Hockey Ink In The Mail: Month of Mail

Seven new autographs added this past month brings the grand total of unique signatures up to 7,617 for 93% of everyone to ever play in the NHL. Big thanks to a fellow collector who helped me land most of this month's autographs.

I'm grateful to have been able to acquire both Red Garrett and Joe Turner's autographs this past year. They make for two of my most treasure signatures, the two NHLers who gave their lives to serve Canada in WWII.

Dudley "Red" Garrett (d. 1944)

Defenceman Red Garrett spent 1 season in the NHL with the 1942-43 New York Rangers. He played 23 games for the Rangers then put his career on hold to serve in WWII. In 1944 he was killed in action. Since 1947 the AHL has honoured his memory with the Red Garrett Award for AHL rookie of the year.

Roy Worters (d. 1957)

In 1929 Roy Worters became the first goalie to win the Hart Trophy as league MVP. He won the Vezina trophy in 1931 and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. "Shrimp" Worters is also know as one of the shortest players to ever play in the NHL.

Gordie Brydson (d. 2001)

Gordie Brydson was a tremendous athlete. He played in both the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the CFL with the Toronto Argonauts. Still, it was another sport, golf, in which he most excelled. He won a number of notable tournaments in Canada and in 1982 was inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame.

Normie Himes (d. 1958)

From 1926 to 1935 Normie Himes played over 400 games in the NHL with the New York Americans. He later became a professional golfer. This is more of a note to my future self, Himes signed his "N" slightly different on personal documents while his "H" remained consistent. The provenance of this signature is that it comes from a collection of Himes memorabilia from an impeccable source.

Jimmy Franks (d. 1994)

Goalie Jimmy Franks played over 40 games in the NHL between the Detroit Red Wings, New York Rangers and Boston Bruins. He played a small part in Detroit's 1937 Stanley Cup win.

Bob Kirkpatrick (d. 1988)

Bob Kirkpatrick scored 12 goals and 24 points in 49 NHL games with the 1942-43 New York Rangers. It was his only season in the NHL, leaving the Rangers to join the Canadian military.

Gord Davidson (d. 2004)

Like the Kirkpatrick, this autograph would not scan for me due to the black background but it is clear in person. Gord Davidson played 51 games in the NHL over two seasons with the New York Rangers

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Eric Tulsky

The highly educated Eric Tulsky has gained a reputation as one of the NHL's brightest executives. In 2024 he was named General Manager of the Carolina Hurricanes. This goes with my collection of NHL coaches and GMs who never played in the league.

Isabelle Chartrand

Defenceman Isabelle Chartrand won Gold at the 2002 Olympics with Canada. She also won Gold with Canada at the 2001 World Championships. These next signatures go in my collection of women hockey autographs.

Danielle Dube

Danielle Dube won Gold with Canada at the 1997 World Championships. She's most notable for being one of only a handful of women to play men's professional hockey. She was a member of the 2002-03 WCHL's Long Beach Ice Dogs.