Joe Ironstone

Did You Know?

• Ironstone was an avid curler and an original member of the Sudbury Granite Club.
• After hockey, he returned to the family men's wear store started by his father Hyman.
• He died in Sudbury at age 74.

Playing career

Ironstone began senior hockey in 1921 with the Sudbury Wolves of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association, playing three seasons there. He then joined the Ottawa Senators for 1924–25 as a backup goaltender and did not see game action. In 1925–26, he was with the expansion New York Americans, mostly as a backup; he played one game, allowing 3 goals in 40 minutes without earning a decision, becoming the second Jewish player in the NHL. He moved to the Niagara Falls Cataracts of the Canadian Professional Hockey League (Can-Pro) for 1926–27. The next season, he was traded to the Toronto Ravinas and was called up to the Toronto Maple Leafs, playing one game that ended in a 0–0 tie after 10 minutes of overtime. Ironstone requested double his contract rate for that game, which Leafs owner Conn Smythe accepted, but Smythe told him it would be his last NHL game. He returned to the Can-Pro league in 1928–29 and played for various teams until retiring temporarily in 1931. He resumed hockey in 1933 in Sudbury, playing for the Sudbury Legionnaires, Falconbridge Falcons, and finally the Sudbury Wolves.