Horace Merrill

Horace Jefferson Merrill (November 30, 1884[1] – December 24, 1958) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played two seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators. He won a Stanley Cup Championship in 1920. He was born in Toronto, Ontario, but lived most of his life in Ottawa, Ontario. Merrill was also an accomplished canoeist, holding the Canadian title from 1907 until 1909 in the single canoe.[2]

Horace Merrill
Born (1884-11-30)November 30, 1884
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Died December 24, 1958(1958-12-24) (aged 74)
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Ottawa Seconds
Ottawa Cliffsides
Ottawa Senators
Playing career 19071920
Merrill, at bottom left, with the Ottawa Cliffsides in 1909.

Playing career

Born in Toronto, Ontario, Merrill moved to Ottawa, Ontario at an early age. By 1907, Merrill was playing senior-level hockey with the Ottawa Seconds of the Ottawa City Hockey League. The following year he also started playing for the Ottawa Cliffsides and was a member of their Allan Cup-winning squad in 1909. By 1912, he joined the Ottawa Senators of the National Hockey Association (NHA). He stayed with the Senators until his retirement in 1920.

Career statistics

  • Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes
  Regular season Playoffs
Season Team GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1912–13Ottawa Senators105054
1913–14Ottawa Senators1833629
1914–15Ottawa Senators203033251010
1915–16Ottawa Senators2441525
1916–17Ottawa Senators181231220003
1917–18Ottawa Senators30003
1918–19Did Not Play
1919–20Ottawa Senators50000
Totals981662210571013

Source: "Horace Merrill - Stats". NHL. Retrieved 2009-08-19.

Canoeing

Merrill was an outstanding paddler in the decade 1902-1912. He was a member of the Rideau Canoe Club’s first war canoe crew in 1902.[3] Paddling for Ottawa Canoe Club(OCC)in 1904 he won the senior singles in the Canadian Canoe Association (CCA) competition. By 1906 he had switched to the New Edinburgh Canoe Club (NECC) and took second place in the senior singles at the CCA championship. In 1908 and 1909 he took the title as Canadian senior singles champion. In 1908, 1909 and 1910 he led the NECC war canoe crew to second place finishes in the half-mile Canadian championships. The crew came second in the mile race in 1908 and finished first in 1909, 1910, and 1911. In 1912 he served as rear commodore of the CCA.[4]

Personal life

Merrill retired to live and marry in Ottawa. He became the president of the Dadson-Merrill Press Company until his retirement from that business in 1945.[2] He also served as a school trustee.[2] In 1958, he suffered a stroke on an automobile trip to Florida with his wife, while driving through Cortland, New York, and was returned to Ottawa on December 19, 1958.[2] He died a week later and is buried in Ottawa at Beechwood cemetery along with numerous other Senators players.

References

  1. According to his gravestone
  2. "Ottawa Hockey Star Also Top Canoeist". The Globe and Mail. December 27, 1958. p. 22.
  3. Ottawa Citizen, 28 July 1902. "Canoeing"
  4. C. Fred Johnston, 100 Years of Champions - The Canadian Canoe Association 1900-2000. Queens University, Kingston. 2003.
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