Moe Roberts' unlikely path made oldest goalie in NHL history

Now you see him; now you don't.

That sums up the remarkable NHL goalkeeping career of Maurice "Moe" Roberts. It spanned 26 years from 1925 to 1951, but only one in a row.

Incredible as it may seem, "Hold 'Em Moe's" NHL curtain-dropper accidentally concluded just short of his 46th birthday.

That earned Roberts the distinction of being the youngest and oldest big-league puck-stopper in his time. Or, to put it another way, from the Boston Bruins (1925) to the New York Americans (1931-32 and 1933-34) to the Chicago Black Hawks (1951, over and out).

But how could this happen to an athlete who appeared -- by goalie standards -- too short, too heavy (5-foot-9, 165 pounds) and too NHL-inexperienced. And besides, who ever heard of a netminder who graduated from Somerville High in Massachusetts to the NHL? Or, for that matter, from Moe's amateur team, the Boston Athletic Association Unicorns, to "The Show?"

Boston Globe hockey writer and Bruins historian Herb Ralby once explained to me that Moe was one-of-a-kind.

"Roberts was well-known on the Boston high school and club level," he said. "(Coach/general manager) Art Ross knew all about him and that Moe went to the Bruins games."

Sure enough, when the Bruins played the Montreal Maroons on Dec. 8, 1925, Ross' regular Beantown goalie, Charles "Doc" Stewart -- a certified dentist -- went down with a serious injury. Since NHL clubs were not required to carry backup goalies, Ross did the next best thing. He signed Moe to a Bruins contract.

It was a gamble, to be sure, but what the heck?

"He backstopped the Bruins to victory, and earned himself a start three nights later," wrote historian Mike Commito in "Hockey 365: Daily Stories from the Ice."

Just short of his 20th birthday, Moe allowed five goals in two games over 85 minutes and was 1-1-0 with a 3.53 goals-against average. Not too bad, but not good enough to stay in The Show.

"Because Roberts played for the Bruins under these emergency circumstances, he lost his amateur status, and was unable to return his amateur team," wrote Greatest Hockey Legends.com.

Now Roberts' pro career would begin in earnest.

The Canadian-American Hockey League and International Hockey League offered several opportunities and Moe grabbed them, playing for teams in Rochester, New York (IHL); New Haven, Connecticut (CAHL); Philadelphia (CAHL), Cleveland (IHL) and Syracuse (IHL).

There was a glimmer of hope during the 1931-32 season, when the Americans' future Hockey Hall of Fame goalie Roy "Shrimp" Worters was briefly sidelined March 10, 1932. Coach Red Dutton gave Moe a trial against the archrival New York Rangers. He defeated them 5-1 at Madison Square Garden.

"He played extremely well," according to Greatest Hockey Legends.

Unfortunately for Roberts, the Amerks were less than a powerhouse in the 1933-34 season (15-23-10). His six-game audition was a flop (1-4-0, 4.46 GAA).

Undaunted, Moe returned to the minors and played some of the best hockey of his life for a few teams but especially Cleveland of the International American Hockey League. In 1938-39, he led it to the league title. Among Moe's eye-grabbers were four playoff shutouts in nine games.

A year later he had five playoff shutouts and a 2.44 GAA.

"By 1941," said Jim Hendy, publisher and editor of the annual Hockey Guide, "Moe was at his peak but the war was on, and Moe enlisted in the U.S. Navy. That seemed to be the end of his hockey career."

Roberts became a ship's cook, served through the conflict, and was discharged at World War II's end in 1945.

"I never expected to play in the NHL again," Moe remembered. "I was too old for anything like the NHL, but I still felt the urge to stop pucks, so I signed on with the Washington Lions in the old Eastern League and gave it a try."

That was the 1945-46 season, when Madison Square Garden featured Sunday afternoon doubleheaders. First a Met League affair and then the New York Rovers hosted an EAHL team. On this particular Sunday, the green-uniformed Lions skated on to the ice led by a smallish goalie who looked a bit out of place. I was sitting in the end balcony.

He was smaller than any goaltender I had ever seen and a bit on the chubby side. I looked on my program and learned that he was Moe Roberts and not much more about him. Suffice to say that he was good and the game great. It was 1-0 Washington heading into the third period. Moe had been flawless but there was 20 minutes remaining.

With about 4-5 minutes left, Rovers forward Ian MacIntosh got as clean a breakaway as I've ever seen. He was one of the club's best shooters and, frankly, I couldn't imagine how Roberts would stop him. It was a cobra vs. mongoose battle. The best.

From 15 feet out, "Mac" shot and -- unreal -- Moe once again was the agile teenager from Somerville High. He did a perfect goalie split, punted the puck into the corner and it was a 1-0 Washington win with Moe at his most magnificent.

That was Roberts' last season of full-time goaltending. The Black Hawks hired him as an assistant trainer, and he'd put on the pads and then fooled around in goal for a half hour or so after the scrimmages.

But something unexpected happened on the night of Nov. 25, 1951, during a game between the Black Hawks and Detroit Red Wings. Windy City goalie Harry Lumley was injured, and Chicago needed someone in the crease.

There happened to be a 45-year-old geezer ready to step in and no introduction was necessary.

It didn't matter to Moe Roberts that he'd be assailed by "The Production Line" of Ted Lindsay, Sid Abel and Gordie Howe. "I'm ready," he told his teammates, "Just lemme see the puck."

A good 18 years after his last NHL game, Roberts entered with Chicago trailing 5-2. No matter. There was a game to finish and pucks to stop.

"He performed admirably," Commito concluded, "and turned away every shot he faced."

As the oldest goalie to play in NHL history, this Moe had earned the right to skate off with a carton of back pats and a knowing smile that said, "I still got the goods!"