{{Short description|Ice hockey player (1896–1960)}} {{other people||Wilfred Green (disambiguation)}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | image = ShortyGreen.png | image_size = | position = Right wing | shoots = Right | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 10 | weight_lb = 152 | played_for = Hamilton Tigers <br>New York Americans | league = NHL | birth_date = {{birth date|1896|7|17|mf=y}} | birth_place = Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|1960|4|19|1896|6|17}} | death_place = Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | career_start = 1923 | career_end = 1927 | halloffame = 1963 }}
'''Wilfred Thomas "Shorty" Green''' (July 17, 1896 – April 19, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played four seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Hamilton Tigers and New York Americans between 1923 and 1927. As captain of the Tigers in 1925, he led the team on a strike with the demand that the players be paid an additional C$200 to participate in the playoffs. The league refused, suspended the team and sold the organization to New York interests. As a member of the Americans, Green scored the first goal in Madison Square Garden history, and after two seasons as a player in New York, coached the team for one before coaching minor league teams for several years. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.{{sfn|Hockey Hall of Fame|2003|p=55}}
His younger brother Red Green was also a hockey player in the NHL.
==Playing career== thumb|Green in 1927 for New York Americans A native of Sudbury, Ontario, Green played senior hockey in his hometown and was a team member that won the Northern Ontario senior championship in 1915.<ref name="LOHBio">{{cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=p196207&type=Player&page=bio&list=ByName#photo |title=Shorty Green biography |publisher=Hockey Hall of Fame |access-date=2010-07-07}}</ref> He enlisted with the Canadian military on April 3, 1916, serving and playing with the 227th Battalion in the Ontario Hockey Association senior division in 1916–17.<ref name="MacLeod 129">{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|p=129}}</ref> Deployed overseas in 1917, Green was reassigned to the 8th Reserve Battalion. On May 17, 1917 he was promoted to acting Lance Sergeant; however, this was reverted two days later as he wanted to go to the front, and being a private was the fastest way to do that.<ref name="MacLeod 129"/> Green fought in the Battle of Passchendaele as a member of the Canadian Machine Gun Corps; on November 9, 1917, during the battle, he was a victim of a gas attack.<ref>{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|pp=129–130}}</ref><ref name="PodnieksPlayers">{{harvnb|Podnieks|2003|p=306}}</ref> He developed diphtheria and gastritis one month later and was hospitalized. He still had health issues in August 1918, and a physician noted he did "not look strong". Green was discharged and returned to Canada by December 1918.<ref>{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|p=130}}</ref>
Back in Canada Green returned to hockey. He joined the Hamilton Tigers senior team and led them to the 1919 Allan Cup championship before returning home to play four seasons with the Sudbury Wolves of the Northern Ontario Hockey Association.<ref name="LOHBio" /> He moved back to Hamilton in 1923 and began his professional career. He played on a line with his brother, "Red" Green, and Billy Burch for the last place Tigers.<ref name="PodnieksPlayers" /> Green was unanimously voted as team captain prior to the start of the 1924–25 NHL season and his skill and physical style in spite of his small stature made him a fan favourite.<ref name="Spectator">{{cite news |last=Henley |first=Brian |title='Shorty' Green was one of Hamilton's sports heros |work=Hamilton Spectator |date=1994-01-22 |page=13}}</ref> The Tigers flourished on the ice, finishing as the top team in the NHL, and qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in franchise history.<ref name="LOHBio" />
{{Quote box| quote ="[We] would rather play to a Hamilton audience than to any other on the circuit. We would be more than pleased to represent Hamilton again in the NHL for the benefit of the fans who have so generously patronized our games, but this is final. We do intend to ever play again for the present management."|width=30%|source=Green explains why the players went on strike in an open letter to the citizens of Hamilton<ref name="Spectator" /> |align = left}}
When the players learned that team owners were making large profits on the Tigers despite ownership's claims the team was "suffering" financially,<ref>{{Cite book |last=McKinley |first=Michael |year=2006 |title=Hockey: A People's History |publisher=McClelland & Stewart |page=[https://archive.org/details/hockeypeopleshis0000mcki/page/90 90] |isbn=0-7710-5769-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/hockeypeopleshis0000mcki/page/90 }}</ref> Green and Burch led a player's strike against management, demanding a C$200 bonus each or the players would not participate in the playoffs.<ref name="PodnieksPlayers" /> Team management refused while NHL president Frank Calder warned that if the players did not relent, he would suspend the team and award the fourth-place Ottawa Senators Hamilton's place in the NHL final.<ref>{{cite news |title=Hamilton "Pro" team demands more money |work=Toronto Globe |date=1925-03-13 |page=8}}</ref> The players refused to give in, and as a result, Calder ultimately declared the Montreal Canadiens league champions after they defeated the Toronto St. Patricks in the semi-final and fined each player $200.<ref name="PodnieksPlayers" /> It was the first player's strike in NHL history.<ref>{{cite book |last=Duplacey |first=James |title=Hockey's Book of Firsts |date=February 2008 |publisher=JG Press |page=40 |isbn=978-1-57215-037-9}}</ref>
Additionally, the strike led to the demise of Hamilton's entry in the NHL as the team and players were sold and became the New York Americans for the 1925–26 season.<ref name="LOHBio" /> Many of the players received significant raises following the transfer to New York, including Green who saw his salary rise from $3,000 per season to $5,000.<ref>{{cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Jamie |url=http://proicehockey.about.com/od/history/a/billy_burch.htm |title=Hockey history: The first NHL strike |publisher=About.com |access-date=2010-07-07 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080513161756/http://proicehockey.about.com/od/history/a/billy_burch.htm |archive-date=2008-05-13 }}</ref> On December 19, 1925, he scored the first goal in Madison Square Garden history before a crowd of 17,000 fans.<ref name="PodnieksPlayers" /> Late in his second season with the Americans, Green suffered a dislocated kidney during a game and was sent to hospital in critical condition.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Eb8aAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H0oEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5014,6379075 |title=Green badly hurt in hockey game |work=The Pittsburgh Press |date=1927-03-01 |access-date=2010-07-07 |page=31}}</ref> He recovered, but the injury ended his playing career.<ref name="PodnieksPlayers" />
