Frederick John Whitcroft (2 December 1882 – 9 August 1931) was a Canadian

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 ...

player and coach. Whitcroft played for several notable amateur and early professional hockey squads, including the

Renfrew Creamery Kings The Renfrew Hockey Club, also known as the Creamery Kings and the Millionaires, was a founding franchise in 1909 of the National Hockey Association, the precursor to the National Hockey League. The team was based in the founder Ambrose O'Brien's h ...

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at Commonwealth Stadium. The E ...

and

Kenora Thistles The Kenora Thistles, officially the Thistles Hockey Club, were a Canadian ice hockey team based in Kenora, Ontario. Founded in 1894, they were originally known as the Rat Portage Thistles. The team competed for the Stanley Cup, the ice hockey ...

, between 1906 and 1910. He was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1962.

Hockey career

Early in his career, Whitcroft made a name for himself in hockey circles with his outstanding amateur play with the Peterborough Colts (

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

Junior and Intermediate 1899-1904 and 1905-1907). In 1907 the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

champion

signed him to a $700 contract. While with the Thistles, the team defeated Brandon to retain the

. The club next played a challenge with the

Montreal Wanderers The Montreal Wanderers were an amateur, and later professional, ice hockey team based in Montreal. The team played in the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL), the Eastern Canada Amateur Hockey Association (ECAHA), the National Hockey Association ...

. The Wanderers defeated the Thistles in a two game, total points series by the score of 12–8, avenging their loss to the Thistles earlier in the season. The following year Whitcroft signed a contract to play with the

of the Alberta Professional Hockey League. While with Edmonton, Whitcroft scored six goals in a game, five goals in a game three times and four times in a game once. Whitcroft led the league two years running in goals scored. Edmonton played in one Stanley Cup challenge in 1908, coming up against the Wanderers, losing 13-10 on goals in a two-game series. After the Edmonton team disbanded in December 1909, Whitcroft jumped back east and signed with the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), initially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Leagu ...

for $2,000. Among his teammates were Hockey Hall of Famers

Cyclone Taylor Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor (June 23, 1884 – June 9, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and civil servant. A cover-point and rover, he played professionally from 1906 to 1922, and is acknowledged as one of the ...

, Frank Patrick,

Lester Patrick Curtis Lester Patrick (December 31, 1883 – June 1, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach associated with the Victoria Aristocrats/Cougars of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA; Western Hockey League (WHL) after ...

, and

Newsy Lalonde Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player. Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse ...

, on a team dubbed the Renfrew Millionaires. After one season playing for the Millionaires, Whitcroft retired from playing. He coached the Edmonton Dominions to the Alberta championship in 1913–14. He took up gold prospecting after his hockey career was over, while also coaching the Edmonton team for the Patricks, his former teammates. Whitcroft died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

in northern

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 ...

August 9, 1931.

References

*"Ireland Civil Registration Indexes, 1845-1958," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:FB4H-ZPP : 10 March 2018), BIRTHS entry for Frederick John Whitcroft; citing Millford, Oct - Dec 1882, vol. 2, p. 227, General Registry, Custom House, Dublin; FHL microfilm 101,058.

Bibliography

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Whitcroft, Fred 1882 births 1931 deaths Canadian ice hockey forwards Canadian sportspeople of Irish descent Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Ice hockey people from Ontario Kenora Thistles players People from the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine Renfrew Hockey Club players Sportspeople from County Carlow Stanley Cup champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen