Historic 1928 New York Rangers First Stanley Cup Game Used Game Winning Puck
Historic 1928 Stanley Cup Game 5 (final game) game used game winning puck. The Holy Grail of all Hockey Memorabilia! Frank Boucher used this puck to score the only two goals of the game beating Montreal in the best of five series. The puck comes directly from Colonel James J. Kerby, the great-grandson of the first President of the New York Rangers and the founder of Madison Square Garden.
My name is Colonel James J. Kerby, and I am the third full bird Colonel in my family line, about to retire after 37 years of service. The second, my great-grandfather, was Colonel John S. Hammond. The first Colonel was his grandfather, Brigadier General John Hammond, who served in the Union Army during the Civil War and was then a member of the House of Representatives for New York’s 18th Congressional District.
More than his military career, though, my great-grandfather, Colonel John S. Hammond, is most well-known for being the co-founder of Madison Square Garden and the New York Rangers, and served as the first president of the franchise.
In 1922, my great-grandfather partnered with Tex Rickard to build Madison Square Garden. They needed a way to fill Garden seats and Colonel Hammond thought that hockey would be a great draw. He organized the New York Rangers and was proven right: they won the Stanley Cup Finals in 1928, their second year of existence.
This hockey puck is the game-winning puck from that Stanley Cup Finals.
My father, Colonel John Hammond Jr., came into possession of the puck around the time of his father’s death in 1939. He was in possession of it for the rest of his life. During his lifetime, he had expressed to my mother, Sandra Kerby, that he would like me to have it.
Soon after my grandfather’s death in the mid-1980s, my mother went to his home in Kerrville, Texas and took possession of it, bringing it back to her home in Atlanta, Georgia. There it stayed until she moved to Irmo, South Carolina. My mom cherished it and kept it displayed in her homes for many years, until she returned it to me as per her father’s wishes.
I give my best wishes and congratulations to the future owner of this iconic piece of American sports history.
Signed:
Colonel James J. (Jeff) Kerby
(and his address)
The 1928 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-five series played entirely in Montreal between the New York Rangers and the Montreal Maroons. It was the first appearance by the Rangers in the Finals in only their second season. The Maroons made their second Finals appearance after winning the Stanley Cup in 1926. The Rangers won the series three games to two to earn their first championship in franchise history, this was also the second Stanley Cup victory by an American-based team, and the first since the Seattle Metropolitans in 1917.
The series had to be played in Montreal, as the circus had taken over New York's Madison Square Garden.
The Rangers lost their goalie Lorne Chabot to an eye injury in the second period of game two. Although goaltenders Alex Connell and Hugh McCormick were in the stands, the Maroons refused to allow the Rangers to use either goalie. In one of the most famous incidents in hockey history, 44-year-old coach Lester Patrick took over with the recorded words "Boys, don't let an old man down," and his efforts inspired the Rangers to a 2–1 victory in overtime. At 44 years, 99 days old, Patrick became the oldest man to play in the Stanley Cup Finals, a record which remains unsurpassed to this day. He entered with eight minutes remaining in the second period and played the final 35:05 of the game.
For the following matches, the Rangers hired New York Americans goalie Joe Miller, who won two games including a shutout. Miller was available to all NHL teams as a backup after the Americans had put him on waivers. The Boston Bruins had claimed him on waivers, but he was made available to any NHL team. At the time of the Finals, Miller had not played in four weeks, and was home in Ottawa. Miller was cut and suffered two black eyes in game five, but hung on for a 2–1 victory.
The game was a doozie. 14,000 fans filled the Forum with tickets going for as high as $35 ($550 today). It was a penalty filled game with 21 penalties assessed to both teams. Defenseman Ching Johnson was called for four penalties and had three injuries, but came back each time.
Boucher scored the only goal of the first period with an end to end rush and the 1-0 lead held up through two periods. There was a near riot in the third period when Maroon Russell Oatman scored, but the goal was disallowed as offside. The game was delayed for 10 minutes as fans littered the ice with paper, hats and even chairs.
Boucher than scored to put the Rangers up 2-0, a goal they needed when Merlyn Phillips scored for Montreal with 2:10 left in the game. The game ended with the Rangers shorthanded after Bill Cook was sent off for a major high sticking penalty, but Montreal couldn’t beat Miller and the Rangers won.
It was the second year for the Rangers franchise in the NHL and they became the second U.S. team to win the Cup, preceded only by the Seattle Metropolitans in 1917. Following the Yankees and Giants who were champions in 1927, it made New York the only city to have its teams hold all three major sports championships (there was no NBA) at the same time until Detroit did it in 1935.
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