Frank Ludwig Jerwa (15 March 1909 – 6 August 1992) was a

Polish-Canadian Polish Canadians () are citizens of Canada with Polish ancestry, and Poles who immigrated to Canada from abroad. At the 2016 Census, there were 1,106,585 Canadians who claimed full or partial Polish heritage. History The first Polish immigra ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) 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. Tw ...

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

. He played for the

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 t ...

and

St. Louis Eagles The St. Louis Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Based in St. Louis, the Eagles played for only one year, the 1934–35 NHL season. The team was founded in 1883 as the Ottawa Senators (ori ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

and the

Boston Cubs The Boston Tigers were a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts from 1926 until 1936, playing in the Canadian–American Hockey League The Canadian–American Hockey League, popularly known as the Can-Am League, was a profe ...

and

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

, among others, in the minors.

Early life

Jerwa was born in

Jaworzno Jaworzno is a City with powiat rights, city county in southern Poland in the Silesian Voivodeship, near Katowice. It lies in the Silesian Highlands, on the Przemsza river (a tributary of the Vistula River, Vistula). Jaworzno belongs to Lesser Pol ...

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

(now

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

) on 15 March 1909 to Frank and Anna Jerwa. He had three brothers, Joe, Art, and Steve, all of whom later played hockey, and a sister, Josephine. The family moved to

Bankhead, Alberta Bankhead, Alberta was a small coal mining town that existed in the early twentieth century, in Banff National Park, near the town of Banff, Alberta. The mine was located at Cascade Mountain, which contains high grade anthracite coal deposits. ...

in 1911, then to nearby

Canmore Canmore may refer to: *Canmore (database), a Scottish national online database of ancient monuments; *Canmore, Alberta, a town in Canada; *the House of Dunkeld, a royal house that ruled Scotland in the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries, including **Malc ...

in 1922. He and his brother Joe played for both the Canmore Miners junior and senior teams during the late 1920s. He played for the Miners junior team between 1927 and 1928 before moving on to the Regina Pats for the 1928–1929 season.

Career

Jerwa signed with the

in 1929, where he played alongside his brother Joe. Jerwa was traded to the

in April 1931 and again played with his brother. His debut came against the

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924–25 NHL season, 1924 to 1937–38 NHL season, 1938, winning the Sta ...

on November 14, 1931, but it wasn't until February 4, 1932, against the

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

, where he scored a goal and made an assist, that he earned any points. He played 65 games with the Bruins but spent most of his time in Boston with the

, with whom he played 101 games. He and

Gene Carrigan Eugene Carrigan (July 5, 1906 – March 15, 1945) was a Canadian ice hockey centreman who played 37 games over three seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings and St. Louis Eagles. The rest of his career ...

were both traded in January 1935 to the

, though his start was delayed due to a broken arm. He and Joe Lamb hold the title for fastest two goals in the Eagles franchise at 14:50 and 14:53 on March 12, 1935. He played 16 games before the club was disbanded; he returned to the east coast in October 1935, this time for the

New Haven Eagles The New Haven Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that played in New Haven, Connecticut. The Eagles were one of five inaugural franchises in the Canadian American Hockey League, and a founding member of the American Hockey League. Histor ...

, a Bruins affiliate. After 45 games there, he briefly played for the Vancouver Lions, then went to the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...

for 35 games in November 1936. That year, he also played for the

Can-Am The Canadian-American Challenge Cup, or Can-Am, was an SCCA/ CASC sports car racing series from 1966 to 1974, and again from 1977 to 1987. The Can-Am rules were deliberately simple and placed few limits on the entries. This led to a wide variet ...

All-Star team. In 1937, he signed with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

, played 88 games, and finished his career as a member of the Lions once more from November 1939 to 1941. He played 140 total career games with the Lions. He retired from professional hockey in October 1941.

Later life

After leaving the professional hockey circuit, he settled in

Vancouver Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

and played in the

British Columbia Hockey League The British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL) is an independent Canadian Junior ice hockey league with 21 teams in British Columbia and Alberta. It was classified as a Junior "A" league within the Hockey Canada framework, until it became independe ...

with St. Regis. He died on 6 August 1992 in

Penticton Penticton ( ) is a city in the Okanagan, Okanagan Valley of the British Columbia, Canada, situated between Okanagan Lake, Okanagan and Skaha Lake, Skaha lakes. In the 2021 Canadian Census, its population was 36,885, while its Census geographic un ...

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

. He was survived by his wife Frances Ella, daughter Shirley, 3 grandchildren, and 3 great-grandchildren. Frances died in 2002.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jerwa, Frank 1909 births 1992 deaths Boston Bruins players Boston Cubs players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Polish emigrants to Canada Ice hockey people from Alberta New Haven Eagles players Sportspeople from Banff, Alberta Regina Pats players St. Louis Eagles players Seattle Seahawks (ice hockey) players Springfield Indians players Vancouver Lions players People from Canmore, Alberta Polish ice hockey players Polish ice hockey left wingers Sportspeople from Jaworzno Ice hockey people from Silesian Voivodeship Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States