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Duke Keats

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Duke Keats
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958
Keats with the Edmonton Eskimos in the 1921–22 season.
Born (1895-03-01)March 1, 1895
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died January 16, 1972(1972-01-16) (aged 76)
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Right
Played for Toronto Blueshirts
Edmonton Eskimos
Boston Bruins
Detroit Cougars
Chicago Black Hawks
Playing career 1915–1934

Gordon Blanchard "Duke, Iron Duke" Keats (March 1, 1895 – January 16, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Toronto Blueshirts of the National Hockey Association (NHA), Edmonton Eskimos of the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL) and the Boston Bruins, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was most famous for his time in the WCHL where he was named a First-Team All-Star by the league in each of its five seasons of existence. He won the league championship and appeared in the 1923 Stanley Cup Final with the Eskimos. Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958.

Playing career

Keats was born in Montreal, Quebec and at a young age moved with his family to North Bay, Ontario where he was given his nickname of "Duke" at the age of six.[1] He joined the Cobalt Mining League at the age of 14, and three years later was being paid $75 a week to star in the league.[2] He joined the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts in 1915 and finished fifth in league scoring that year. After playing part of a second season with Toronto in 1916–17, he enlisted in the Canadian military and as a member of the 228th Battalion, spent the following three years fighting in World War I.[1]

Keats settled in Edmonton, Alberta after the war and joined the Edmonton Eskimos of the Big-4 League in 1919, leading the league in scoring in both 1919–20 and 1920–21. Officially an amateur league, there were rumours that Keats and several other players were secretly being paid a professional salary to play in the Big-4.[3] The team officially turned professional when it helped form the WCHL in 1921 with Keats as the league's greatest star.[2] He played for the Eskimos in all five seasons of the league's existence and was named a First-Team All-Star at centre in each.[1] One of the most gifted offensive players of his time, legend has it that he once collected a puck in his own zone and scored a goal after skating the length of the ice surface backwards.[1][2] Keats led the Eskimos in scoring in 1921–22, recording 31 goals and 24 assists in 25 games, to lead the Eskimos to the top record in the league and the WCHL final where they lost to the Regina Capitals.[4] The Eskimos again finished with the league's top record in 1922–23, and again faced the Regina Capitals in the final. The Eskimos avenged the previous season as Keats scored the championship winning goal in overtime of the second game.[5] Keats and the Eskimos went on to lose the 1923 Stanley Cup Final to the Ottawa Senators.[1]

Facing financial ruin, the Eskimos sold the rights to Keats and six other players to the Boston Bruins for $50,000 in 1926.[5] He played half of the 1926–27 NHL season in Boston before he was traded to the Detroit Cougars, along with Archie Briden, in exchange for Frank Fredrickson and Harry Meeking.[6] Keats began the following season in Detroit but was suspended early in the season after swinging his stick at a spectator in Chicago who was heckling him.[7] He missed three weeks of play as a result.[8] The day after his reinstatement, the Cougars sent him to the Chicago Black Hawks for Gord Fraser and $5,000 cash.[6]

After three games with Chicago in 1928–29, he left the team and helped organize the Tulsa Oilers of the American Hockey Association (AHA),[2] and was the league's top scorer that season.[1] He played parts of two more seasons in Tulsa before taking a season off in 1931–32.[6] Keats returned to Edmonton in 1932 as a player, coach and owner of a reformed Eskimos team.[9] He played two seasons before retiring as a player.[1] Keats went on to coach several teams in the Canadian prairies and briefly worked for the Black Hawks before settling in Victoria, British Columbia in 1947 where he worked for the government and served as president of the Victoria Commercial Hockey League.[2]

Keats was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958, and into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame in 1964.[1]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1915–16 Toronto Blueshirts NHA 24 22 7 29 112 — — — — —
1916–17 Toronto Blueshirts NHA 13 15 3 18 54 — — — — —
1919–20 Edmonton Eskimos Big-4 12 18 14 32 41 2 2 2 4 2
1920–21 Edmonton Eskimos Big-4 15 23 6 29 36 — — — — —
1921–22 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 25 31 24 55 47 2 0 1 1 6
1922–23 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 25 24 13 37 72 4 2 2 4 4
1923–24 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 29 19 12 31 41 — — — — —
1924–25 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 28 23 9 32 63 — — — — —
1925–26 Edmonton Eskimos WHL 30 20 9 29 134 2 0 0 0 28
1926–27 Boston Bruins NHL 17 4 7 11 20 — — — — —
1926–27 Detroit Cougars NHL 25 12 1 13 32 — — — — —
1927–28 Detroit Cougars NHL 5 0 2 2 6 — — — — —
1927–28 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 32 14 8 22 55 — — — — —
1928–29 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 3 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1928–29 Tulsa Oilers AHA 39 22 11 33 18 4 0 1 1 10
1929–30 Tulsa Oilers AHA 3 2 2 4 2 — — — — —
1930–31 Tulsa Oilers AHA 43 14 10 24 44 4 0 1 1 6
1932–33 Edmonton Eskimos WCHL 25 8 7 15 146 8 1 4 5 0
1933–34 Edmonton Eskimos NWHL 25 8 6 14 8 2 0 0 0 2
NHA totals 37 37 10 47 166 0 0 0 0 0
WCHL totals 137 117 67 184 357 8 2 3 5 38
NHL totals 82 30 19 49 113 0 0 0 0 0

NHL coaching record

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T Pts Division rank Result
Detroit Cougars 1926–27 11 2 7 2 (28) 5th in American Missed playoffs

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Duke Keats biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  2. ^ a b c d e Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Toronto: Doubleday Canada. pp. 426–427. ISBN 0-385-25999-9.
  3. ^ Sandor, Steven (2005). The Battle of Alberta: A Century of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry. Heritage House. pp. 21–25. ISBN 1-894974-01-8.
  4. ^ Sandor, Steven (2005). The Battle of Alberta: A Century of Hockey's Greatest Rivalry. Heritage House. pp. 26–27. ISBN 1-894974-01-8.
  5. ^ a b "The Eskimos—High priced talent". Edmonton Oilers Historical Society. Archived from the original on 2010-12-08. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  6. ^ a b c "Duke Keats statistics". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  7. ^ "Irene Castle near injury". Reading Eagle. 1927-11-27. Retrieved 2009-07-08.
  8. ^ "Duke Keats reinstated". Reading Eagle. 1927-12-15. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  9. ^ ""Duke" Keats suspended". Montreal Gazette. 1933-01-10. Retrieved 2010-07-08.
Preceded by Head coach of the Detroit Cougars
1926–27 		Succeeded by
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