They Called Him Babe: Part Two

A look at Hall of Fame defender Babe Pratt, who hailed from Stony Mountain, Manitoba.

Here is part two of the two-part story on Babe Pratt! Enjoy!

Pratt became an instant star at Maple Leaf Gardens. He brought with him his larger than life personality, but cooled down on his off-ice antics during the season as he roomed with none-other than coach Hap Day. Pratt's probably the only player in NHL history to have had his coach as a roommate while on the road. He later recalled how he often took ribbings from players around the league that he was under his coaches thumb, but to Babe, he simply thought that Hap was a lonely person and wanted to keep him company.

Babe won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1944 after scoring 57 points in 50 games, which was practically unheard of for a defensemen in those days. The pinnacle of his career came in the 1944-45 season when Pratt won his second Stanley Cup. He scored the game winning goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals, so you can see why he lists that as his greatest thrill in the sport.

Pratt recalls game seven of the 1945 Stanley Cup finals: "It was in Detroit and whenever we played there we usually left for the rink at about 7:30 pm. I was rooming with Hap Day as usual and was snoring away when Hap came in and kicked me right out of bed. I woke up on the floor, looked up, and said, 'What the hell's with you, Hap?'
'How can you sleep when the final Cup game is going to start in less than an hour,' he demanded. 'How can you do it?'

'Well, Hap," I said, 'it's simply because the game doesn't start until 8:30. That's when I'll go to work.'