Milt Schmidt: 1954-55 Topps 60

1954-55 Topps 60 Milt Schmidt Hockey Card (Front)

1954-55 Topps 60 Milt Schmidt Hockey Card (Back)

1954-55 Topps NHL Checklist

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Card Notes

“Mr. Bruin” himself, Milt has been with Boston since he joined them in 1937. During the 1939-40 season he led the NHL in scoring with 22 goals and 30 assists. Milt was top scorer for the Bruins 4 times and scored over 20 goals a season 4 times. He was the NHL’s All-Star center 3 times and in 1950-51 won the Hart Trophy (National Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player).

On The Ice during the regulation 3-period game of 60 minutes, an average hockey player spends about 23 minutes in actual competitive action.

Details

1954-55 would be the last season as a player in the NHL for Milt Schmidt. He appeared in just 23 games for the Boston Bruins that year before taking over as head coach for Lynn Patrick. As a coach, Milt brought success, leading the team to the Stanley Cup final in two of his first three full seasons. In both 1956-57 and 1957-58, the Bruins fell to the Montreal Canadiens.

His final NHL goal was scored on November 18, 1954 in a 5-1 win for the Bruins over the Blackhawks at Chicago Stadium. Schmidt scored his fourth of the season and 229th of his NHL career unassisted on Chicago goalie Al Rollins at 17:44 of the second to make the score 4-1 for Boston.

Schmidt did lead the NHL in scoring in 1939-40 with a nine point cushion over teammate Woody Dumart. In fact, the Bruins took up the first four spots in the scoring race. However, there was no hardware for Milt, the NHL wouldn’t start giving out the Art Ross Trophy until the 1947-48 season.

His best offensive numbers came in 1946-47 when he scored 27 and assisted on 35 for 62 points over 59 games. This placed Milt fourth in the scoring race, behind Max Bentley, Maurice Richard and Billy Taylor.

In his 1950-51 Hart Trophy winning season, Schmidt put up 61 points on 22 goals and 39 assists over 62 games. He tied for fourth in overall scoring with Ted Kennedy and Sid Abel. He helped the Bruins squeak into the playoffs, one point ahead of the New York Rangers for the final spot. Boston fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the opening round. The series went six games with the second game ending in a tie.

Milt Schmidt played 776 regular season and 86 playoff games in the National Hockey League between 1936-37 and 1954-55, all with the Boston Bruins. He won the Stanley Cup twice as a player. Schmidt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.

Trivia Snippet

The average ice time for an NHL player has come down considerably since the 1950’s. The back of the card states that the average was 23 minutes. Now, it is between 15 and 16 minutes for a forward and just over 20 minutes for a defenseman.

Milt Schmidt NHL Career Stats

Regular Season

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1936-37	Boston Bruins	26	2	8	10	15
1937-38	Boston Bruins	44	13	14	27	15
1938-39	Boston Bruins	41	15	17	32	13
1939-40	Boston Bruins	48	22	30	52	37
1940-41	Boston Bruins	45	13	25	38	23
1941-42	Boston Bruins	36	14	21	35	34
1945-46	Boston Bruins	48	13	18	31	21
1946-47	Boston Bruins	59	27	35	62	40
1947-48	Boston Bruins	33	9	17	26	28
1948-49	Boston Bruins	44	10	22	32	25
1949-50	Boston Bruins	68	19	22	41	41
1950-51	Boston Bruins	62	22	39	61	33
1951-52	Boston Bruins	69	21	29	50	57
1952-53	Boston Bruins	68	11	23	34	30
1953-54	Boston Bruins	62	14	18	32	28
1954-55	Boston Bruins	23	4	8	12	26
	Totals	776	229	346	575	466

Playoffs

Year	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1936-37	Boston Bruins	3	0	0	0	0
1937-38	Boston Bruins	3	0	0	0	0
1938-39	Boston Bruins	12	3	3	6	2
1939-40	Boston Bruins	6	0	0	0	0
1940-41	Boston Bruins	11	5	6	11	9
1941-42	Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0	0
1945-46	Boston Bruins	10	3	5	8	2
1946-47	Boston Bruins	5	3	1	4	4
1947-48	Boston Bruins	5	2	5	7	2
1948-49	Boston Bruins	4	0	2	2	8
1949-50	Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0	0
1950-51	Boston Bruins	6	0	1	1	7
1951-52	Boston Bruins	7	2	1	3	0
1952-53	Boston Bruins	10	5	1	6	6
1953-54	Boston Bruins	4	1	0	1	20
1954-55	Boston Bruins	0	0	0	0	0
	Totals	86	24	25	49	60