Harold Edward Joseph "Bullet Joe" Simpson (August 13, 1893 – December 26, 1973) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Edmonton Eskimos and New York Americans between 1920 and 1931. He later served as coach of the Americans between 1932 and 1935. Simpson was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Biography

thumb|right|310px|Simpson, sitting third from left, in 1916 with the [[Winnipeg 61st Battalion and the Allan Cup.]]

Simpson was born in Selkirk, Manitoba. Nicknamed "Bullet" because of very fast skating ability, he started his career in the Canadian west. He learned the sport of ice hockey on a frozen slough, near his house, during the early 1900s. As Simpson once stated, Manitoba Avenue ran east and west in the middle of Selkirk. The boys living in the north end were the northern team and those south of Manitoba Avenue made up the southern team. After graduating from the Selkirk Fishermen Juniors, Simpson played senior ice hockey with the Winnipeg Victorias of the NHA in 1914–15.

On August 26, 1915 Simpson enlisted in the Canadian military, joining the 31st Battalion. Remaining in Canada, he transferred to the 61st Battalion and played the 1915–16 season with their hockey team, helping them win the 1916 Allan Cup, the amateur championship of Canada. Two weeks after winning the Cup Simpson was sent overseas, and arrived in the United Kingdom in early April 1916. He was hospitalized in August 1916 with gonorrhea, but was sent to the Western Front in time to take part in the Battle of Somme, where he was wounded in the left leg and back, being hospitalized again.

Back in Manitoba by early 1919, Simpson played the last four games of the ice hockey season for his hometown Selkirk Fisherman Seniors of the Manitoba Seniors League. He started again for the Seniors the following year.

In 1994, the Marine Museum of Manitoba in Selkirk restored a 1963 flat-bottomed freighter which is now on display and renamed the Harold Bullet Joe Simpson.

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

|-

| 1912–13

| Winnipeg Strathconas

| MHL

| — || — || — || — || —

| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1913–14

| Selkirk Fishermen

| WJRHL

| 11 || 12 || 0 || 12 || —

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1914–15

| Winnipeg Victorias

| MHL

| 8 || 8 || 2 || 10 || 16

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1915–16

| Winnipeg 61st Battalion

| MHL

| 8 || 9 || 2 || 11 || 24

| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 4

|-

| 1915–16

| Winnipeg 61st Battalion

| Al-Cup

| — || — || — || — || —

| 5 || 4 || 2 || 6 || 2

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1918–19

| Selkirk Fishermen

| MHL

| 4 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

| 4 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 2

|-

| 1919–20

| Selkirk Fishermen

| MHL

| 10 || 19 || 4 || 23 || 6

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1920–21

| Edmonton Eskimos

| Big-4

| 15 || 2 || 6 || 8 || 21

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1921–22

| Edmonton Eskimos

| WCHL

| 25 || 21 || 12 || 33 || 15

| 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 2

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1922–23

| Edmonton Eskimos

| WCHL

| 30 || 15 || 14 || 29 || 6

| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

|-

| 1922–23

| Edmonton Eskimos

| St-Cup

| — || — || — || — || —

| 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1923–24

| Edmonton Eskimos

| WCHL

| 30 || 10 || 4 || 14 || 6

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1924–25

| Edmonton Eskimos

| WCHL

| 28 || 11 || 12 || 23 || 16

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1925–26

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 32 || 2 || 2 || 4 || 2

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1926–27

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 43 || 4 || 2 || 6 || 39

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1927–28

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 24 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 32

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1928–29

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 43 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 29

| 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 0

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1929–30

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 44 || 8 || 13 || 21 || 41

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1930–31

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 42 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 13

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | WCHL totals

! 113 !! 57 !! 42 !! 99 !! 43

! 4 !! 1 !! 0 !! 1 !! 2

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | NHL totals

! 228 !! 21 !! 19 !! 40 !! 156

! 2 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0

|}

Head coaching record

{| BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="1" CELLSPACING="0" width="75%" style="text-align:center"

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Regular season

! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  

! colspan="5" | Playoffs

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! Season

! Team

! League

! GC !! W !! L !! T !! Finish

! GC !! W !! L !! T !! Result

|-

| 1932–33

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 48 || 15 || 22 || 11 || 4th in Canadian

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1933–34

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 48 || 15 || 23 || 10 || 4th in Canadian

| — || — || — || — || —

|-

| 1934–35

| New York Americans

| NHL

| 48 || 12 || 27 || 9 || 4th in Canadian

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"

| 1938–39

| Miami Clippers

| THL

| 13 || 7 || 6 || 0 || 2nd, THL

| — || — || — || — || —

|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"

! colspan="3" | NHL totals

! 144 !! 42 !! 72 !! 30 !! —

! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! 0 !! —

|}

Awards and achievements

  • Allan Cup championship (1916)
  • WCHL First All-Star Team (1922)
  • Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963
  • Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame

References

Bibliography

  • Joe Simpson biography at Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
  • Joe Simpson biography at the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
  • Joe Simpson's War Records at Library and Archives Canada: Soldiers of the First World War