Tuesday

Bobby Connors

Bobby Connors was born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1904 but grew up in Port Arthur, Ontario playing the great Canadian game.

Connors was quite the player in Port Arthur and later in Niagara Falls as an amateur player. In 1927 he finally turned pro, appearing in 7 games with the NHL's New York Americans.

Connors had moved to Detroit in 1927-28, finding early success on the Cougars (later renamed Red Wings) top line with Herbie Lewis and Larry Aurie. The speedy winger finished his only complete NHL season with 13 goals in 41 games.

In 1929-30 Connors game fell to reserve status, playing rarely and scoring just three times in 31 games. He last later demoted to the minor leagues.

The picture above shows him in a jersey of the Seattle Eskimos of the PCHL. He played out west for the 1930-31 season before he was suspended for the rest of the regular season for a viscious stick attack on Doug Brennan of the Vancouver Lions. Newspaper reports suggest the PCHL was increasingly unhappy with Connors thuggery that season. He literally broke his old, heavy, solid wood hockey stick over Brennan's forehead.

Uncertain of his future in hockey Connors returned home to Port Arthur, but no one could have guessed what would happen next. Connors life came to a tragic end in July, 1931. The 27 year old broke his neck and fractured his skull diving into shallow waters near his home town of Port Arthur. He was paralyzed from the neck down and died a day later.

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