James Dickenson Irvin
Section 45, Lot 156
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Dick Irvin was born near Hamilton, Ontario on July 19, 1892. The Irvin family moved to Winnipeg when the youngster was seven and it was in western Canada that he became known as an outstanding hockey player. He turned professional with the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast League, but the First World War interfered and Irvin went overseas with the Fort Gary Horse, a famous Winnipeg regiment.
After the war he resumed his hockey career and, at the ripe old age of 34, joined the National Hockey League’s Chicago Black Hawks in time for the 1926-27 season during which he scored 18 goals and had 18 assists. Early in the following season Irvin sustained a life-threatening head injury and his playing days were over. Nevertheless, he continued in the game as the Black Hawks coach for two more seasons before being hired to coach Conn Smythe’s 1931-32 Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team. On November 12, 1931 the Leafs played their first game in the new Maple Leaf Gardens. Irvin went on to coach the Toronto team to the Stanley Cup that year and remained with the organisation for another eight before moving on to Montreal. He coached the Canadiens for a total of 15 years and won three Stanley Cups. One player on his new team was a young “Rocket” Richard. Irvin returned to Chicago for the 1955-56 season, but a serious illness forced him into an early retirement. He died at his Montreal residence on May 16, 1957 at the age of 64.
Mike Filey
Mount Pleasant Cemetery: An Illustrated Guide
Second Edition Revised and Expanded