The Americans named Green their head coach for the 1927–28 NHL season,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=C28tAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_IsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6944,2252877 |title=Green is manager of N.Y. Americans |work=Montreal Gazette |date=1927-08-17 |access-date=2010-07-07}}</ref> and finished the season outside of the playoffs with a record of 11–27–6.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=23482 |title=William "Shorty" Green profile |publisher=The Internet Hockey Database |access-date=2010-07-07}}</ref> He left the NHL to coach the Duluth Hornets of the American Hockey Association for three seasons between 1928 and 1931, appearing in three games, and with the Tulsa Oilers in 1931–32.<ref name="LOHBio" />
He coached the Hamilton Tigers' senior team for one season in 1932–33 before returning to Sudbury where he first opened a men's clothing store and in 1937, founded the Sudbury Golf Club with two partners. He ran the club until his death of cancer in 1960.<ref>{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|p=132}}</ref> Green was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.{{sfn|Hockey Hall of Fame|2003|p=55}}
==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs=== {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM |- | 1914–15 | Sudbury All-Stars | Exhib. | 12 || 19 || 3 || 22 || — | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1914–15 | Sudbury All-Stars | A-Cup | — || — || — || — || — | 3 || 6 || 0 || 6 || — |- | 1915–16 | Sudbury All-Stars | Exhib. | — || — || — || — || — | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1916–17 | Hamilton 227th Battalion | OHA-Sr. | 8 || 17 || 0 || 17 || — | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1918–19 | Hamilton Tigers | OHA-Sr. | 8 || 12 || 3 || 15 || — | 4 || 5 || 3 || 8 || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1918–19 | Hamilton Tigers | A-Cup | — || — || — || — || — | 2 || 3 || 0 || 3 || — |- | 1919–20 | Sudbury Wolves | NOHA | 6 || 23 || 4 || 27 || 16 | 7 || 13 || 4 || 17 || 8 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1920–21 | Sudbury Wolves | NOHA | 4 || 4 || 2 || 6 || 7 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1921–22 | Sudbury Wolves | NOHA | 9 || 5 || 4 || 9 || 9 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1922–23 | Sudbury Wolves | NOHA | 7 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 16 | 1 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 |- | 1923–24 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 22 || 7 || 6 || 13 || 31 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1924–25 | Hamilton Tigers | NHL | 28 || 18 || 9 || 27 || 63 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1925–26 | New York Americans | NHL | 32 || 6 || 4 || 10 || 40 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1926–27 | New York Americans | NHL | 21 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 17 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1928–29 | Duluth Hornets | AHA | — || 1 || 1 || 2 || 47 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1929–30 | Duluth Hornets | AHA | 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1930–31 | Duluth Hornets | AHA | 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 8 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 103 !! 33 !! 20 !! 53 !! 151 ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — |}
===Coaching career=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center; width:50em;" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season !! Team !! League !! G !! W !! L !! T !! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- | 1927–28 | New York Americans | NHL |44 || 11 || 27 || 6 || 28 | 5th Canadian || Out of playoffs |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1928–29 | Duluth Hornets | AHA |40 || 15 || 21 || 4 || 34 | – || – |- | 1929–30 | Duluth Hornets | AHA | 48 || 18 || 13 || 17 || 53 | – || – |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1930–31 | Duluth Hornets | AHA |48 || 28 || 19 || 1 || 57 | – || – |- | 1931–32 | Tulsa Oilers | AHA | 48 || 16 || 28 || 4 || 36 | – || – |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1932–33 | Hamilton Tigers | OHA Sr. | 22 || 15 || 7 || 0 || 30 | – || – |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3"| NHL totals | 44 || 11 || 27 || 6 |}
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Bibliography== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book |title=Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame |year=2003 |isbn=1-55168-239-7 |author=Hockey Hall of Fame |publisher=Fenn Publishing |location=Bolton, Ontario }} * {{Citation|last=MacLeod|first=Alan Livingstone|year=2018|title=From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War|publisher=Heritage House|location=Victoria, British Columbia|isbn=978-1-77203-268-0}} * {{Citation|last=Podnieks|first=Andrew|year=2003|title=Players: The ultimate A–Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL|publisher=Doubleday Canada|location=Toronto|isbn=0-385-25999-9}} {{Refend}}
==External links== * {{icehockeystats|legendsm=P196207}}
{{s-start}} {{succession box | before = Newsy Lalonde | title = Head coach of the New York Americans | years = 1927–28| after = Tommy Gorman }} {{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Green, Shorty}} Category:1896 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Canadian Machine Gun Corps soldiers Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches Category:Canadian ice hockey right wingers Category:Canadian military personnel from Ontario Category:Canadian Expeditionary Force soldiers Category:Duluth Hornets players Category:Hamilton Tigers (ice hockey) players Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:New York Americans coaches Category:New York Americans players Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen Category:Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League (1890–1979) players Category:Ice hockey people from Greater Sudbury