The legend of Sugar Jim

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 08/09/2020 (1849 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Samuel James Henry was born on Oct. 23, 1920. He grew up on William Avenue in the Weston area. Due to his love of brown sugar, he became known as Sugar Jim.

In 1939, he led the Brandon Elks to the MJHL Championship, the Turnbull Cup. In 1941, he won the Allan Cup with the Regina Rangers. During his first NHL season (1941-42), he led the New York Rangers to first place. They lost to Toronto in the playoffs. His NHL career was halted due to the Second World War. In 1943, he won another Allan Cup with the Ottawa Commandos. After the war, Charlie Rayner and Jim split the Ranger goal tending duties for three seasons. In the 1948-49 season, Jim was traded to Chicago. In 1950, he won the Charles Gardiner Trophy for best USHL goalie while playing for the Kansas City Mohawks.

In 1951, Jim started a four-year run with the Boston Bruins. Due to Jim’s stellar play the Bruins challenged the dominance of Detroit and Montreal. In 1951-52, Jim and fellow Winnipegger Terry Sawchuk, of the Detroit Red Wings, were the NHL All-Star goaltenders.

In the 1952 semifinals against Montreal, Boston won games 3, 4, and 5 to take a 3-2 series lead. In Game 6, the Bruins led in the third period when Jim broke his nose. Rocket Richard tied the game, and the Canadiens won in double overtime. In Game 7, the Bruins and Canadians were tied late in the third period. Richard returned after a head injury to score the winning goal.

In the 1953 playoffs, league-leading Detroit, led by Gordie’s Howe’s 49 goals, was the heavy favourite to defeat the third-place Bruins in the semifinals. Although Detroit badly outshot Boston, Jim’s stellar goaltending led the Bruins to a six-game upset. Boston lost to Montreal in the finals. During a March 29, 1955 playoff game, a shot shattered Jim’s cheek bone. Although he finished the game, he never played another NHL game. He finished his NHL career with a 2.88 GAA. During his nine-year NHL career, he played every regular season game five times for three different teams.

Jim briefly played for the senior Winnipeg Maroons, and he also coached the Brandon Wheat Kings in 1964-65.

Jim was inducted into the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame (1984), and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (2004).

Outside of hockey, Jim was co-owner of Kenora tourist resort, owned a Plumas-area farm, and worked for a Winnipeg car dealership. During my 2002 election campaign, I met Jim at his Lodge Avenue home. We were joined by his neighbour Tom Finbogason Sr. and we had a memorable conversation over a bowl of popcorn. I got to see Jim’s framed copy of hockey’s famous photo of Jim and Rocket shaking hands after the 1952 playoff series.
Jim died on Jan. 21, 2004.

Fred Morris is a community correspondent for St. James. Reach him at fredmorris@hotmail.com