The story of goalie masks: Queen's goalie was a trailblazer

It’s well-known that Jacques Plante was the first NHL goaltender to regularly wear a mask after he first donned one on for a game in 1959.  

However, who was the first goalie to use face protection? That’s where the story gets murky. Hockey historians are puzzling about whether a Kingston Frontenacs netminder put on a mask for a game in 1899. We’ll get to that question in a moment, but first let’s highlight another Kingston goalie – Elizabeth Graham of Queen’s, who played in 1927.

Credit to the women here. For men, the idea of putting on a mask was often to protect the face from further harm after a broken nose or other injury. The women were more sensible and pro-active – they just didn’t want to get wacked in the face by a flying puck or errant stick.

Corinne Hardman of the Montreal Western Ladies Hockey Club may have worn a mask in 1916. A decade later in Kingston, Miss Graham, a goaltender with the Queen’s women’s team, sported a fencing mask in a game.

At the time, the innovation didn’t cause much of a stir. The Kingston Whig-Standard reported on the Feb. 7, 1927 match that Graham was in goal in a 3-2 victory over the University of Toronto at Jock Harty Arena.

However, the newspaper only acknowledged the mask in a sidebar of sports notes – overshadowed by a huge ad for Old Chum tobacco.

“The Queen’s goalie gave the fans a surprise when she stepped into the nets and then donned a fencing mask,” the Whig reported. “It was safety first with her and even at that she can’t be blamed for her precautionary methods.”

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of Graham sporting face gear. And the mask itself? It’s lost to history.

Since that time, there have been reports that she wore the mask to protect recent dental work. Nonsense, says her daughter, Anne Bell. She told the Original Hockey Hall of Fame over the phone that her mother sported the mask because it was just common sense.

“She thought all of the publicity around the mask was a bunch of hype,” says Bell. “For her, protecting your face was the smart thing to do.”

“Elizabeth Graham is recognized as a pioneer in the use of a mask by a goalie," says Craig Campbell of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. 

Did a Frontenacs goalie wear a mask in 1899?

Hockey historian Eric Zweig has been researching the question of who was the first mask wearer. One of the earliest references is a Kingston Times newspaper story from January 23, 1899. It stated that Kingston Frontenacs goalie Edgar Hiscock had broken his nose and would wear a baseball mask in the upcoming games.

The problem? There is no evidence that Hiscock did in fact put on a mask in a match.

The Kingston Frontenacs went on to win the OHA Intermediate Championship on March 6, 1899, by defeating Guelph 5-2. However, no one knows whether Hiscock was masked.

Just a few days later, on March 17, 1899, there’s evidence of the first confirmed use of a mask by a goalie – at least that anyone has found so far. That goaltender was Ev Marshall of Calgary who played for a team called the Press.

Again, for the men it wasn’t a question of safety first. It was due to an injury – one that left Marshall with only one eye. By wearing a mask, Marshall could protect his good eye and avoid the risk of being blinded completely.

The previous season, in 1898, Marshall had been playing defence when he took a stick to the face and lost his left eye. Despite the injury and only being able to see with one eye, he continued to referee games during the winter of 1899, historian Zweig says.

“Insert your own referee joke here,” says Zweig in an article outlining his findings.

Marshall’s use of a mask has been confirmed by a Calgary Herald story published on March, 17, 1899. It stated: “Ev Marshall made his first appearance on the ice this season, playing goal for the Press, with his face behind a baseball mask.”

So, there you have it. The earliest confirmed reference to a goalie wearing a mask – at least that hockey historians have found so far.

Clint Benedict was first NHL goalie - but 'it proved to be a problem'

In 1930, Clint Benedict was the first NHL goalie to wear a mask during a game. This was a huge shift, with previous mask-wearing netminders being amateurs. He wore a mask for five NHL games with the Montreal Maroons, the initial one being on Feb. 20, 1930 against the New York Americans.

Again, it was a nose injury that prompted the decision. Unfortunately, the design of the mask didn’t offer much protection and made it hard to see the puck.

“It was leather with a big nosepiece,” said Benedict. “The nosepiece proved to be the problem, because it obscured my vision.”

Then on Nov. 1, 1959, Jacques Plante started in goal – without a mask - for the Canadiens against the New York Rangers. However, after being hit in the face by a puck in the first period, he emerged after the intermission with a mask on. He wore one ever since.

However, it would be a long time before face protection would be common. Some people derided Plante’s decision. “Anyone who wears one is chicken,” said fellow goalie Gump Worsley. “My face is my mask.” Even Worsley would eventually relent and started sporting a mask in the 1973-74 season.

Gerry Cheevers played his first NHL game with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1961-62 season. However, it would not be until 1967 that the famous Boston Bruins goalie would don a mask regularly.

The Cheevers mask was like a giant billboard advertising the benefits of face protection. Each time he was hit in the face mask by a puck, he would take a marker and add stitch markings to the mask to show the stitches he would have had without protection. Soon, his mask was covered in a huge number of stitch markings. 

By 1974, every goalie in the NHL was wearing a mask. Andy Brown of the Pittsburgh Penguins was the final holdout.

From the early use of a fencing or baseball mask, face protection has come a long way. As the Kingston Times wrote in 1899: “This is a new idea, and one which, perhaps, will create some amusement among the spectators at first, but yet there is not the least doubt of it being carried into effect, as something should be worn by goalkeepers to protect the head from the swift shots of some hockey players.”

It would take several decades but hockey finally got there.  

Photo of Elizabeth Graham of Queen's is courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.