Al Suomi

Who they were

Albert William Suomi was an American ice hockey player, who played 5 games in the National Hockey League with the Chicago Black Hawks during the 1936–37 season. Although he did not aspire to play at a professional level, Suomi nevertheless spent his young life playing hockey and was eventually scouted while playing with friends. Suomi began his career playing for the Chicago Baby Ruth team in 1934, a marketing ploy started by the company that produced the candy of the same name. In 1936,

Early life

Early life Suomi was born to a working-class family in Eveleth, Minnesota on October 29, 1913. [ 1 ] His father was an immigrant from Finland , [ 2 ] and shares the name Suomi ( Finnish for 'Finland'). Although Suomi never had any serious aspirations to play professional ice hockey , he nevertheless began practicing at local rinks at an early age, focusing on his talents as a left winger . As a teenager, he played at both the high school and college level. His brother, John Suomi,

Path and career

Later life Al's hardware store, in Countryside, Illinois . After the ArHL folded in 1940, Suomi began refereeing , but soon gave it up. He then worked as a welder and electrician and was not called to serve in World War II . He later founded "Al's Hardware", eventually to be run by his children, in Countryside, Illinois . [ 1 ] As of 2007, he was the last surviving member of the team. [ 2 ] Following the death of Louis Holmes in March 2010, he became the oldest living former NHL player, [

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1931–32 Eveleth-Gilbert High School HS-MN — — — — — — — — — — 1934–35 Chicago Baby Ruth USAHA — — — — — 2 2 0 2 — 1935–36 Detroit Tool Shop MOHL 17 8 5 13 6 4 0 1 1 0 1936–37 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1936–37 Detroit Pontiacs MOHL 20 2 0 2 14 — — — — — NHL totals 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — —

Why this date

Al Suomi appears on our September 23 calendar for 2014 as a death entry.