Most men of Harold March’s stature didn’t choose professional hockey as a career. At 5’ 5” and 155 pounds, his was not a physique that generally lent itself to the rough and tumble of the hockey world in the days before the dawn of the “Original Six.” Beating the odds, he played 17 NHL seasons, all of them with the Chicago Black Hawks (the team name was spelled using two words for their early years), and is still regarded as one of the greatest to wear the Indian head sweater.

Born in Saskatchewan in 1908, he was a standout in his youth, a member of the Memorial Cup winning Regina Monarchs in 1928. The tiny right winger, by now nicknamed Mush, after a diminutive cartoon character, joined the Black Hawks the next fall and suited up 35 times, collecting three goals and three assists for his efforts as the team finished in the cellar of the American division of the ten-team NHL.

He upped his production to 15 points in his sophomore year as the Black Hawks finished second in their division and got 11 goals in his third campaign, by now established as a smart and speedy forward who played a solid two-way game. For the rest of his career, he’d pick up a dozen or so goals each season as he concentrated on playmaking and back-checking, his lack of size making him both a spectacular and popular player.

While not a prolific scorer, his goals were often important ones, either to his team or to hockey history. His overtime marker in the 1934 finals brought the Stanley Cup to Chicago for the first time as he beat Detroit’s Wilf Cude after some 90 minutes of play. On November 12th, 1931 he was the first to find the twine at Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto’s new state of the art hockey cathedral.

Some 68 years later, March was among the men invited to the closing ceremonies when the Carlton Street landmark hosted its last game. He brought the puck with him and proudly showed it off to the assembled multitude, getting one of the night’s biggest ovations.

Then, as now, Chicago was not an NHL powerhouse turning out winning seasons about one year out of two as the 1930s wore on. In 1934-35, the year after their initial Stanley Cup triumph, they enjoyed a banner season winning 26, tying five times and losing just 17 games, only to fall in the first round of the playoffs.

In 1937-38 their regular season stats were almost the reverse, but they squeaked into the postseason, upsetting the Canadiens in the first round and the New York Americans in the second. Chicago won the best of five final over heavily favored Toronto in four games to bring home the Stanley Cup for a second time. Mush March’s contribution was out of proportion to his bulk as he picked up six postseason points in the nine games he played, good for third on the team.

A fixture on the team’s first line for most of his career, March played alongside Paul Thompson and Johnny Gottselig for the bulk of his time in Chicago. He spent some time alongside another small star, Howie Morenz, when a Habs team that decided he was over the hill (only to retrieve him later on), shipped him out.

By the time the dedicated team player decided to hang up his jersey, he had spent 17 seasons wearing it. Only Stan Mikita has surpassed March in service time. Still fond of the game, he returned to the ice the following season wearing an official’s uniform and spent the next 11 years working as a linesman, matching kids half his age stride for stride.

When the Chicago Blackhawks celebrated their seventh anniversary and named the men who made up their all-time team, Mush March held down a slot on the right side, recognized for his many years of clean, selfless and entertaining play for Windy City fans.

Playing in 759 regular season games, March scored 153 times and set up teammates on 230 occasions. He picked up 27 playoff points on a dozen goals and 15 assists over the course of a career that saw him play for a squad that was at best middle of the pack in terms of overall talent, but still managed to pull off two Stanley Cup victories.

Mush March passed away at the age of 93 in 2001, the last man who could claim to have had his name engraved twice on hockey’s Holy Grail as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks.