Eddie Oatman

Summary

Edward Cole Oatman (June 10, 1889 – November 5, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was among the elite goal scorers of his era. Among his 32 years (1907–39) playing professional ice hockey, Oatman was named an all-star for ten consecutive seasons by the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA). He was a star with the Quebec Bulldogs when it won the 1912 Stanley Cup. Oatman played with clubs that won five league championships, and he was a successful coach and captain of five different hockey teams. His brother Russell also played professional ice hockey.

Eddie Oatman
Oatman with the Quebec Bulldogs on a 1911 Sweet Caporal Cigarettes postcard.
Born (1889-06-10)June 10, 1889
Springford, Ontario
Died November 5, 1973(1973-11-05) (aged 84)
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for Galt Professionals
Waterloo Colts
Quebec Bulldogs
New Westminster Royals
Portland Rosebuds
Toronto 228th Battalion
Victoria Aristocrats
Calgary Tigers
Minneapolis Millers
Boston Tigers
Buffalo Americans
Buffalo Majors
Duluth Zephyrs
Playing career 1907–1939
Eddie Oatman, at far right in the front row, with the Calgary Tigers in Montreal for the 1924 Stanley Cup finals.

Personal life edit

Born and raised in Springford, Ontario, Eddie Oatman began playing organized hockey at age ten and continued for the next eight years in youth leagues in his hometown. He moved away to play hockey for a career, and he coached hockey before returning home and becoming a barber. He married Helen Durning in 1921 and had one son, Ted, born in 1922.[1] He died on November 11, 1973, and was interred at the Springford Cemetery, Oxford County, Ontario, where he is buried next to his brother Russell. He was the subject of a Ripley's "Believe It Or Not" article for playing 30 years in professional hockey and is featured on at least two trading cards.

Playing career edit

Oatman played in 1907 with the Tillsonburg (Ontario) Junior Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) club. The next year he played with the Simcoe Intermediate OHA and, in 1909, he turned professional with the Cleveland, Ohio, club of the International League. The next season, he played on a line with Joe Malone and Jack McDonald for Waterloo of the Ontario Professional Hockey League. In 1911, when Quebec was admitted into the NHA, the three played with the Bulldogs and helped win the 1912 Stanley Cup.

Because of that championship, he and every member of the Bulldogs were offered a contract by PCHA teams. Oatman signed with New Westminster Royals. In the 1914–15 season, he was named to the PCHA All-Star team.[2] The Royals became the Portland Rosebuds and Oatman became the team captain. The following year, he was also its coach and was an All-Star again when the club won the league championship. However, in 1916 the Montreal Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup title, beating Portland three games to two in a best of five playoff series.[3] With Portland's near victory over Montreal, expectations grew for their chances in the 1916–1917 season, but these hopes ended when Oatman enlisted in the Canadian armed forces as part of the 228th Battalion.

When the 228th Battalion secured a franchise in the NHA for the 1916–17 season, Oatman joined the roster. But when the 228th was sent to Europe for military action in the First World War, Oatman was discharged "for special circumstances." The following season Oatman went back to Portland, again as its coach and captain. When the Rosebuds suspended operations, Oatman joined the Victoria Aristocrats as their captain and remained with the team for the next five years. As result of another player's injury, he saw action with the Vancouver Millionaires when they lost the Stanley Cup to the Toronto St. Pats in 1922.

Oatman was traded to the Calgary Tigers in 1923–24.[4] He helped the team win the Western Canada Hockey League title, but were denied a Stanley Cup championship when they again lost to the Montreal Canadiens. From 1924 to 1926, he was the Tigers' coach and captain, leading them to back-to-back championships in 1924 and 1925. Unfortunately, pro hockey collapsed in the West after the 1925–26 season, but he continued to play minor-league hockey. Oatman was the team captain of the Minneapolis, Minnesota, club in the American Hockey Association (AHA) in 1927. Then, for the next three years, he played for the Boston Tigers in the Canadian-American Hockey League (1928–1930), and as their captain led them to the league championship in the 1929. In 1931, he played as captain for the Buffalo Majors in the AHA.[5] He later served as a player-coach in Yorkton, Prince Albert and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, until his hockey-playing career ended when he was 50.

Playing style edit

 
Oatman with Quebec Bulldogs.

"I've played all over the ice, but mostly on the forward line. I broke in as a right wing. When I came out to the Coast they switched me to the defense with Moose Johnson. Last year I played center and this year am playing rover so that I can be back on defense part of the time, giving us a sort of double defense."

