Bill Cowley ✝

After a few seasons of senior league play in Ottawa and Halifax, Cowley broke in as a rookie with the St. Louis Eagles in 1934–35. After the season, the franchise was terminated and Art Ross, the general manager of the Bruins, selected him in the subsequent dispersal draft.\n', ' In Boston he would become a star, leading the league in assists in 1939 (despite missing twelve games with injuries), 1941 and 1943, and helping to lead the Bruins to two Stanley Cups in 1939 and 1941. While World War II ravaged the Bruins\' powerful roster thereafter—Boston would not win another Cup during his career—Cowley was the team\'s sole remaining star. Frequently injured, he was on track to shatter the league record for scoring in 1944 when another injury ended his season two points short.\n', ' Cowley finished his career with 195 goals and 353 assists for 548 points in 549 NHL games. On April 5, 1947, at the Bruins annual breakup party, Cowley unexpectedly announced he was leaving hockey because general manager Art Ross had chosen to leave him off of the roster for a post-season exhibition tour of western Canada and the United States. Cowley\'s wife was from Vancouver and he wanted to use the trip as a honeymoon. At the time of his retirement, he was the NHL\'s all-time leading point scorer, and the last active player from the St. Louis Eagles roster.\n', '