Dallas Smith

This is Dallas Smith, a tough, stay at home defenseman who often played along side a more offensive defense partner you may have heard of - Bobby Orr.

Smith did not make the Bruins right away. He played 5 games in the 1959-60 season and a full 70 in 1960-61. After that he played only 9 games until the NHL expanded in 1967. He was toiling in places like Pittsburgh, Portland, San Francisco and Oklahoma City.

Once the NHL doubled in size in 1967 there became twice as many jobs in the NHL. Smith played an unheralded role with the high scoring Bruins for the next ten seasons. They would win Stanley Cups in 1970 and 1972.

Smith was Orr's defensive stop-gap. He was good for around 30 points a year himself. You can imagine how most of those points came about. "Here Bobby, take the puck." Next thing you know its in the net.

Smith was also the answer to an interesting trivia question. In 1967-68 the NHL first recorded the +/- stat. With a +33, Smith was the very first season leader in this category. A few years later he would post a +94, 124. which remains the 4th highest +/- ever recorded. Orr, by the way, set the record that same season with a +124. Smith probably would have posted a higher mark himself, but on a couple dozen goals orchestrated by Orr Smith more than likely had already headed to the bench on a line change!

Smith ended up with a career +335. He also scored 55 goals, 252 assists and 307 points in 890 NHL games.  He also played in four straight All-Star games from 70-71 to 73-74.

Smith retired in 1976, but after a season off he came back to the NHL. Former Bruins teammate Phil Esposito thought so highly of this underrated defender that he convinced him to come out of retirement and join him in New York to play with the Rangers.

His teammates called him ‘Half Ton’ not because of his size, but because whenever they were in a different city playing, he’d look for half-ton trucks to buy. Why? Because he needed them for his off-season job. Smith was a farmer back home Manitoba.  He continued to own farmland for many years even though he eventually moved to Oregon.

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Art Jackson

Art Jackson was the younger brother of Hall of Famer Busher Jackson. The brothers played together for short periods of time in both Toronto and Boston.

Art was a heck of a player in his own right. In the 1930s and 1940s he played in 468 games mostly between Toronto and Boston, with a season with the New York Americans. He scored a total of 123 goals and 301 points.

Playing behind superstars Bill Cowley and Milt Schmidt, Art Jackson often centered the Bruins third line with Herb Cain and Terry Reardon. Their job was to shut down the opposition, something Jackson excelled at. He also did so cleanly, only picking up 144 career penalty minutes.

During the years of World War II depleted rosters of 1942 and 1943 Jackson and Cain moved up to a line with the classy veteran Cowley. Jackson responded with his best two seasons statistically, scoring 22 and 28 goals, and 53 and 69 points, respectively. Not bad at all for a 50 game schedule.

Jackson also led the Bruins in the playoffs in 1943, scoring 6 goals and 9 points in 9 games. The Bruins did not win the Stanley Cup that year, but Jackson did help the Bruins win in 1941. He also celebrated another Stanley Cup championship in Toronto in 1945.

Jackson went on to coaching Junior “A” hockey in St. Catharines, Ontario, and worked at the Port Weller Dry Docks Ltd. in St. Catharines. He passed away in 1971, suffering a heart attack at the age of 55.

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Art Chapman

Art Chapman quietly played ten seasons in the National Hockey League. He was far from a notable goal scorer, but was described as "a smooth operating centre and good playmaker."

Art Chapman played his junior hockey in Winnipeg and senior hockey with the Winnepeg Falcons and then Port Arthur. He turned pro with Springfield of the Canadian-American league, then played with the Providence Reds.

The Boston Bruins signed him in 1930-31. Art Ross was in an experimental mood and Chapman was used in various combinations, playing on lines with Harold Darragh and Red Beattie, George Owen and Percy Galbraith, Bill Touhey and Eddie Burke or Joe Jerwa and Joe Lamb in 3 and 1/2 seasons with the Bruins.

Chapman was traded to the New York Americans during the 1933-34 season with Bob Gracie for Lloyd Gross and George Patterson, and the next season was joined on the wings by Sweeney Schriner and Lorne Carr, and this combination was the main attraction of the star-spangled crew for the next five years.

Chapman finished 6th in NHL scoring with 9 goals, a league-leading 34 assists for 43 points in 1934-35. He set up Schriner and Carr for their goals.In 1936-37, he made the second all-star team despite his team's last place finish.

He began to fade in 1937-38, but the Amerks had depth that year and finished second in the Canadian Division and pulled a big upset, beating their powerful rivals, the Rangers, in a classic overtime goal Carr scored to win the series, and the Amazing Amerks almost beat Chicago, but fell in the third and deciding game.