– Eddie Oatman in 1915 on his many roles on the ice.[6]

"I was always a good stick-handler, but was slow as a skater. Those fellows at Quebec were must too fast for me when I started. I realized that there was a lot of difference between an amateur and a professional, something that most amateurs and practically all amateur supporters are slow in bringing themselves to realize. I knew I'd have to show more speed than I was. I started out to skate just as hard as I knew how. I kept at it all during practice and during the games. I never tried to carry the puck, but got rid of it just as soon as it came to me. By this method I managed to keep up with the rest and finally the speed came into my legs. After that I didn't have so much trouble."

– Eddie Oatman on his strengths and weaknesses.[6]

Eddie Oatman was a versatile forward who played most of the positions on the forward line during his hockey career, such as right wing, centre and rover, and he was also occasionally used on defence while playing in the PCHA. Oatman himself claimed that his strongest suit as a hockey player was his stick-handling, and that his greatest weakness was his skating. While playing with Quebec in the NHA in the early 1910s one newspaper also claimed, after Quebec had lost its third straight game, that "Oatman is a great hockey player from the hips up, but from the hips down he reminds one of a truckhorse."[6]

Oatman claimed that he was first taken aback by the speed of his teammates when he first joined the Quebec Bulldogs, and that he realized that he had to improve his skating to keep up with the professional game. At first he did not try to carry the puck, but got rid of it through passing just as soon as it came to him, before he felt that his legs had caught up well enough to manage the speed of the game.[6]


Statistics edit

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1910 Galt Professionals OPHL 2 2 2
Waterloo Colts OPHL 12 19 0 19 11
1910–11 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 16 8 5 13 61
1911–12 Quebec Bulldogs NHA 18 19 4 23 40
Stanley Cup 1 0 0 0 0
1912–13 New Westminster Royals PCHA 13 9 5 14 46
1913–14 New Westminster Royals PCHA 16 22 5 27 18
1914–15 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 18 22 8 30 23
1915–16 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 18 11 10 21 24
Stanley Cup 5 3 1 4 16
1916–17 Toronto 228th Battalion NHA 12 17 5 22 20
1917–18 Portland Rosebuds PCHA 18 11 10 21 16
1919 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 18 11 5 16 13
1919–20 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 22 11 14 25 38
1920–21 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 22 6 11 17 11
1921–22 Victoria Aristocrats PCHA 21 9 6 15 28
Vancouver Millionaires Stanley Cup 5 1 0 1 14
1922–23 Victoria Cougars PCHA 29 12 7 19 49 2 1 1 2 4
1923–24 Calgary Tigers WCHL 23 3 1 4 22 2 0 0 0 0
West-P 2 1 0 1 4
Stanley Cup 2 0 0 0
1924–25 Calgary Tigers WCHL 26 6 5 11 20 2 0 1 1 0
1925–26 Calgary Tigers WHL 16 0 0 0 16
1926–27 Minneapolis Millers AHA 22 2 0 2 43 6 0 0 0 4
1927–28 Boston Tigers CAHL 36 10 3 13 54
1928–29 Boston Tigers CAHL 38 3 3 6 55 4 0 1 1 8
1929–30 Boston Tigers CAHL 39 5 5 10 30 5 0 0 0 2
1930–31 Buffalo Majors AHA 45 6 4 10 63
1931–32 Buffalo Majors AHA 15 1 0 1 15
1932–33 St. Paul Saints CHL 34 3 3 6 26
1938–39 Duluth Zephyrs IASHL 7 0 0 0 2
TBSHL 3 0 2 2 4
NHA totals 46 44 14 58 121
PCHA totals 195 124 81 205 266 2 1 1 2 4
Stanley Cup totals 13 4 1 5 30

Statistics from SIHR at sihrhockey.org, and EliteProspects at eliteprospects.com

References edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ "Picture of Oatman family in Boston". Archived from the original on January 18, 2004. Retrieved 2008-05-13.
  2. ^ "Two Portland men on All-Star coast hockey team" Oregon Daily Journal. Feb. 28, 1915 . Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  3. ^ Stanley Cup Annual Record 1916 NHL (nhl.com). Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  4. ^ "Tigers Getting 60-Minute Player in Eddie Oatman" Calgary Daily Herald. October 18, 1923.
  5. ^ "Defies father time" Border Cities Star (Windsor). Jan. 2, 1932. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  6. ^ a b c d "Here's greatest forward in hockey" Oregon Daily Journal. Dec. 19, 1915. Retrieved 2021-12-12.

External links edit

  • Biographical information and career statistics from Eliteprospects.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
  • Eddie Oatman at Find a Grave