Butch Arbour

Amos Arbour came by his nickname obviously enough. "Butch" was a butcher by trade. He woud enjoy a career as meat man before and long after playing in the National Hockey League.

Born in Victoria Harbour, Ontario way back in 1895, Arbour first arrived on the big league hockey scene back in 1915 when he joined the Montreal Canadiens. This was back when there was no such thing as the NHL. Instead, the Canadiens were part of the NHA - National Hockey Association - the forerunner to the NHL.

Butch, a 5'8" 160lb left winger, played 20 games with the Habs that season, scoring 5 goals. He seemed to be hitting his stride with linemates Goldie Prodgers and Louis Berlinquette when World War I interrupted his career. Even though his commitments to the Canadian military prevented him from playing with the Habs, he continued playing in the NHA while stationed in southern Ontario. Arbour scored an impressive 13 goals in 10 games with the Toronto 228th Battalion entry in the league.

There is no statistical evidence to suggest Arbour played at all during the 1917-18 season, possibly because he was in Europe fighting in the war. He eventually resurfaced, playing a single game of the 1918-19 season back with the Habs now of the NHL.

Arbour's best big league season came in 1919-20 when he scored 21 goals in 22 games with the Habs. He would play another season in Montreal before being traded with Cully Wilson and Harry Mummery to Hamilton for the infamous Sprague Cleghorn. Arbour played two seasons in Hamilton and a final season with the Toronto St. Pats in 1923-24 before retiring and returning to his meat counter.