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