When Schriner was traded to Toronto, Chapman and Carr played with Harvey Jackson in 1939-40, but this was the final NHL season for Art as a player in the NHL and he retired after the playoffs.

Red Dutton hired him as his assistant coach but by December 18th, 1941, Dutton stepped down as coach and gave Chapman the job, deciding to concentrate on the ownership and management of the team. After winning four and losing four, the Amerks went right back to losing and finished last again.

After the Americans folded in September 1942,Chapman decided to pull on a uniform and became player-coach of the AHL's Buffalo Bisons. He led them to two straight Calder Cups and then eventually would coach the Vancouver Canucks of the Western League. In 1953-54, he coached them to a first place finish.

Chapman was born May 29th, 1906, and died January 1st, 1963

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Gordie Bruce

Gordie Bruce is hardly the best known player in Boston Bruins history. He only played 28 regular season games plus 7 in the playoffs. He spent most of his 11 seasons with the Hershey Bears of the AHL.

Most of his action came in 1941-42 as a war replacement player. The famous Kraut Line of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart were all serving in the Canadian Armed Forces. Fellow star Bill Cowley was unable to play with an injury. Bruce came up for 15 games, scoring a respectable 4 goals and 12 points.

The highlight of that season came in the playoffs. Bruce played in 5 post season games, scoring 2 goals and 5 points. His two goals came in a 3-2 win in the clinching game against Chicago. He then notched three assists in game one against Detroit, setting up all of Jack McGill's hat trick goals.

It appeared that the Bruins had found themselves an up and coming player in Gordie Bruce. Then, like so often happened during the War, Bruce was enlisted in the Canadian Armed Forces. He would spend the next three hockey seasons serving his country, essentially costing him a NHL career.

When he returned to hockey in 1946 he played 4 strong seasons in Hershey but aside from a 5 game stint (0 points) he never got a shot at the NHL again.

Special thanks to Derek Thurber

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Don Cherry

Don Cherry. He needs no introduction. He was a controversial and more successful coach. Then he became a very controversial and even more successful broadcaster.

But not everyone realizes he was once a NHL player.

Well, once being the key word. He played 16 professional seasons totalling about 1150 pro games, but just one time did he play in the National Hockey League.

"As a kid I prayed to God to make me a professional hockey player. I should have specified in the NHL," the man they call "Grapes" is fond of saying.

Hey, at least it was a Stanley Cup playoff game. And no one was more proud than Don Cherry's mother. She made him a whole bunch of home-made cookies and cakes. The Bruins kidded the rookie pretty good about that after the game. Imagine that - a rookie entering the dressing room carrying bags of cookies and cakes. They may have teased him about it, but they were also sure to help themselves. It's not certain that Cherry ever did get to taste any of those celebratory baked goods.

Had it not been for his reincarnation many years later as a successful coach and boisterous television personality that is probably what would be remembered about Don Cherry's NHL career - his mother's baking.

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Bob Armstrong

Bob Armstrong was a solid stay-at-home defenseman who graduated to the Bruins after one season in the AHL with the Hershey Bears. Nicknamed "Satch," Armstrong played 542 NHL games, scoring 13 goals and 99 points.

Bill Quackenbush tutored him as a rookie though he partnered with Leo Boivin for most of this career. Both Armstrong and Boivin were noted hard hitters, making for an intimidating Boston back line. But Armstrong was clean, not picking up a lot of unnecessary penalties, unless of course he somehow lost his gloves and stick. Armstrong was not much of an offensive threat. He never rushed the puck and his odd goal would usually come from a blast at the point.

After 9 solid seasons in a Bruin uniform, Bob was released to the Montreal organization to coach one of their minor league teams in Hull-Ottawa of the Eastern Professional Hockey League. It was in Hull-Ottawa that Bob had a run-in with Don Cherry that merits mention in Don's book, Grapes. What Don failed to mention is that Don broke his stick over Bob's head, giving Bob a concussion.

While Bob was playing for the Bruins, he continued his schooling, eventually earning a degree from the University of Western Ontario. After being traded from the Montreal organization to Toronto, a teaching opportunity opened up at Lakefield College in Peterborough, Ontario and Bob began his second career. Along with teaching history and economics, Bob coached the hockey team.

Bob's son, Ian, played at the school, and later with the Peterborough Petes of the OHA, and in 1983 Ian was drafted by the Bruins, 142nd overall.

Bob passed away in the summer of 1995.

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