1909-10 Ottawa Senators Marty Walsh Jersey

Born on this date in 1883, Marty Walsh played in the Canadian Intercollegiate Hockey Union for Queen's University from 1902 through 1906, including a league championship in 1906 which led to a challenge for the Stanley Cup during which he scored four goals in two games versus the Ottawa Silver Seven.

The 1906 Queen's University team, which challenged for the Stanley Cup

with Walsh is seated second from the right in the front row

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Walsh turned professional in 1906-07 when he played for the Canadian Soo of the International Hockey League. Unfortunately, his season was limited to seven of 24 games due to a broken leg, but he gave a glimpse of his potential with four goals and five assists for nine points in limited action.

For the 1907-08 season Walsh moved back east to join the mighty Silver Seven, who had defended the Stanley Cup 11 times from March 1903 to March 1906. In his first season with Ottawa, Walsh made his presence known with 27 goals in nine games, including seven in one game against Montreal on March 7, 1908, to lead the league in scoring.

The following season Walsh again led the league in scoring with an astounding 42 goals in just 12 games, an average of 3 1/2 goals a game! The club, now known as the Senators, demolished the competition with a 10-2 mark while scoring 117 goals in their 12 games, quite nearly a ten goal per game average and no game with less than five. As Eastern Canada Hockey Association champions, the Senators became holders of the Stanley Cup.

As was often the case in the formative years of professional hockey, a dispute within the ECHA led to the Senators joining a brand new league for 1909-10, the Canadian Hockey Association. The league was a failure and Ottawa ended up playing just three league games as well as a pair of defenses of the Stanley Cup. Walsh scored nine goals in the two Senators CHA games he played and then six in the first game of the Senators defense of the cup against Galt.

When the CHA disbanded, Ottawa then became a member of the National Hockey Association for their schedule of games that season. Walsh came fourth in league scoring with 23 goals in 11 games as well as adding a pair of goals in a successful defense of the Stanley Cup against Edmonton of the Alberta Amateur Hockey Association. All told, Walsh scored 40 goals in 17 games that season but Ottawa had to relinquish the Stanley Cup to the NHA champion Montreal Wanderers.

Walsh had another stellar season in 1910-11 with 35 goals in 16 NHA contests to lead the league in scoring as the Senators won the league championship to regain possession of the Stanley Cup once more.

1911 Ottawa Senators - holders of the Stanley Cup

On March 13th, Galt once more challenged for the Stanley Cup and Walsh led the defense with three of the seven Ottawa goals to win 7-4.

Three days later Port Arthur had the misfortune to face an on-form Walsh, who scored ten goals in a 13-4 win for the Senators.

In his final season of 1911-12, Walsh scored 9 times in 12 games to close out his carer. Following his playing days, Walsh moved to Edmonton and fell ill, passing away just two years later.

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

Today's featured jersey is a 1909-10 Ottawa Senators Marty Walsh jersey. This unusual style features a departure from the signature Ottawa horizontal barberpole stripes, with the trademark red, black and white stripes running vertically before a return to the classic horizontal orientation for the remainder of the club's existence until 1934.