One of the first players to turn professional, Oliver Seibert was a local legend in the Berlin (Kitchener) area. He was alleged to be one of the first players to use a wrist shot, and he was a prolific goal scorer in the old Western Ontario Hockey Association. Seibert turned professional in 1904 when he joined the Canadian Soo.   His son, Earl Seibert would also become a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

The Centre of Boston’s famed “Kraut Line”, Milt Schmidt was a study in contrasts. His hardnosed play was combined with stellar playmaking and as such was the lynch pin to two Bruins Cup victories in 1939 and 1941. Schmidt would serve his country in World War II and lost three productive seasons of professional hockey, but would return as an effective force and won the coveted Hart Trophy as the NHL’s Most Valuable Player in 1951.   

The crown jewel of the 1961 Hockey Hall of Fame Class, Maurice “Rocket” Richard had the three year wait for HOF eligibility waived so that he could be enshrined right after he retired. Nobody should dispute that decision as the career of Richard was that important not just to Hockey but to the province of Quebec as well.

English born and Canadian bred, “Bad” Joe Hall was a rough and tough Defenseman in the first era of organized hockey. Hall was also a very good goal scorer and was a solid part of the Quebec Bulldogs winning the Stanley Cup in 1912 and 1913. Unfortunately, Joe Hall’s life met with a tragic ending. Hall was part of the Montreal Canadians who were competing with the Seattle Metropolitans for the Cup in 1919. The series was halted at two games apiece when an influenza epidemic rocked the West Coast and most of the players contracted it. The Cup was not awarded that season and all of the sick players recovered; except for Joe Hall.