Liscombe's pro career would begin with the Detroit Olympics in the International Hockey League (IHL) in 1935 and he would move to the Pittsburgh Hornets of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) in 1936-37 before making his NHL debut with the Red Wings in 1937-38, where he would score 14 goals, which included the fastest hat trick in NHL history against the Chicago Black Hawks at the Red Wings famed Olympia Stadium.
The following season of 1938-39 was spent entirely in the NHL, but Liscome would split the next two seasons between the Red Wings and the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League (AHL).
He would finally establish himself as a full-time NHL regular in 1941-42 and contribute 13 points in 12 playoff games, including four in one game versus the Boston Bruins, but the Red Wings, while leading in the third period of Game 4 while up three games to none, would famously let the Stanley Cup slip through their fingers as they would not only lose Game 4, but the next three in a row as Toronto became the first team ever to come back from a 3-0 deficit to steal the cup away from Detroit, a feat that would never be duplicated in the Stanley Cup Finals, NBA Finals or World Series.
Toughened by that crushing and unprecedented defeat, the Red Wings would finish first overall in the regular season standings and return to the finals in 1943 where they would sweep the Bruins in four straight behind Liscombe's 14 points in 10 games.
1942-43 Stanley Cup Champion Detroit Red Wings
Up to this point in his career, Liscombe had scored no more than 42 points in a season, but the 1943-44 season saw him shatter that mark with 36 goals and 37 assists for 73 points in 50 games to finish fourth in league scoring.
Liscombe would play two more seasons with Detroit, including a return to the finals in 1945. His final NHL career totals were 373 games played, 137 goals and 140 assists for 277 points.
Even though his NHL career had come to a close, there was still more to come from Liscombe, as he would return to the AHL, first with the St. Louis Flyers before finding a home with the Providence Reds in 1946-47.
Liscome would again enter the record books the following season when he became the first professional player to score 100 points in a season when he tallied 50 goals and 68 assists for 118 points in 1947-48 to lead the league in scoring a capture the Les Cunningham Award as the AHL MVP.
He would follow up his 118 point season with another season of 100 points or more with 102 in 1948-49 as the Reds would capture the Calder Cup as AHL champions and Liscombe would be named to his second consecutive Les Cunningham Award.
His career would wind down with another season in Providence, two seasons in the IHL and two more playing senior hockey in Canada before calling it a career.
Today's featured jersey is a 1937-38 Detroit Red Wings Carl Liscombe jersey as worn by Liscombe during his rookie season when he set the then current record for the fastest hat trick in NHL history in 1:52.
The Red Wings would later add a white stripe to the side of their pants in 1940. This sweater was first introduced in 1932 following the name change to Red Wings and remains essentially unchanged to this day.
Today's video selection is a look at the history of the Detroit Red Wings, which includes some footage of some of the Red Wings early Stanley Cup celebrations.
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