Tom Howard (ice hockey)

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Thomas Acheson “Attie” Howard (January 5, 1871 – November 18, 1945) was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player from the era before professional hockey. He helped the Winnipeg Victorias win the 1896 Stanley Cup and later played in the American Amateur Hockey League (AAHL) and the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League (WPHL) in the United States.

Howard joined the Winnipeg Victorias in 1890 as a charter member and stayed with the team for nine seasons. He played in the 1896 Stanley Cup victory over the Montreal Victorias and took part in a 1899 Cup challenge as well. In 1899–1900, he moved to New York City with his wife and two sons and spent four seasons with the New York Athletic Club. He then played two seasons with the New York Wanderers (1903–1905) and finished with one game for the Brooklyn Skating Club in 1905–06, ending his playing career with 105 goals in 100 games. In his last season, he served as playing manager for the Brooklyn Skating Club. When AAHL rules blocked several Canadian players from joining the club, Brooklyn Skating Club ceased operations two games into the season.

After leaving playing, Howard joined A.G. Spalding & Co. in New York, promoted a hockey stick model, and edited the Spalding Ice Hockey Guides. He also coached teams in the AAHL (New York Hockey Club) and in American intercollegiate hockey at Yale and Columbia.

Howard was mainly a right winger, known for his speed and strong shot. While with the Wanderers, he also played the cover point position (an early form of offensive defense). A contemporary praised his fast skating and dazzling play.

He had two sons, Tom Jr. (b. 1894) and Jack (b. 1896), who both played for the New York Hockey Club in 1916–17. His wife, Kathleen Cronn Howard, was a hockey player and manager who led a girls’ team branch of the St. Nicholas Hockey Club. Jack Howard died in a car crash in 1919 at age 23, with Tom Jr. driving the car. Tom Howard later moved to Los Angeles, where he died at age 74 in 1945.

Statistics are from the Society for International Hockey Research.