Frank Foyston
Three-time Stanley Cup winner and seven NHL record setter.
Frank Corbett "Flash" Foyston (February 2, 1891 – January 19, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He won the Stanley Cup three times with different teams: the Toronto Blueshirts in 1914, the Seattle Metropolitans in 1917, and the Victoria Cougars in 1925. While playing for Seattle, Foyston topped the Pacific Coast Hockey Association in goals on two occasions. His play during the 1919 Stanley Cup Final established or matched seven NHL records that have stood for more than a century. In 1958, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Foyston was born in Minesing, Ontario, in 1891. He began his career with the Barrie Athletic Club in the OHA Jr. league from 1908 to 1910, netting 17 goals in six games during the 1908–09 season. Moving up to the OHA Sr. league with the same club in 1910–11, he scored 14 goals in six games. The next season, he played for Toronto Eaton's, recording 15 goals in six regular-season games and five goals in four playoff contests. At the end of that season, Eaton's challenged the Winnipeg Victorias for the Allan Cup but lost the two-game series 5–24, with Foyston failing to score.
Foyston turned professional with the NHA's Toronto Blueshirts in 1912–13, scoring eight goals in 16 games as the team finished fourth. The following season, he tallied 16 goals in 19 regular-season games and added a goal in two playoff games against Montreal, helping Toronto win the NHA title and the Stanley Cup. In the 1914 Stanley Cup Final against Victoria, he scored two goals, including the series winner. In 1914–15, he had 13 goals and nine assists in 20 games, but Toronto placed fourth.
At the start of the 1915–16 season, Foyston signed with the PCHA's Seattle Metropolitans alongside teammates Hap Holmes, Eddie Carpenter, Jack Walker, and Cully Wilson. He recorded 13 points in 18 games in his first season. The next year, he exploded for 36 goals and 12 assists in 24 games, leading Seattle to the 1917 Stanley Cup Final against Montreal. Foyston scored seven goals and three assists as the Metropolitans won in four games, becoming the first American team to claim the Cup. He was voted the PCHA's "Champion All-Around Hockey Player" that season.
Foyston was conscripted into the Canadian Expeditionary Force on April 2, 1918, during World War I, but was released after a month to join the Royal Flying Corps.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Centre
- Played For
- Detroit Olympics / Detroit Cougars / Victoria Cougars / Seattle Metropolitans / Toronto Blueshirts
- Shoots
- Left
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 9
- Weight Lb
- 158
- Birth Date
- 1891-02-02
- Birth Place
- Minesing, Ontario, Canada
- Death Date
- 1966-01-19
- Death Place
- Seattle, Washington, U.S.
- Career Start
- 1912
- Career End
- 1930
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Foyston began his professional career with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1912–13. In 1913–14 he helped Toronto win the NHA championship and the Stanley Cup, scoring the series-clinching goal in the final. In 1915–16 he moved to the Seattle Metropolitans of the PCHA, where he played nine seasons and twice led the league in goals. In the 1917 Stanley Cup Final, Foyston scored seven goals and three assists to make Seattle the first American team to win the Cup. He was voted the 'Champion All-Around Hockey Player' in the PCHA that season.
Foyston was conscripted into the Canadian Expeditionary Force in April 1918 but was released to join the Royal Flying Corps; he did not serve overseas and returned to hockey after the war ended in November 1918. In the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, he scored nine goals in five games before the series was abandoned due to the influenza epidemic, with the Cup not awarded. He later played for the Victoria Cougars, winning the 1925 Stanley Cup, and finished his playing career with the Detroit Cougars in the NHL. After retiring, he became a minor league head coach, leading the Seattle Seahawks to a first-place finish in 1934–35.
Reader's Guide
Foyston is one of only 11 players to win the Stanley Cup with three or more different franchises. Two of his teammates, goaltender Hap Holmes and forward Jack Walker, shared all three of those Cup wins with him. Foyston was a versatile forward who could play centre, left wing, right wing, and rover. He was known for his speed and was nicknamed 'Flash' or 'Blonde Flash' in newspapers. A Vancouver newspaper in 1921 described him as 'a wonderful combination player, a good stickhandler and shoots a wicked puck,' though it noted that on backchecking 'there are half a dozen players who outshine him.' His seven NHL records, all set in the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, include most goals in a final series (9), most goals in a final game (4), and most hat tricks in a final series (2). These records remain unbroken more than a century later. Foyston was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958 and is buried in Seattle.
Did You Know?
- Foyston scored the series-clinching goal for Toronto in the 1914 Stanley Cup Final.
- Foyston set or tied seven NHL records in the 1919 Stanley Cup Final, all still unbroken.
- He is one of 11 players to win the Stanley Cup with three different franchises.
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