HOCKEY NOTES

Fred Taylor (Cyclone / The Listowel Flash)

Cyclone Taylor (The Listowel Flash)

Defense / Rover / Center

5-8 165

b. 24 Jun 1883 Tara, Ontario
d. 9 Jun 1979 Vancouver, British Columbia

"The greatest player I ever saw" is how Frank Patrick described a young lad from the rough reaches of southwestern Ontario who exploded onto the hockey scene only a few years into the 20th century. Considered by many to be hockey's first bona fide superstar, Frederick Wellington "Cyclone" Taylor was the very symbol of the new breed of hockey player -- a professional, through and through. He was undoubtedly one of the fastest skaters of all time, could keep control of the puck as if it were glued to his stick, and was one of the early masters of the end-to-end rush. Later defensemen like Sprague Cleghorn, Harry Cameron, George Boucher and Eddie Gerard attributed their rushing style to Taylor, whom they had tried to emulate.

Taylor began his long, brilliant hockey career at the age of 13, making his first appearance with the Listowel Mintos. Despite being much younger than his comrades, his speed and skill came to the fore immediately. At some point in his four years with the Mintos, he was tabbed the "Listowel Flash" as he led the way to a pair of Northern Hockey League championships. Taylor's early success caused quite a stir in Toronto. But he turned down Ontario Hockey Association boss William Hewitt's offer to join the Toronto Marlboros -- Hewitt responded by banning him from the league -- and signed on instead with the Houghton-Portage Lakes club in the International Professional Hockey League. There, Taylor played alongside the likes of Bruce Stuart, Riley Hern and the nasty Joe Hall. Taylor put in two championship seasons with Houghton before the league folded. In 1908 he joined the Ottawa Senators for $500 and an off-season post in the Canadian Department of Immigration. In Ottawa he switched from forward to defense, and picked up his famous nickname from a very highly placed source. It was after a match against the Montreal Wanderers, in which Taylor had notched four especially brilliant goals. One of the fans present was Canada's governor general, Earl Grey, who commented within earshot of an Ottawa Free Press reporter: "That new number four [Taylor] ... he's a cyclone if I ever saw one." In a follow-up Free Press article, reporter Malcolm Brice wrote: "In Portage la Prairie they called him a tornado, in Houghton, Michigan, he was known as a whirlwind. From now on, he'll be known as Cyclone Taylor." The name stuck and a legend was born.

Taylor left Ottawa before the 1910 season under bitter circumstances. In the midst of the bidding war between the Canadian Hockey Association and National Hockey Association, Taylor had assured Ottawa bigwigs that he would not be lured away by the astronomical salaries being thrown around by men like Renfrew owner Ambrose O'Brien. As it turns out, Taylor did indeed jump ship, signing with the Renfrew Creamery Kings mere days before the season started.

It was with Renfrew that Taylor performed his most talked-about feat. On the night of March 9, 1910 -- or so the legend goes -- Taylor made good on a promise to score a goal against Ottawa while skating backwards. If true, it was an incredible achievement, but did it really happen? The Renfrew Journal's reporter certainly thought so:

Taylor got the puck on a pass and, skating down in his usual fine fashion, he turned, and going backwards, he skated a piece and then sent the shot home to the Ottawa nets with skill and swiftness.

When the Patrick brothers started the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) in 1911-12, they raided the eastern clubs for top talent. Taylor was one of the first blue-chip players to make the jump, lending instant credibility to the new circuit in much the same way Bobby Hull would do with his move to the World Hockey Association some 60 years later. Taylor was the cornerstone of the Vancouver Millionaires until 1921. Team owner Frank Patrick once said that Taylor was the "idol of the coast ... [T]he fans would rise to their feet and roar as soon as he started up the ice with the puck."

Taylor was one of the main reasons the PCHA lasted as long as it did. He led the loop in scoring for five of seven seasons between 1912-13 and 1918-19. In 186 games in several leagues, he found the net 194 times. He was one of the brightest box office attractions ever seen in hockey and his drawing power would certainly rival Sidney Crosby's if he were playing today.

Taylor was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947.

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