Eric Robinson "Cowboy" Pettinger (December 14, 1904 in Bradford,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

— December 24, 1968) was a British-born Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...

player. Pettinger played 98 games in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...

(NHL) with the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

, and

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The ...

between 1928 and 1931. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1923 to 1937, was spent in various minor leagues. Pettinger is the brother of fellow NHL player Gord Pettinger.

Playing career

As a child, Pettinger's family moved to

Regina, Saskatchewan Regina () is the capital city of the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The city is the second-largest in the province, after Saskatoon, and is a commercial centre for southern Saskatchewan. As of the 2021 census, Regina had a city population ...

. Pettinger started junior hockey in the Southern Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League with the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

, competing in three

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between ...

finals. In 1922, Pettinger joined the Regina Victorias of the Southern Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League, playing there for five seasons. With the Victorias, Pettinger competed in two

Allan Cup The Allan Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the national senior amateur men's ice hockey champions of Canada. It was donated by Sir Montagu Allan of Ravenscrag, Montreal, and has been competed for since 1909. The current champions are th ...

finals before joining the Manitoba-Thunder Bay Hockey League's

Fort William Forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

in 1926. After one season in Fort William, Pettinger signed as a free agent with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its ho ...

. Pettinger never joined the Rangers, as his rights were traded a month later to the Toronto Maple Leafs, then two months later traded to Boston, all while playing in Fort William. Pettinger joined the Bruins for the 1928-29 season, only to be traded once again, this time to the Maple Leafs. Pettinger played one season with the Leafs before being traded to Ottawa as part of the King Clancy deal. Pettinger played in only 13 games with the Senators before he was dealt to the International Hockey League's

London Panthers The London Panthers were a professional ice hockey team based in London, Ontario, Canada that existed from 1926 until 1936. The team played in the Canadian Professional Hockey League from 1926, joining the International Hockey League in 1929. In 1 ...

. Pettinger would not return to the NHL, playing with London for five years, before stints with the International-American Hockey League (IAHL)'s Cleveland Barons, the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The firs ...

's Portland Buckaroos and the IAHL's Pittsburgh Hornets. When the Stanley Cup was redone during the 1957–58 season, Pettinger's name was added to the Stanley Cup as a 1929 Boston Bruin, despite being ineligible. Pettinger was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs the day Boston won the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and honours

*IHL First All-Star Team (1936) Source: Hockey Hall of Fame

Transactions

*September, 1927 - Signed as a free agent by New York Rangers *October, 1927 - Rights traded to Toronto by New York Rangers for the rights to

Yip Foster Harry Clifford Francis "Yip" Foster (November 25, 1907 — June 4, 1978) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League between 1929 and 1935. The rest of his ...

*December 21, 1927 - Rights traded to Boston by Toronto with $15,000 for

Jimmy Herbert James William "Sailor" Herbert (also known as Herberts) (October 31, 1897 - December 5, 1968) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and referee. Herbert played the centre forward position for six seasons in the National Hockey League ( ...

*January 10, 1929 - Traded to Toronto by Boston with the rights to

Hugh Plaxton Hugh John Plaxton (May 16, 1904 – December 1, 1982) was a Canadian ice hockey player and politician. During his hockey career he competed in the 1928 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal with Canada, and later played 17 games in the Nat ...

for the rights to George Owen *October 11, 1930 - Traded to Ottawa by Toronto with Art Smith and $35,000 for King Clancy *October 31, 1932 - Traded to London (IHL) by Ottawa for cash Source: Hockey Hall of Fame

External links