James Patrick "Flat" Walsh (March 23, 1897 — December 2, 1959) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Maroons and New York Americans between 1927 and 1933. Much of his career, which spanned 1915 through 1933, was spent in various minor leagues.

Flat Walsh
Walsh with Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds
Born (1897-03-23)March 23, 1897
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Died December 2, 1959(1959-12-02) (aged 62)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada[1]
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Played for Montreal Maroons
New York Americans
Playing career 1915–1933

Biography

edit

Walsh was one of the first back-up goaltenders in NHL history, as the Montreal Maroons kept him as a spare for the great Clint Benedict in case of injury. He played one game during the 1926–27 season and one game in 1927–28. In 1928–29, Roy Worters was suspended by NHL president Frank Calder for not reporting to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Worters was sold to the New York Americans, but the Pirates failed to inform Calder of these arrangements and Calder, on his dignity, refused to lift Worters' suspension. As a result, the Americans borrowed Walsh for a few games and he did quite well.

In 1929–30, after Clint Benedict broke his nose on a Howie Morenz shot, Walsh became the Maroons regular goaltender. The following year, James Strachan felt that Walsh could not handle the goaltending alone and Walsh shared the goaltending with Dave Kerr. In 1931–32, Walsh shared the goaltending chores with Normie Smith. Kerr was back to share the goaltending with Walsh in 1932–33, but Walsh came down with influenza which he suffered for a full two weeks and he decided to retire, which saddened Montreal fans, as he was popular with them.

After his retirement, Walsh served as assistant coach with the Maroons in 1934–35. He competed in curling in the 1940s.[2] Walsh died in December 1959; he was survived by his wife and two children.[3]

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T Min GA SO GAA GP W L T Min GA SO GAA
1914–15 Kingston Frontenacs OHA Sr 4 3 1 0 260 14 0 3.23 3 1 1 1 180 13 0 4.33
1915–16 Kingston Frontenacs OHA Sr 1 0 1 0 60 7 0 7.00
1916–17 Kingston Frontenacs OHA Sr 3 3 0 0 180 8 0 2.67 4 3 1 0 240 14 0 3.50
1918–19 Kingston Frontenacs OHA Sr 4 3 1 0 240 11 1 2.75 8 4 4 0 480 26 0 3.25
1919–20 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOHA 5 1 3 1 330 23 0 4.18
1919–20 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NMHL 14 9 3 2 930 26 2 1.68
1920–21 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOHA 9 7 1 1 570 14 4 1.47 5 3 2 0 300 24 0 4.80
1920–21 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NMHL 16 13 3 0 970 26 6 1.61
1921–22 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOHA 8 7 1 0 500 18 1 2.16 2 0 1 1 120 7 0 3.50
1921–22 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NMHL 12 11 1 0 720 16 1 1.33
1922–23 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOHA 8 4 4 0 476 22 0 2.77 2 1 0 1 120 4 0 2.00
1922–23 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NMHL 5 4 1 0 300 17 0 3.40
1923–24 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds NOHA 7 6 1 0 400 19 0 2.85 7 5 2 0 420 11 2 1.57
1925–26 Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds CHL 32 1920 100 1 3.13
1926–27 Montreal Maroons NHL 1 0 1 0 60 3 0 3.00
1926–27 Detroit Greyhounds AHA 6 0 6 0 360 23 0 3.83
1927–28 Montreal Maroons NHL 1 0 0 0 40 1 0 1.50
1928–29 New York Americans NHL 4 2 0 2 260 1 3 0.23
1928–29 Montreal Maroons NHL 7 1 4 2 450 8 1 1.07
1929–30 Montreal Maroons NHL 32 17 11 4 1939 77 2 2.38 4 1 3 0 313 2 1 0.38
1930–31 Montreal Maroons NHL 16 6 6 2 900 35 2 2.33
1931–32 Montreal Maroons NHL 28 14 11 3 1730 77 2 2.67 4 1 1 2 258 5 1 1.16
1931–32 New Haven Eagles Can-Am 18 7 9 2 1110 27 6 1.46
1932–33 Montreal Maroons NHL 22 8 11 2 1303 56 2 2.58
1932–33 Quebec Castors Can-Am 3 2 1 0 180 3 2 1.00
NHL totals 111 48 44 15 6682 258 12 2.32 8 2 4 2 570 7 2 0.74

Sources

edit
  • Coleman, Charles L. (1969). The Trail of the Stanley Cup: Vol. 2. National Hockey League. ASIN B000OV78HI.

References

edit
  1. ^ "Walsh Dead". Windsor Star. Windsor, Ontario. CP. December 3, 1959. p. 50. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Flat Walsh's Rink In Semi-Final Round". Ottawa Journal. January 23, 1946. p. 12. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Rodden, Michael J. (December 3, 1959). "Flat Walsh One of Kingston's Best Athletes". The Kingston Whig-Standard. Kingston, Ontario. p. 15. Retrieved March 27, 2022 – via newspapers.com.
edit