Joseph Stubbs (ice hockey)

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Joseph Stubbs
Biographical details
Born(1899-04-28)April 28, 1899
Newton, Massachusetts, US
DiedFebruary 6, 1962(1962-02-06) (aged 62)
Newton, Massachusetts, US
Alma materHarvard University
Playing career
1918–1920Harvard
1920–1921Boston Athletic Association
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1925–1927Harvard (assistant)
1927–1938Harvard
Head coaching record
Overall95–43–6 (.681)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1920 Intercollegiate Championship
1930 East Intercollegiate co-championship
1932 East Intercollegiate Championship
1933 Quadrangular Championship
1933 East Intercollegiate Championship
1936 Quadrangular Championship
1936 East Intercollegiate co-championship
1937 Quadrangular Championship
1937 East Intercollegiate Championship

Joseph Stubbs (April 28, 1899 – February 6, 1962) was an American ice hockey player and coach for Harvard who was active in the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s.[1]

Career[edit]

Stubbs began attending Harvard University in 1916 and was a member of the freshman hockey team.[2] Due to the United States' entry into World War I, Harvard suspended its varsity ice hockey team the following year, but Stubbs joined the informal team that was put together by the remaining undergraduates. After the program was restarted following the end of the war, Stubbs was busy with his studies and did not participate. For his senior season, however, Stubbs finally joined the team and helped the team win 10 consecutive games to capture the Intercollegiate Championship in 1920.[3]

After graduating, Stubbs briefly played amateur hockey with the Boston Athletic Association before retiring as a player. He returned to his alma mater as an assistant coach in 1925 and worked primarily with the defense. After helping Harvard win back-to-back Eastern Intercollegiate Championships, Stubbs was promoted to head coach after the resignation of Edward Bigelow.[4] Stubbs had big shoes to fill but he got off to a good start, leading Harvard to a 7–2 record in his first season. The team declined a bit in his second season but did manage to hand Yale its only loss on the year.[5] In his third season, Stubbs led Harvard through some ups and downs but had his team in contention for the intercollegiate title when they met Yale at season's end. The two finished tied with a record of 1–1–1 after three games, including an epic three overtime game. While both teams immediately drew up plans for a fourth match to decide the championship, Harvard's athletic director, W. J. Bingham, decided to end the team's season.[6] While the ending didn't please anyone, it did give Harvard a (shared) intercollegiate championship.

In 1931, Stubbs had Harvard looking as good as they ever had. The team ran through all of its competition, posting 5 shutouts and allowing just 10 goals in 11 games. The Crimson entered their best-of-three series with Yale as a narrow favorite but were stunned by the powerful Elis; Harvard surrendered 8 goals in two games, while scoring just 2 for themselves. After the disappointing finish, Harvard began the following season with a near repeat performance, entering the Yale series with a 10–1 record. Stubbs' team drew first blood, capturing the first game 4–1, and then held off the rabid Bulldogs with two ties, both going into double overtime. The season ended with Harvard on top of all eastern teams by itself, earning Stubbs his first outright championship.

After repeating as champions in 1933, Harvard took a sharp decline and posted its worst season in almost 40 years. The Crimson rebounded quickly, however, and Stubbs had the team back on the winning side of the ledger in 1935. He got Harvard to win a second pair of Championships in '36 (shared) and '37, losing only to McGill in the later. Just like after the earlier double feat, Harvard posted a losing record in 1938. This time, however, Stubbs wouldn't be around to rebuild the program. After eleven seasons behind the bench and five championships, Stubbs resigned as head coach.[7]

Harvard would eventually choose Clark Hodder as Stubbs' successor but the era of Harvard as the premier college program was over. After Stubbs stepped down, it would be more than 50 years before the Crimson would win another ice hockey championship.[8]

Statistics[edit]

Regular season and playoffs[edit]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1919–20 Harvard NCAA
1920–21 Boston Athletic Association Independent

Note: Assists were not recorded as an official statistic.

Head coaching record[edit]

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Harvard Crimson (Independent) (1927–1932)
1927–28 Harvard 7–2–0
1928–29 Harvard 5–4–1
1929–30 Harvard 7–4–1 East Intercollegiate co-Champion
1930–31 Harvard 11–2–0
1931–32 Harvard 11–1–2 East Intercollegiate Champion
Harvard: 41–13–4
Harvard Crimson (Quadrangular League) (1932–1938)
1932–33 Harvard 9–5–0 6–2–0 1st East Intercollegiate Champion
1933–34 Harvard 4–9–0 1–6–0 4th
1934–35 Harvard 8–4–0 5–2–0 2nd
1935–36 Harvard 12–4–1 6–2–0 1st East Intercollegiate co-Champion
1936–37 Harvard 15–1–0 6–0–0 1st East Intercollegiate Champion
1937–38 Harvard 6–7–1 2–4–1 3rd
Harvard: 54–30–2 26–16–1
Total: 95–43–6

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Joseph Stubbs Year-by-Year Coaching Record". USCHO.com. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  2. ^ "Harvard Class Album". Harvard University. 1920. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  3. ^ "10 TO 1 VICTORY OVER TIGERS GIVES CRIMSON CLEAR RIGHT TO INTERCOLLEGIATE ICE TITLE". The Harvard Crimson. March 8, 1920. Retrieved April 13, 2020.
  4. ^ "STUBBS SUCCEEDS BIGELOW AS CRIMSON HOCKEY MENTOR". The Harvard Crimson. October 11, 1927. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  5. ^ "YALE MEN'S HOCKEY RESULTS, 1895 -2019" (PDF). Yale Bulldogs. Retrieved December 31, 2019.
  6. ^ "HARVARD-YALE ICE SUPREMACY WILL REMAIN UNDECIDED". The Harvard Crimson. March 15, 1930. Retrieved August 27, 2020.
  7. ^ "Resignation of Stubbs as Hockey Coach Is Accepted by Sports Regulation Group". The Harvard Crimson. April 13, 1938. Retrieved January 22, 2022.
  8. ^ "Year-By-Year Results" (PDF). Harvard Crimson. Retrieved November 17, 2018.

External links[edit]