Rat Westwick
Encyclopedia
Harry "Rat" Westwick was a Canadian
athlete in ice hockey
and lacrosse
. Westwick, nicknamed the Rat by a journalist, is most noted for his play with the Ottawa Hockey Club, nicknamed the Silver Seven during his day which won and defended the Stanley Cup
from 1903 until 1906. He was a member of the Ottawa Capitals
lacrosse team from 1896 until 1904, winning three championships. His brother Tom was also a professional ice hockey player.
. Westwick died at home in Ottawa on April 3, 1957.
and Westwick played several games as goaltender before moving up to rover on the advice of a coach who saw his fast skating ability. During the summer, Westwick would play for the Ottawa Capitals in lacrosse. The Capitals, ostensibly an amateur team, were discovered to be paying players in 1896 and Westwick was suspended from ice hockey play. Westwick would deny receiving any money and he was reinstated by Ottawa in 1898, only to be suspended again in 1898 by the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union. In 1899, Westwick moved out of town to find work in Waterloo, Ontario
but returned to Ottawa in time to play some games for the Capitals ice hockey team, by then playing in Ontario Hockey Association
(OHA).
In 1900–01, Westwick returned to the Ottawa Hockey Club, and he played for the club until 1908, and was a member of the four-time Stanley Cup winning squad later dubbed the Silver Seven for receiving silver nuggets for their 1903 Stanley Cup win. Westwick's best season was in 1905, when he scored 15 goals in eight regular season games, and 5 goals in the Dawson City challenge series. In 1906–07, his brother Tom joined the Ottawa squad, starting one game. By 1909, Westwick's skating ability had been reduced by a series of ankle injuries and he did not make the 1909 Ottawa squad. He played the season for the Ottawa Senators
of the Federal League
, a professional team which had several former Silver Seven players. It was his last season.
On one occasion, after ice hockey had become professional in 1906, Westwick played for a team other than Ottawa. He joined the Stanley Cup champion Kenora Thistles
in 1907 after the Ottawa's 1907 season was complete. He played the final games of the Thistles' season and played in the Thistles defense of its Stanley Cup win against the Montreal Wanderers
, at the time, the arch-rival of Ottawa. While the Thistles defended their Cup win in Manitoba play with Westwick, his appearance with the Thistles caused the challenge series with the Wanderers to be protested by the Wanderers and a cancellation was threatened by the Stanley Cup trustees. The series, held in Winnipeg, was beyond the reach of the trustees, and went ahead. The Wanderers won the series, making the protest moot. The following year, the trustees implemented the January 1 rule, where only players on a team as of January 1 of the season were eligible for Stanley Cup play.
Westwick remained involved in hockey, becoming a referee in the National Hockey Association
(NHL) after retiring from active play. In 1915–16, at a time when many players were off fighting in World War I
, Westwick helped out Ottawa in a comeback role, playing three games, although he did not score any goals.
His nickname 'Rat' was from a Quebec City journalist, who in 1896 called Westwick a "miserable, insignificant rat.' Westwick's scrappiness led opponents to resort to aggressive (and somewhat violent) tactics in order to derail his tenacious playing style. His ankle injuries necessitated the amputation of his left leg above the knee in 1949. Westwick was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1962.
Source: Hockey Hall of Fame, Who's Who in Canadian Sport.
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...
athlete in 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...
and lacrosse
Lacrosse
Lacrosse is a team sport of Native American origin played using a small rubber ball and a long-handled stick called a crosse or lacrosse stick, mainly played in the United States and Canada. It is a contact sport which requires padding. The head of the lacrosse stick is strung with loose mesh...
. Westwick, nicknamed the Rat by a journalist, is most noted for his play with the Ottawa Hockey Club, nicknamed the Silver Seven during his day which won and defended the 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...
from 1903 until 1906. He was a member of the Ottawa Capitals
Ottawa Capitals
The Ottawa Capitals were an early amateur senior men's ice hockey club playing in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada from the 1890s until 1920. The club would challenge for the Stanley Cup in 1897, but abandon its challenge after one game, after it lost 15–2. It would later precipitate the breakup of the...
lacrosse team from 1896 until 1904, winning three championships. His brother Tom was also a professional ice hockey player.
Personal life
Westwick, who played during a period when hockey players received little or no money, also worked as a book binder for various companies, and later, the Canadian government printing bureau. He enlisted in the Army in 1914 during World War I. When he married his wife Ruby Duval (sister of former Ottawa team mate Peg Duval) in February 1903, he combined his honeymoon with a team trip to Montreal. During the game, he suffered a broken ankle and watched the rest of the game from an arena seat with his bride. Ruby and Harry had six children: Bill, Thomas, Barberry, Elaine, Ula and Beatrice. His son Bill became the sports editor of the Ottawa JournalOttawa Journal
The Ottawa Journal was a daily broadsheet newspaper published in Ottawa, Ontario from 1885 to 1980.It was founded in 1885 by A. Woodburn as the Ottawa Evening Journal. Its first editor was John Wesley Dafoe who came from the Winnipeg Free Press. In 1886, it was bought by Philip Dansken Ross.The...
. Westwick died at home in Ottawa on April 3, 1957.
Playing career
Born in Ottawa, Canada, Westwick played hockey for Ottawa teams, joining the intermediate Ottawa Aberdeens of the Amateur Hockey Association of Canada (AHAC) in 1893. He moved up to the senior-level Ottawa Hockey Club the next season. At the time, Ottawa had lost its goaltender Albert MorelAlbert Morel
Albert Morel was a Canadian ice hockey player for the Ottawa Hockey Club from 1890 to 1894. He was a member of the Ontario championship squads of 1890 to 1893. He played goaltender for the club.-Playing career:...
and Westwick played several games as goaltender before moving up to rover on the advice of a coach who saw his fast skating ability. During the summer, Westwick would play for the Ottawa Capitals in lacrosse. The Capitals, ostensibly an amateur team, were discovered to be paying players in 1896 and Westwick was suspended from ice hockey play. Westwick would deny receiving any money and he was reinstated by Ottawa in 1898, only to be suspended again in 1898 by the Canadian Amateur Athletic Union. In 1899, Westwick moved out of town to find work in Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo, Ontario
Waterloo is a city in Southern Ontario, Canada. It is the smallest of the three cities in the Regional Municipality of Waterloo, and is adjacent to the city of Kitchener....
but returned to Ottawa in time to play some games for the Capitals ice hockey team, by then playing in 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...
(OHA).
In 1900–01, Westwick returned to the Ottawa Hockey Club, and he played for the club until 1908, and was a member of the four-time Stanley Cup winning squad later dubbed the Silver Seven for receiving silver nuggets for their 1903 Stanley Cup win. Westwick's best season was in 1905, when he scored 15 goals in eight regular season games, and 5 goals in the Dawson City challenge series. In 1906–07, his brother Tom joined the Ottawa squad, starting one game. By 1909, Westwick's skating ability had been reduced by a series of ankle injuries and he did not make the 1909 Ottawa squad. He played the season for the Ottawa Senators
Ottawa Senators (FHL)
The Ottawa Senators were a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa, Canada which played one season in the Federal Hockey League in 1909 before the formation of the National Hockey Association. The club was formed to help boost the rivalry between the Federal League and the Eastern Canada...
of the Federal League
Federal Amateur Hockey League
The Federal Amateur Hockey League was a Canadian men's senior-level ice hockey league that played six seasons from 1904 to 1909. The league was formed initially to provide a league for teams not accepted by the rival Canadian Amateur Hockey League . One team, the Montreal Le National, was the first...
, a professional team which had several former Silver Seven players. It was his last season.
On one occasion, after ice hockey had become professional in 1906, Westwick played for a team other than Ottawa. He joined the Stanley Cup champion Kenora Thistles
Kenora Thistles
The Kenora Thistles were an early amateur men's ice hockey team based in Kenora, Ontario, Canada, formed in 1885 as a senior team by a group of Lake of the Woods lumbermen. The club is notable for winning the Stanley Cup as an amateur team in 1907. The town is the smallest in population to have...
in 1907 after the Ottawa's 1907 season was complete. He played the final games of the Thistles' season and played in the Thistles defense of its Stanley Cup win against the Montreal Wanderers
Montreal Wanderers
The Montreal Wanderers were a Canadian amateur, and later becoming a professional men's ice hockey team. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League , the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association , the National Hockey Association and briefly the National Hockey League . The Wanderers are...
, at the time, the arch-rival of Ottawa. While the Thistles defended their Cup win in Manitoba play with Westwick, his appearance with the Thistles caused the challenge series with the Wanderers to be protested by the Wanderers and a cancellation was threatened by the Stanley Cup trustees. The series, held in Winnipeg, was beyond the reach of the trustees, and went ahead. The Wanderers won the series, making the protest moot. The following year, the trustees implemented the January 1 rule, where only players on a team as of January 1 of the season were eligible for Stanley Cup play.
Westwick remained involved in hockey, becoming a referee in 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...
(NHL) after retiring from active play. In 1915–16, at a time when many players were off 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...
, Westwick helped out Ottawa in a comeback role, playing three games, although he did not score any goals.
His nickname 'Rat' was from a Quebec City journalist, who in 1896 called Westwick a "miserable, insignificant rat.' Westwick's scrappiness led opponents to resort to aggressive (and somewhat violent) tactics in order to derail his tenacious playing style. His ankle injuries necessitated the amputation of his left leg above the knee in 1949. Westwick was posthumously 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 1962.
Awards and honours
- Stanley Cup winner (4 times - 1903–1906)
- FAHL Second All-Star Team (1905)
- First all-star team (1906)
- National Lacrosse Union all-star (1902)
- Lacrosse world titles (3 times)
- Hockey Hall of FameHockey Hall of FameThe 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...
member - Ottawa Hall of Fame member
Source: Hockey Hall of Fame, Who's Who in Canadian Sport.