Allan McLean "Scotty" Davidson (March 6, 1891 – June 16, 1915) was a Canadian

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 and soldier. He was considered one of the top wingers of the game's early years. He led his Kingston junior team to two Ontario Hockey Association championships in 1910 and 1911, when he moved to Calgary for the 1911–12 season and led the Calgary Athletics senior team to the Alberta provincial championship. Davidson turned professional with the Toronto Blueshirts in 1912 and was among the

National Hockey Association The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially 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 Lea ...

's leading scorers the following two seasons. He captained Toronto to the Stanley Cup championship in 1914. Upon the outbreak of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fig ...

in 1914, Davidson volunteered with the Canadian Expeditionary Force; he was the first professional hockey player to do so. He was killed in action on 16 June 1915,Circumstanced of Death Registers, First World War - Library and Archives Canada; Vol. 31829_B016, P. 599 while fighting in Belgium. Hailed as a hero by his peers, Davidson was said to have been killed after refusing to retreat during a battle. A military record reports he was "killed instantly by a shell which exploded near him in the trench." He is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. Davidson was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950.

Playing career

Davidson was born and raised in

Kingston, Ontario Kingston is a city in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the north-eastern end of Lake Ontario, at the beginning of the St. Lawrence River and at the mouth of the Cataraqui River (south end of the Rideau Canal). The city is midway between Toront ...

, and learned the game through his coach, James T. Sutherland. Born Allan Davidson, he acquired the nickname "Scotty" due to his

Scottish Highland The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

heritage. He first played in the

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. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA) senior division in 1908–09 where, as a 17-year-old, he led the league with eight goals in four games. He joined the Kingston Frontenacs of the OHA junior division in 1909 where he emerged as a top player in the league. He was known for his shooting ability and was considered a strong backchecker. Davidson served as team captain, and led the Frontenacs to OHA junior titles in 1910 and 1911. He was a standout in the 1911 championship, leading his team back from a 3–0 deficit to win the game. Allan Scotty Davidson

After leaving the junior game, Davidson moved to Alberta where he played senior hockey for the Calgary Athletics. He scored three goals in four regular season games and added another three goals in three playoff games. The Athletics won the provincial championship, but were defeated by the

Winnipeg Victorias The Winnipeg Victorias were a former amateur senior-level men's amateur ice hockey team in Winnipeg, Manitoba, organized in 1889. They played in the Manitoba Hockey Association (MHA) in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The Victorias ...

for the

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 ...

. While with the Calgary Athletics Davidson played defence (either point or cover point). He returned to Ontario for the 1912–13 season when he was signed by the Toronto Blueshirts of the

(NHA). Davidson made his professional debut with Toronto in their season-opening loss to the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

, and finished his rookie season with 19 goals in 20 games, second on the team behind

Frank Nighbor Julius Francis Joseph "Pembroke Peach" Nighbor (January 26, 1893 – April 13, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played primarily for the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey Le ...

. He started the season on defence (point), the same position he had played the previous season in Calgary, but was soon switched to right wing. The Blueshirts named him team captain for the 1913–14 season, and he responded by finishing in the top ten in NHA goals with 23 and second in assists with 13. Tied atop the standings with the

after the regular season, the Blueshirts faced the Canadiens in a two-game, total-goal series for both the O'Brien Cup, the NHA championship, and control of the Stanley Cup, the Canadian championship. Following a 2–0 loss at Montreal, Davidson played a key role in Toronto's 6–0 victory in the return match. He scored two goals, including Toronto's third which clinched the championship. The title represented the first time a team from Toronto won the Stanley Cup. The Blueshirts then immediately faced the Victoria Aristocrats of the

Pacific Coast Hockey Association The Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) was a professional ice hockey league in western Canada and the western United States, which operated from 1911 to 1924 when it then merged with the Western Canada Hockey League (WCHL). The PCHA was co ...

held in March 1914. It was considered an unofficial challenge for the Stanley Cup as the Aristocrats failed to arrange the series with the Cup's trustees. Toronto emerged with three consecutive victories to win the series that was on occasion violent – Davidson was involved in a fight late in the third game that touched off a melee involving most players for both teams.

Military career

When the

broke out in 1914, Davidson was the first professional hockey player to volunteer with the Canadian Expeditionary Force, enlisting on September 22, 1914 with the 14th Regiment. Upon arrival in Europe the regiment was broken up and Davidson was reassigned to the Eastern Ontario Regiment of the Canadian Infantry, joining his former teammate George Richardson. During the war Davidson was promoted to lance-corporal. While on his way to

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 ...

on the steamer SS Cassandra Davidson showed off his athletic skills by winning the championship in a big

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

tournament held on the boat, defeating David Carson of Kingston, Ontario in the finals. Davidson earned the respect of his fellow soldiers who wrote of his bravery and fearlessness. He once rescued a wounded officer while fighting in France, and one account of his death asserts that he was shot in the back and killed while attempting to carry an injured soldier to safety. Another account held that he died while on a bombing raid after refusing to retreat until he had spent his ammunition. He was said to have used his final grenade to kill a German officer before being killed himself. Yet another version of Davidson's death was reported in the August 18, 1915 issue of the ''Calgary Daily Herald'' and claimed Davidson was sitting in the trenches playing cards with four other soldiers when a shell dropped in the midst of the party killing Davidson and his friends. Contemporary reports suggested that had Davidson lived through the attack, he may have been awarded the

Distinguished Conduct Medal The Distinguished Conduct Medal was a decoration established in 1854 by Queen Victoria for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, ranki ...

or even the

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

Legacy

By the time he left hockey to fight in the war, Davidson was considered one of the top all-around players in the NHA. Noted for his skating ability, it was said that he could skate faster backwards than most players could forwards. In 1925, ''

Maclean's ''Maclean's'', founded in 1905, is a Canadian news magazine reporting on Canadian issues such as politics, pop culture, and current events. Its founder, publisher John Bayne Maclean, established the magazine to provide a uniquely Canadian persp ...

'' named him the top right wing when it determined its all-star team of the game's greatest players, an opinion shared by his former junior coach, who stated that he was "as good as any player to ever patrol a wing position". Davidson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1950, and is honoured by the International Hockey Hall of Fame. The Kingston Frontenacs erected a monument to his memory shortly after his death. He was 23 years old when he was killed, and his name is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France.

Career statistics

References

External links