockey clubs. Based in Houghton, Michigan, the club played at the Amphidrome from 1904 until 1906...

 in the International Professional Hockey League

International Professional Hockey League

The International Professional Hockey League was the first fully professional ice hockey league, operating from 1904 to 1907. It was formed by Jack 'Doc' Gibson, a dentist who played hockey throughout Ontario before settling in Houghton, Michigan. The IPHL was a five team circuit which included...

. Cochrane, playing as a rover

Rover (ice hockey)

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, ice hockey consisted of seven positions. Along with the goaltender, two defencemen, and three forwards who remain today, a Rover was also part of the team. Unlike all the others, the rover did not have a set position, and roamed the ice at will, going...

, participated in 17 games and scored 12 goals for Portage Lakes, helping the team win the league championship that year.

Cochrane joined the Canadian Army in 1914 and was sent overseas to fight 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...

. He returned to Canada in 1918 after being wounded. His playing career over, Cochrane relocated to Exeter, Ontario

Exeter, Ontario

Exeter is a Canadian community in the municipality of South Huron, in the southern portion of Huron County, Ontario, located approximately 50 kilometres north of London. The community proclaims itself the "Home of the White Squirrel", owing to the presence of the unusually-coloured mammals...

, and coached teams in the Ontario Hockey Association

Ontario Hockey Association

The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...

for several years. He died in 1952, at age 69 or 70.