Paul Goodman didn’t have the longest NHL career by any stretch of the imagination. Still, he played a role in one of the most surprising Stanley Cup victories of all time in 1938, and his story is an interesting footnote in hockey history.
Goodman was born in Selkirk on Feb. 25, 1905. He was of Icelandic descent and lived in Selkirk until 1914, when his family moved to a farm outside Notre Dame des Lourdes. On this farm, he started skating on the local ponds and eventually wound himself in the net as a goalie.
After completing his schooling, he moved to Winnipeg in the late 1920s to enter the electrical trade. In 1927, he became a partner in the firm of Sargent Electric and Radio Co. Ltd. and remained active in the electrical contracting business with the same firm for the rest of his life.
At this time, Goodman became a goaltending prodigy on the outdoor rinks. He played for the Selkirk Fishermen junior team for three seasons before halting his career after juniors to focus on his electrical career. After six years off from competitive hockey, Goodman returned in 1931-32 to play with the Selkirk Fishermen senior team, and it was like he had never left the game. His play was so outstanding that pro teams took notice, and the Wichita Skyhawks of the AHA quickly signed him and became the property of the NHL’s Chicago Black Hawks.
Here’s what makes Goodman’s story so interesting: He’s one of the few players in NHL history to make his big-league debut in the Stanley Cup finals.
During the 1938 Stanley Cup Finals, Mike Karakas, the regular Black Hawks goaltender, was injured and unable to play in Game One. Chicago used substitute goalie Alfie Moore. The Black Hawks won the game 3-1 over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Toronto then refused to let Moore play the next game but agreed to allow Goodman to play, who was Chicago’s minor league goalie at the time. While at a movie theatre, he found out that he was to start Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Goodman played well in Game 2, but Chicago lost 5-1 to Toronto.
Karakas returned from his injuries to win the next two games. And Chicago became the first of only two teams (see 1949 Toronto) to win the Stanley Cup with a losing record. Chicago included Goodman’s name on the Stanley Cup in 1938 for his efforts.
The Blackhawks Cup triumph of 1937-38 is also memorable because they won the championship despite having a very disappointing season. With their regular season record of 14-25-9, they possess, to date, the lowest regular season winning percentage of any championship team in the four major professional sports leagues and are the only ones to do so with a losing record.
Goodman played two seasons with the Blackhawks before retiring at the end of the 1940-41 season. He finished his NHL career with a record of 23-20-9 in 52 games and three playoff appearances.
On Jan. 10, 1941, Goodman retired from hockey at 33. The Chicago Black Hawks were sending him down to Kansas City of the minors to make room for another young goaltender in the pipeline, but Goodman said he preferred to return to his home in Winnipeg, where he operated his electrical supply store.
“No hard feelings anywhere,” Goodman said as he reclined comfortably in a chair in his Winnipeg home.
A back injury and a pre-season decision to make this his last season in hockey did him in when Chicago wanted to send him down.
“I’d decided at camp last fall to give hockey one more fling,” said Goodman. “Then my back was hurt in a scramble around our net in Detroit. Sammy LoPresti came up to replace me from Kansas City and Paul Thompson (Hawks manager) didn’t like to take him out because the club was winning. He told me to go to Kansas City for a spell and that I’d be back. But they use automobiles in that league to make long jumps to Omaha, St. Louis and so on. It wouldn’t have helped my sore back any, so I decided to return to my job here.”
Goodman promised the Black Hawks brass that he would stay in playing shape in case Chicago needed him in an emergency if LoPresti got injured.
“That will be easy. I don’t smoke, and I don’t drink. I’ll skate a bit, that’s about all.”
Goodman’s retirement didn’t last very long. He came back in 1942 to help the “Milk for Britain” campaign during the Second World War. He played goal for a team called B-A Oil and practices were conducted on the outdoor Sherburn rink in the West End of Winnipeg. The B-A Oil team performed to aid the Milk for Britain fund. They travelled around the country playing exhibition games and turned the proceeds over to the fund.
After his hockey career ended, Goodman returned to Manitoba and later became active in politics. In 1954, he was elected to city council in Winnipeg as an alderman. Goodman was chairman of the Winnipeg Traffic Commission during the key period of that body’s growth and was also chairman of the Public Works Committee.
He was active in many community enterprises, mainly amateur sports, as a junior hockey coach and sports chairman of the Isaac Brock Community Club and was noted for helping form the bantam hockey league in Winnipeg.
Goodman died on Oct. 1, 1959, while attending a public works convention in Seattle. On Sept. 23, he suffered a heart attack and was improving until he suffered a second one, which caused his death.
So here’s to remembering Paul Goodman, a forgotten Stanley Cup champion.
