Today is the 90th anniversary of the Boston Bruins first Stanley Cup win 3/29/2019
Photo from March 29, 1929. Hitch (left) is sporting a "plaster" over his left eye protecting several stitches he got in an earlier game. (from Hitchman scrapbook, newspaper source unknown)
Boston beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on March 29, 1929, to win the Stanley Cup for the first time. The line-up included:
- goals, Cecil "Tiny Thompson
- defense, Hitch & Eddie Shore
- center, Dr. Bill Carson (who scored the winning goal)
- wings, Harry Oliver & Percy Galbraith
- subs, Cooney Weiland, Norman "Dutch" Gainor, George Owen, Aubrey "Dit" Clapper, Mickey Mackay and Myles Lane
Also on the team were sub player, Lloyd "Dutch" Klein; specialty coach, Cy Denneny; trainer, Win Green; and coach-manager, Art Ross.
Canadian Press sports writer, George McGuire gave a great recap of the final Stanley Cup game which was carried widely in newspapers across North America on March 30, 1929. Here is a copy from Hitch's scrapbook (pdf)
Boston also led the NHL that season in ticket sales, selling nearly 295,000 seats (including regular and playoff games). The Canadiens were second with 215,019 followed closely by the Montreal Maroons with 196,670 (the Ottawa Senators were 7th with 91,533 seats sold). The league overall sold just over 1.6M seats, a 22 percent increase over the previous season.
Hitch was there from the beginning, helping to build a lasting legacy for the Boston Bruins. The original "money" player indeed.
You can find more on the 1928-29 championship season in my book Hitch, Hockey's Unsung Hero.