Lionel Hitchman

Lore & Background

Hitchman was born in Toronto, though his family moved to Ottawa when he was 21. He played junior hockey with the Toronto Aura Lee club, then served in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police before joining the Ottawa New Edinburghs of the senior Ottawa City Hockey League. He signed with the Ottawa Senators in 1923, and in his first playoff game was crosschecked in the face by future teammate Sprague Cleghorn, knocking him out. Hitchman later starred in the 1923 Stanley Cup final, scoring the tying goal that sent the first game into overtime.

After requesting a trade from the Senators in January 1925, he was loaned to the expansion Boston Bruins. In the 1927 season, Eddie Shore replaced Cleghorn as Hitchman's defence partner, and the two were quickly recognized as the league's preeminent defence pairing. Hitchman was named team captain after Cleghorn retired in 1928, and led the Bruins to their first Stanley Cup championship in 1929. He resigned the captaincy in 1932 but substituted as player-coach when Art Ross took ill in January 1933.

Hitchman's last NHL match was February 22, 1934, against his old Senators team, after which the Bruins retired his #3 jersey. He played a handful of games for the minor league Boston Cubs at the end of the 1934 season before retiring.

Reader's Guide

Hitchman's significance lies in his role as the stay-at-home complement to Eddie Shore's rushing style, forming what is considered one of the greatest defensive pairings of all time. Though often overlooked in favor of defencemen with gaudier offensive numbers, he was regarded as the premier defensive defenceman of his day. His #3 jersey retirement on February 22, 1934, was only the second such retirement in North American professional sports history, following the Toronto Maple Leafs' retirement of Ace Bailey's #6 eight days earlier. After retiring as a player, Hitchman coached the Bruins' Boston Cubs farm team to a Canadian–American Hockey League championship in 1935, then served as Art Ross' assistant coach. He later coached the Springfield Indians in 1939. Hitchman continued his service with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police as a sergeant throughout his hockey career and after retirement. Columnist Walter Graham described Hitchman's play as 'a master of the sweep and poke checks, the possessor of a terrific body check and a boundless supply of courage.'

Did You Know?

• Hitchman set the NHL record for games played in a single season with 31, in a season scheduled for 30 games.
• He became one of the first hockey players to wear a helmet, donning a leather helmet designed by Art Ross to protect his jaw after it was broken by an Eddie Shore clearing pass.
• His daughter Gloria starred with the Ice Capades.
• Hitchman was an avid fisherman who once set a size record for salmon fishing.