Roy Thomas "Shrimp" Worters (October 19, 1900 November 7, 1957) was a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional A professional is a member of a profession or any person who work (human activity), works in a specified professional activity. The term also describes the standards of education and training that prepare members of the profession with the partic ...

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 ...

goaltender who played twelve seasons in 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 ...

for the

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central ...

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

and

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 ...

. Worters recorded 66 shutouts in his career. At tall, he was the shortest player ever to play in the

NHL 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 ...

Playing career

Worters played

junior ice hockey Junior ice hockey is amateur-level ice hockey for 16 to 20 year-old players. National Junior teams compete annually for the IIHF World Junior Championship. The United States men's national junior ice hockey team are the defending champions from ...

in Toronto with the Toronto Canoe Club Paddlers, winning the 1920 Memorial Cup, the national junior championship. He then spent several years in amateur and senior leagues, including the 1923–24 and 1924–25 seasons as the star netminder for the Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets of the United States Amateur Hockey Association, leading the Yellow Jackets to championships both seasons. Bolstered by the success, the expansion

joined the NHL the following season, with Worters in goal and substantially the same lineup as the Yellow Jackets. Worters proved an iron man, playing three seasons for the Pirates and in virtually all of their games, showing great skill while backstopping a weak defensive team; in the Pirates' first season, Worters stopped 70 of 73 shots (setting a then-NHL record) in a 3–1 loss to the Americans. Worters refused to sign with the Pirates for the 1927–28 season, and was suspended briefly before being traded to the Americans, for whom he would spend the rest of his career (save for a single game on loan to the Canadiens in 1930). His first season with the Americans saw Worters becoming the first goaltender to win the Hart Memorial Trophy with a 1.15 goals against average as he led the Americans to second place in the Canadian Division, after the team finished in last place the year before. During his time with the

, Worters had a corps of large defencemen in front of him, including Bullet Joe Simpson, "Red" Dutton, and

Lionel Conacher Lionel Pretoria Conacher ( ; May 24, 1900 – May 26, 1954), nicknamed "the Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. ...

. Coincidentally, Conacher grew up in the same Toronto neighbourhood as Worters. The Americans would make the playoffs only once more during Worters' career, although he would win the

Vezina Trophy The Vezina Trophy ( ) is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) goaltender who is "adjudged to be the best at this position". At the end of each season, the thirty-two List of NHL general managers, NHL general managers vote to dete ...

in 1930–31 as the league's best goaltender. During the ensuing contract negotiations following the season, Worters signed for $8,500 per season, an unprecedented sum for a goalie. He became the first goalie in NHL history to record back to back shutouts in his first two games for a new team. While with the Americans, Worters was named team captain for the 1932–33 season. In 1937, Worters needed hernia surgery and retired following the season. Roy Worters died of throat cancer on November 7, 1957. He was inducted into the

in 1969.

Awards and achievements

* Hart Memorial Trophy Winner in 1929 *Selected to the NHL Second All-Star Team in

1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident (1932), Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort ...

1934 Events January–February * January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established. * January 15 – The 8.0 1934 Nepal–Bihar earthquake, Nepal–Bihar earthquake strik ...

Winner in 1931 *First

goalie to record back to back shutouts *Inducted to the

in 1969

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Worters, Roy 1900 births 1957 deaths Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Deaths from cancer in Ontario Hart Memorial Trophy winners Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League goaltender captains New York Americans players Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Pittsburgh Pirates (NHL) players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Pittsburgh Yellow Jackets (USAHA) players Ice hockey people from Toronto Vezina Trophy winners Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States