Clarence John "Taffy" Abel (May 28, 1900 – August 1, 1964) was an American 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 ...

player who played 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 ...

with the

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

and

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

between 1926 and 1934. Born in 1900 in

Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan Sault Ste. Marie ( ') is a city in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, Upper Peninsula of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is the county seat of Chippewa County, Michigan, Chippewa County and is the only city within the county. With a population of ...

, United States, as a Native American

Ojibwe The Ojibwe (; Ojibwe writing systems#Ojibwe syllabics, syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the Great Plains, n ...

, he was forced to hide his Native American ancestry until 1939. He was a silver medalist in ice hockey at the 1924 Winter Olympics and the U.S. flagbearer for those games, making him the first Native American to play, and to win a medal, in the Winter Olympics. He was a member of two

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 ...

championship teams. On November 16, 1926, he became the first United States–born Native American player to become an NHL regular, with the New York Rangers. He is a member of the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials an ...

Playing career

Clarence "Taffy" Abel was a silver medalist on the United States in the 1924 Olympics, serving as flagbearer for the U.S. delegation. Abel scored 15 goals for the United States in the tournament. As a member of the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

of the CHL during the 1925–26 season, Abel was named to the CHL's First

All-Star An all-star team is a group of people all having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and has been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry. Sports "All-star" as a sport ...

team at the defense position. Abel played in the NHL for eight years. He scored his first NHL goal on December 7, 1926, in the New York Rangers' 1-0 road victory over the Boston Bruins. He was signed by

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

to the

, largely based upon his strong performance at the Winter Olympics in 1924. With the Rangers, he wore sweater number 4, and, paired with defenseman

Ching Johnson Ivan Wilfred "Ching" Johnson (December 7, 1897 – June 17, 1979) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers and New York Americans in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1926 and 1938. He was an or ...

, was a key member of the

–winning Rangers team in 1927-28. After the 1929 season, Abel's rights were sold to the

, where he played five more years, wearing sweater number 2. Abel was a member of the Cup-winning Black Hawks in 1933-34, his last NHL season.

Later life and legacy

Abel returned to Sault Ste. Marie after retirement, coaching ice hockey. He also operated a tourist resort named "Taffy’s Lodge" in

. Abel died in his home in Sault Ste. Marie, on August 1, 1964, aged 64. Nine years later, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame as a player. The Taffy Abel Arena, home rink for the

Lake Superior State University Lake Superior State University (colloquially Lake State, Soo Tech, and LSSU) is a public college in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, United States. It enrolls approximately 1,600 students. Due to its proximity to the Canada–United States border, ...

hockey program is named in his honor.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
NPR: Taffy Abel medaled in the 1924 Olympics. Few knew of his Indigenous heritage
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Abel, Taffy 1900 births 1964 deaths 20th-century American sportsmen 20th-century Native American people American men's ice hockey defensemen Chicago Blackhawks players Central Hockey League (1925–1926) players Ice hockey players at the 1924 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players from Michigan Medalists at the 1924 Winter Olympics Native American sportspeople New York Rangers players Ojibwe sportsmen Olympic silver medalists for the United States in ice hockey Sportspeople from Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan St. Paul Athletic Club ice hockey players Stanley Cup champions United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees