JOHNNY SHEPARD
Date of Death: 1969-08-28Date of Birth: 1902-07-27
Date of Induction: 2019
Joseph John Oswald "Jake" Sheppard - Born July 23, 1902 in Montreal, Quebec. After their parents died in a tragic apartment fire, the young Sheppard and his brother Frank were sent to live with family in Selkirk, MB.
After three years with the Selkirk Fishermen Juniors of the MJHL that included a run at the 1920 Memorial Cup, he spent the 1921/22 season with the Selkirk Fishermen of the MHL Senior league, where he collected twelve points in eleven games.
Sheppard turned pro with the Western Canada Hockey League Edmonton Eskimos as a free agent for the 1922/23 season. After four seasons with Edmonton, Sheppard was traded to the Detroit Cougars for cash in 1926, and that is where he began his NHL career. He joined the Detroit Cougars in the team's inaugural season of 1926/27, in which he played 43 games and led the team in points and penalty minutes.
On November 22, 1927, Sheppard scored the first goal at the new Detroit Olympia against Ottawa Senators' goaltender Alex Connell.
Traded to the New York Americans, he played five seasons and posted career highs in goals (17 in 1932/33) and points (29 in 1929/30).
Sheppard also played for the Bronx Tigers of the Canadian-American Hockey League in 1931/32.
Before his final NHL season in 1933/34, Sheppard was traded from the Americans to the Bruins. His stay in Boston lasted only four games before he was released. He then signed as a free agent with the Chicago Black Hawks
The Hawks would find themselves in the 1934 Stanley Cup final against the Wings. It took only four games to bring Chicago its first Stanley Cup championship, and for Sheppard his first and only Cup.
Sheppard left the NHL with his championship and played for two more seasons with the NWHL's Seattle Seahawks before hanging up his skates for good in 1936. Johnny Sheppard died August 28, 1969