Biography

Few men can boast to having both a great playing record and coaching record, but Dick Irvin is one such person. In 1915, he won the Allan Cup with the Winnipeg Monarchs and went on to play several seasons out west, mostly in Winnipeg and Regina. He didn't make his NHL debut until 1926 with Chicago, at the age of 34, and in his first year he led the league in assist with 18. Early in the new year, though, he suffered a fractured skull, and although he returned to play, he was ineffective and soon retired. This unfortunate circumstance gave way to a great career behind the bench. Irvin started with the Hawks but left to come to Toronto in 1931, and it was there that he remained the rest of the decade. Irvin led the Leafs to the Cup finals seven times but won only once, 1932, the team's first year in the new Maple Leaf Gardens. From there he joined Montreal, in 1940, and for the next 15 years had an extraordinary record with the Canadiens. In that time, Irvin led the Habs to eight more finals, winning three times—1944, 1946, and 1953. He left Montreal in 1955 to return whence he began, in Chicago, but his second stint there lasted only a year before illness forced him to resign. He died less than a year later. By this time, he had coached 1,449 games and won 692, both records until Al Arbour set new standards with the New York Islanders some 40 years later.