Jimmy Skinner
Encyclopedia
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...
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...
.
He is credited with starting the tradition of kissing the Stanley Cup.
Born in Selkirk, Manitoba
Selkirk, Manitoba
Selkirk is a city in the western Canadian province of Manitoba, located about 22 km northeast of the provincial capital Winnipeg on the Red River, near . As of the 2006 census, Selkirk had a population of 9,515....
, Canada
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...
, Skinner won the 1955 Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
as coach as well as the Prince of Wales Trophy twice,(54/55 & 56/57) before an illness forced him to give up his coaching duties. He continued in a series of other managerial duties with the Red Wings finally retiring as General Manager in 1983.
He had an overall NHL coaching record of 123–78–46, and coached three National Hockey League All-Star Game
National Hockey League All-Star Game
The National Hockey League All-Star Game is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held at the midway point of the regular season of the National Hockey League , with many of the league's star players playing against each other...
s from 1954 to 1958.
Prior to joining the Red Wings, he played for the Selkirk Fishermen
Selkirk Fishermen
The Selkirk Fishermen are a Junior "B" ice hockey team based in Selkirk, Manitoba. They are members of the Keystone Junior Hockey League...
, Winnipeg Rangers
Winnipeg Rangers
The Winnipeg Rangers were a Canadian junior hockey team in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League. The Rangers won 4 Turnbull Cup Championships as Manitoba Junior Champions, 1941, 1943, 1961, and 1966....
& the Winnipeg Falcons
Winnipeg Falcons
The Winnipeg Falcons were a senior men's amateur ice hockey team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In the 1919-1920 season, the Winnipeg Falcons won the Allan Cup. That team went on to represent Canada in the 1920 Olympic games held in Antwerp, Belgium...
in his teens. He was offered a contract with New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
but declined the offer and played for the Flin Flon Bombers
Flin Flon Bombers
The Flin Flon Bombers are a junior ice hockey team and current member of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League , and are based in Flin Flon, Manitoba, Canada. The team moved and became the Edmonton Oil Kings in 1978, but the Flin Flon Bomber name was retained...
instead. Jimmy was a defenseman & part-time forward & as a member of the bomber squad won the Sask. Senior Hockey League Championship in 1937/38. He also was playing assistant coach of the Omaha Knights
Omaha Knights
The Omaha Knights were a minor league professional ice hockey team from 1959 to 1975, based in Omaha, Nebraska at the Ak-Sar-Ben arena. The Knights were founded in 1959 as members of the International Hockey League...
& in one game scored a 45 ft goal after 11 mins & 19 seconds of an overtime period for a 4-3 victory over the opposing Tulsa Oilers (USHL) in semi-final playoffs. This tied the two teams to 3 games apiece. As a star defenseman his greatest asset on ice was his body checking ability while maintaining his speed. He was often noted for making a drive singlehandedly down the ice, crossing the blue line & then either hurriedly passing the puck or rifling it at an incredible speed then dashing back to his defense zone. He was interesting to watch as he performed his duties as a player & arbitrator. Jimmy played with the Indianapolis Capitals
Indianapolis Capitals
The Indianapolis Capitals was an American Hockey League professional ice hockey team based in Indianapolis, Indiana from 1939–1952. The Capitals were a farm team for the Detroit Red Wings. Indianapolis won the Calder Cup in 1942 and 1950...
(playing captain)alongside his brother Ducky in 1943. He then became coach of the Windsor Spitfires
Windsor Spitfires
The Windsor Spitfires are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The team is based in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. The franchise was granted for the 1975–76 season and revived a previous OHA Jr. A Spitfires team which moved to become the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953.-History:The...
1947-53. He had one brief departure in 1951-52 campaign when the Spitfires left Windsor for Hamilton in 1953. It was then he became coach of the Hamilton Red Wings. At the offer of Jack Adams at the end of '53 Jimmie became Detroit's coach. Other honours while coaching in Windsor include 1947/48 J.P. McGuire Trophy & 1947/48 Joseph Turner Memorial Cup (Windsor Hettche Spitfires)(IHL). Jimmy was instrumental with his friend Sam Pollock
Sam Pollock
Samuel Patterson Smyth "Sam" Pollock, OC, CQ was a general manager in the National Hockey League.Born in Montreal, Quebec, Sam was a keen evaluator of talent. In 1950, with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and in 1958, with the Ottawa Junior Canadiens, he won the Memorial Cup...
in creating the NHL Entry Draft
NHL Entry Draft
The NHL Entry Draft is an annual meeting in which every franchise of the National Hockey League systematically select the rights to available amateur ice hockey players who meet draft eligibility requirements...
as it is known today. He served on this committee which also included Stafford Smythe, Tommy Ivan & Clarence Campbell. He conducted 2 NHL coaching/referee schools (Man.Sask.Maritimes)in conjunction with the Manitoba Amateur Hockey Association. Jimmie's scouting in Europe enabled many European players to play in Canada/USA which is ongoing today. Twenty-seven (27) of his junior players became professional hockey players in the N.H.L. International & American Hockey Leagues. A few of these were Glenn Hall
Glenn Hall
Glenn Henry "Mr. Goalie" Hall is a former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a game and was a consistent performer, winning the Vezina Trophy three times, and the...
