By Tom Annelin / HockeyThunderBay.com
WHILE many local hockey standouts are still remembered to this day, Wilfred (Smokey) Harris is probably one, that due to the extended passages of time gone by, may be one who has fallen by the wayside in terms of on-ice recognition.
Born in Port Arthur, all the way back in 1890, Harris would become one of the area’s earliest stars in the game.
He would begin making a name for himself with the 1910-11 version of the Kenora Thistles senior side.
His efforts saw him lead the Thistles in scoring, that featured him notching 16 goals during the campaign.
Harris’ play ended up catching the eye of future Hockey Hall of Fame inductee Frank Patrick, who had been brought on board as the player-coach and general manager of the Vancouver Millionaires in the fledgling Pacific Coast Hockey Association, that began fall in 1911.
Playing three years in Vancouver, the Millionaires got their monies worth from him as he notched 32 tallies in 46 outings.
However, despite his contributions to the club, Harris was made available to the expansion Portland Rosebuds, in 1914.
In four years skating in Oregon, the point-producing forward continued to click offensively, amassing 75 points, which were the second most in franchise history, in 69 contests.
After Portland captured the PCHA crown in 1916, they challenged the pre-NHL’s Montreal Canadiens for the Stanley Cup.
That best-of-five affair held in Quebec saw it go the distance, before Montreal prevailed in the fifth and deciding game.
Widely dubbed by local scribes covering the event as one of the premier performers, among both teams, in the series, Harris led the Rosebuds with six points, that included a team-high four goals.
After the Portland franchise folded in 1918, his playing rights were transferred back to Vancouver, who immediately benefitted from his reacquisition.
Over the next five seasons back in British Columbia, Harris paced the squad offensively twice, while also ending up second, fourth and fifth overall once apiece.
The team also finished first in the standings on three occasions, as well as second in a pair of campaigns.
Also bolstering Vancouver was Lakehead hockey legend Jack Adams, who joined Harris in being a stalwart performer.
Adams younger brother Bill also played with the Millionaires for two seasons.
The trio were part of the squad’s Stanley Cup challenge bid in 1921, but despite playing the best-of-five affair in Vancouver, they were edged out three games to two by the Ottawa Senators.
In 11 PCHA campaigns, including a stop with the Seattle Metropolitans in 1923-24, Harris was named a first team league all-star three times and also collected a single second team nod.
He eventually wrapped up his time there as the third-highest point producer in overall PCHA totals with 246 points, on 156 goals and 90 assists.
Moving on, Harris would make history in December of 1924 as he scored the first-ever goal in Boston Bruins history, in the second period, during an eventual 2-1 victory over the Montreal Maroons in their National Hockey League debut.
While his time in the NHL was limited to just six games, due to an eye injury, Harris did manage to tally three times, and helped set-up another.
Returning west, despite the vision issues, he had stops with in the Western Canada and Prairie Hockey Leagues with the likes of the Vancouver Maroons and Edmonton Eskimos respectively.
The California Professional Hockey League then beckoned, where he suited up for such clubs as the Los Angeles Richfield Oil; L.A. Winter Garden Maroons; San Francisco Seals; Hollywood Millionaires; San Francisco Black Hawks and the San Francisco Rangers to round out his playing career.
Harris went on to finish fourth in the eight-year tenure of the CPHL in all-time offensive numbers with 99 points in 135 games, that saw him put 48 pucks into the back of the net.
Having passed away nearly five decades ago now, Smokey Harris can still be remembered as one of our early local hockey greats, who over 15 seasons, figured in on 271 goals registered, in a low-scoring era.
