Doug Harvey (ice hockey)

Alfred was born in Hammersmith, United Kingdom in 1896 and had moved to Canada with his parents in 1905, while Martha was born in Pennsylvania to Welsh immigrants.

The family lived in Notre-Dame-de-Grâce (NDG), an English-speaking working-class neighbourhood of Montreal, where Alfred worked in the warehouse of N.C. Polson.

Harvey was the second child, following Alfred Jr. (Alf) and preceding Howard and Mary.

As a child Harvey was physically active, playing in many sports, and was also known as a troublemaker, often getting into fights with neighbouring children.

Outside of sports he delivered newspapers, with one of his customers being future Canadiens' teammate Bill Durnan.

Douglas Norman Harvey (December 19, 1924 – December 26, 1989) was a Canadian professional hockey defenceman and coach who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1947 until 1964, and from 1966 until 1969.

Best known for playing with the Montreal Canadiens, Harvey also played for the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, and St. Louis Blues, as well as several teams in the minor leagues.

He also served as the player-coach of the Rangers for one season, and served a similar role for the minor-league Kansas City Blues.

Born and raised in Montreal, Harvey played junior hockey for local teams.

He joined the Royal Canadian Navy during the Second World War, and while he spent the bulk of his time with the naval hockey team, he did see active service defending merchant shipping.

A standout athlete, Harvey also played Canadian football and baseball at this time, though he gave up on both sports to concentrate on hockey.

Harvey was born in Montreal on December 19, 1924, the second child of Alfred and Martha Harvey.

He first showed his athletic ability in Canadian football, and when he entered West Hill High School in 1939 he joined the team there, playing both on offence and defence.

He also played for the West Hill hockey team, and it was there that he first began to demonstrate his skills as a hockey player.

Harvey had played hockey from a young age, but only joined an organised league when he was 13, asked to join a team by Alf.

Initially he played goaltender, owing to his small stature, but soon moved to centre.

Only later would he switch to defence.

In the early 1940s Harvey also played rugby football (later known as Canadian football).

He started to play competitively while at West Hill, and though he could play both offense and defence equally well, he was most known as a defensive halfback.

The Second World War was ongoing while Harvey was completing high school, and in 1942, one month before his 18th birthday, he enlisted in the Royal Canadian Navy, following the advice of Alf, who had already done so.

Recognized as a skilled hockey player, Harvey was initially assigned to the Navy's hockey team, which was used to boost public morale.

However Harvey wanted to properly serve in the war, so requested a transfer to active service, though this was not addressed until 1944.

In the spring of 1944 Harvey was assigned to a defensively equipped merchant ship; this was again a suggestion of Alf, as it meant a less rigorous lifestyle on board a naval vessel.

Harvey would spend the next year regularly crossing the Atlantic while helping protect supplies being shipped to Europe and Africa.

Throughout this time Harvey's ships were never fired upon, and he would later look back fondly on his service.

It was also during this period that biographer William Brown believes Harvey began to develop an alcohol addiction; neither of his parents drank, which was in stark contrast to the naval service, though Brown concedes it was only later in life that it became a serious problem for Harvey.

Harvey played minor league hockey in Oxford Park, NDG, then began his professional career with the Montreal Royals of the Quebec Senior Hockey League where he played from 1945 to 1947, helping them win the Allan Cup.

He then played one season with the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League.

Signed by the Canadiens he made the team in 1947, though initially he was criticized for his style of play.

After a few years Harvey began to demonstrate his abilities, and became regarded as one of the top defenders in the NHL.

He made the jump to the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL in the 1947–48 NHL season and remained with the team until 1961.

Regarded as a team leader he was voted captain of the team in 1960, however he clashed with Canadiens management due to personal differences, which combined with his age led to him being traded to New York in 1961.

Harvey spent two years with the Rangers before the team felt he was no longer effective, and assigned him to their minor-league affiliate, and released him in 1963.

Harvey would spend the next five years in the minor leagues, briefly playing for Detroit, before he joined the Blues during the 1968 playoffs.

He spent one final year in the NHL with the Blues before retiring in 1969.

Following his playing career Harvey served in coaching and scouting roles for a few years, but a serious alcohol problem developed during the latter stages of his career kept him from serving in any capacity for long.

He reconciled with the Canadiens a few years before his death, having his #2 sweater retired, and served as a part-time scout for the team.

With the Canadiens, Harvey won the Stanley Cup six times and played in the Stanley Cup Finals five more times.

Individually he won the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the best defenceman seven times, and was named to the end of season NHL All-Star team eleven times (ten times as a First All-Star, once as a Second All-Star).

Widely regarded as one of the greatest defenders in NHL history, Harvey was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history in 2017.