Introduction
Walter Earl Seibert (December 7, 1911 – May 12, 1990) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played for 15 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and Detroit Red Wings.
Playing career
Earl was an important member of the 1933 New York Rangers and 1938 Chicago Black Hawks Stanley Cup victories. Each year from 1935 to 1944, Seibert was selected to the first or second NHL All-Star Team (4 times to the first, 6 times to the second). A tenacious defender, Seibert was renowned for rugged physical play, famously being the only player Eddie Shore was unwilling to fight.
An accident during a January 28, 1937 game cast a shadow over Seibert's great career. Seibert and the legendary Howie Morenz became tangled up behind the Chicago net. Morenz fell awkwardly against the boards and broke his leg in several places. Morenz died in the hospital from complications of the injury several weeks later.
After his NHL retirement, Seibert served as coach of Eddie Shore's Springfield Indians
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963, and joined his father Oliver Seibert as the first father and son combination in the Hall of Fame. In 1998, he was ranked number 72 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
In 2009, Seibert was ranked No. 61 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1929–30 | Springfield Indians | CAHL | 40 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1930–31 | Springfield Indians | CAHL | 38 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1931–32 | New York Rangers | NHL | 44 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 88 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | ||
| 1932–33 | New York Rangers | NHL | 45 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 92 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 14 | ||
| 1933–34 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1934–35 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 86 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1935–36 | New York Rangers | NHL | 15 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1935–36 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 29 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 21 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1936–37 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 45 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1937–38 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 48 | 8 | 13 | 21 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1938–39 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 48 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1939–40 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 37 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 35 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1940–41 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 44 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 52 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| 1941–42 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 45 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 52 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1942–43 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 44 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1943–44 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 50 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 40 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1944–45 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 22 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1944–45 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 25 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1945–46 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 24 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1945–46 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1946–47 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 653 | 89 | 187 | 276 | 768 | 65 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 76 | ||||
Coaching statistics
SeasonTeamLge TypeGPWLT OTLPctResult1946-47 Springfield IndiansAHL Head coach 64 24 29 1100.461 Lost in round 11946-47 Indianapolis Capitals AHL Head coach1947-48 Springfield IndiansAHL Head coach 68 19 42 700.331 Out of playoffs1948-49 Springfield IndiansAHL Head coach 68 22 37 900.390 Lost in round 11949-50 Springfield IndiansAHL Head coach 70 28 34 800.457 Lost in round 11950-51 Springfield IndiansAHL Head coach 70 27 37 600.429 Lost in round 1