, Johnny Wilson
Johnny Wilson (ice hockey)
John Edward Wilson was a professional ice hockey forward and head coach. He played with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and New York Rangers, in the National Hockey League, scoring 332 points in 668 games...
, Glen Skov
Glen Skov
Glen Frederick Skov was a centre in the NHL who played for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens and is the younger brother of former referee Art Skov. He won 3 Stanley Cups with Detroit in 1952, 1954, 1955.-References:...
, Al Arbour
Al Arbour
Alger Joseph "Radar" Arbour is a retired Canadian ice hockey player and a coach and executive in the National Hockey League .-Playing career:...
, and Brian Kilrea
Brian Kilrea
Brian Blair "Killer" Kilrea is an ice hockey head coach, general manager and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the builders' category, most notably with the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League, with whom Kilrea has been associated for over 35 years...
. He coached Gordie Howe
Gordie Howe
Gordon "Gordie" Howe, OC is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Hartford Whalers of the National Hockey League , and the Houston Aeros and New England Whalers in the World Hockey Association . Howe is often referred to as Mr...
, Ted Lindsay
Ted Lindsay
Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay is a former professional ice hockey player, a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League . He scored over 800 points in his Hockey Hall of Fame career, won the Art Ross Trophy in 1950, and won the Stanley Cup four times...
, Marcel Pronovost
Marcel Pronovost
Joseph Rene Marcel Pronovost was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He played for the Windsor Spitfires of the Ontario Hockey League.Marcel was one of the best defensive defenceman of his era...
, Red Kelly
Red Kelly
Leonard Patrick "Red" Kelly, CM is a retired Canadian ice hockey player in the NHL. He played on more Stanley Cup winning teams than any player who never played for the Montreal Canadiens, and is the only player to be part of two of the nine dynasties recognized by the NHL in its history...
, Alex Delvecchio
Alex Delvecchio
Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio is a former ice hockey player and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.After playing a single junior league season for the Oshawa Generals of the OHA Delvecchio joined the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League for the 1952 season, and helped the team to...
and Terry Sawchuk
Terry Sawchuk
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.-Early life and playing career:Sawchuk was born and raised...
, all of whom went on to become Hall of Famers.
Jimmy won 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...
as Manager,of Hamilton Red Wings
Hamilton Red Wings
The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario.-History:...
in 1962. He also had time to be the Farm Director of the Cincinnati Red Wings in 1963/64.
James had two brothers, Gordon and Morden (Ducky). After their father James Skinner Sr. died, the three of them inherited "Skinner's" restaurant located in Lockport, Manitoba
Lockport, Manitoba
Lockport is a small unincorporated community in Manitoba, Canada located just north of the city of Winnipeg. It is the site of ancient agricultural inhabitation, a migratory bird feeding area as well as a dam and lock of the Red River. The Red River Floodway joins the Red River just down river...
, Canada
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...
.
Note * While playing hockey in Flin Flon, Jimmy was a left-handed pitcher on the 1938 Flin Flon All Stars/Diamond Ball Championship team as well as the 1940 Zinc Moguls softball championship team.
In 1943 he married Vivian Anna Reynolds. (deceased Jan. 11/07). They had four children, Holly, Karen, Tess, and James (Jr). Every off season since 1945 was spent in Manitoba.
He was inducted into the Detroit Red Wings Hall of Fame in 1977, a member of the Flin Flon Hockey Hall of Fame & inducted into the Windsor Essex County Sports Hall of Fame as a Founder http://www.wecshof.org/ in 2006. He was also inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in the "Builder" category.
He died in Windsor, Ontario
Windsor, Ontario
Windsor is the southernmost city in Canada and is located in Southwestern Ontario at the western end of the heavily populated Quebec City – Windsor Corridor. It is within Essex County, Ontario, although administratively separated from the county government. Separated by the Detroit River, Windsor...
July 11th, 2007 the city he lived in from 1945.
Note* Mr. Skinner's picture (as well as his brother, Ducky's) has been included in the Indianapolis Historical Society's Sports Section of the Digital Library.(Indianapolis Capitals No. 10. He is also listed in the Manitoba Historical Society. Mr. Skinner also shared his time with the Special Olympics.