Murray Murdoch – the NHL’s original Iron Man

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 11/12/2024 (610 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

In 1985, when the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame was established by the Manitoba Hockey Players Foundation, the first inductees were named. In addition to individuals already honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, the long list included 43 players and 11 builders. The player list included names such as Ab McDonald, Bill Juzda, Sugar Jim Henry and Ted Green, who remain familiar to Manitoba hockey fans.

Ted Irvine, who was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in November, was also recognized in the initial group.

Murray Murdoch is one player inducted at the time who is perhaps unknown or at least forgotten these days. He recently came on the radar of this columnist when a book titled The Last Original Ranger in New York was being promoted by its New York State author, Bryan Reilly. The back cover states that in 1926, an unexpected letter invited a young accounting graduate in Winnipeg, Man., to try out for a new professional hockey team in New York City. Thus began an unimagined life-long adventure for Murdoch and his new wife, Marie. The book is a fictionalized version of the Murdoch story, much like David Square did with his book on the 1920 Winnipeg Falcons Olympic champions, titled When Falcons Fly.

Murdoch was born in Lucknow, Ont., in 1904, but raised in Edgerton, Alta. He got his start in hockey after being sent to Winnipeg to attend St. John’s College. He played in the inter-collegiate league and for the University of Manitoba Varsity from 1921-22 to 1923-24. The team won the Manitoba junior championship his first two seasons and in 1922-23 went on to win the Memorial Cup, emblematic of the Canadian title.

In the 1922-23 regular season, the Varsity won seven games and lost just one. Captain Murdoch led the league in scoring with 16 goals. The Varsity then shut out the Winnipeg Vics twice to win the city championship. The Varsity then won the Manitoba titled by beating the Brandon Tigers 8-1. They next knocked off the Calgary Canadians, 5-4 and 5-3. The road east continued with a two-game, total-goal series against the Fort William Canadians, which the Manitoba champions won 9-4.

The Canadian championship against the Kitchener Union Jacks was played at the Arena Gardens in Toronto. The Varsity won the first game 7-3, with Murdoch scoring four goals in the second period. He bettered his performance in game two with five goals in another 7-3 victory.

After his university career, Murdoch played a season with the Winnipeg Tigers Falcons and then in 1925-26 with the Winnipeg Maroons of the Central Hockey League. For the 1926-27 season, the NHL added new teams in Chicago, Detroit and New York City to bring its then-total to 10. The New York team recruited Frank Boucher and brothers Bill and Bun Cook, who were top forwards in Western Canada, and Winnipeg-born defenseman Ching Johnson from the Minneapolis Millers. Gretna’s Hal Winkler, a 2024 Manitoba Hockey HOF inductee, was one of two goalies.

New York general manager and coach Conn Smythe came to Winnipeg to try to sign Murdoch. The story goes that Murdoch, who had a job in the city, turned down the first couple of offers. Eventually, Marie convinced him to join the team, which was by now named the Rangers. Before the season began, Smythe was replaced by Lester Patrick. Who could have foreseen the great career Murdoch had under the leadership of Patrick? He played left wing for 508 straight games through the 1936-37 season, scoring 84 goals and assisting on 108. The Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1928 and 1933.

Murdoch was the NHL’s first Iron Man, as he never missed a game. When the Rangers honoured him for his 400th straight game, he was called the Lou Gehrig of hockey. The New York Yankees first baseman was nicknamed Iron Horse for playing 2,130 consecutive baseball games.

After his playing career, the U of M graduate coached hockey at Yale University in New Haven, Conn., from 1938-39 until 1964-65. In 1974, he was awarded the Lester Patrick Trophy for his contributions to hockey in the United States. The honours continued in 1987, when he received the Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey award for outstanding historic contributions. When he died in South Carolina, in 2001, at age 96, Murdoch was the last member of the first Rangers team to pass.

When you consider Murdoch’s accomplishments, you have to question why he has never been inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The Cooks, Boucher, Johnson and Patrick all have been enshrined.