John McGrath (ice hockey)


John William McGrath was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player and private secretary and advisor to former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt between 1912–1916.

Biography

John McGrath was born on March 10, 1891 in St. John's, Newfoundland to James Francis McGrath, a fisherman and political figure in Newfoundland, and Catherine McCarthy. He went to Saint Bonaventure's College in St. John's and later to Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. While in Halifax McGrath played with the Halifax Crescents of the Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League, between 1908–1911.
For the 1911–12 ice hockey season McGrath moved to New York City and found a place on the New York Wanderers in the American Amateur Hockey League. McGrath led the AAHL with 18 goals during the season but the Wanderers lost the championship title to the Brooklyn Crescents in a playoff game. McGrath was a diminutive player, standing only 5 feet and 2 inches, but he had a rough and tumble playing style and a hard shot that helped him score many goals.
While in New York City McGrath's proficiency as a stenographer led him to a private secretarial position with former President of the United States Theodore Roosevelt. He worked as a secretary and advisor for Roosevelt for five years, between 1912–1916, and he was with him on his Presidential election campaign tour in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on October 14, 1912 when Roosevelt was shot in an assassination attempt by saloonkeeper John Flammang Schrank.
McGrath was expelled from the AAHL after the 1911–12 season, after a hold-up dispute towards the St. Nicholas Skating Rink management, and did not play during the 1912–13 season, but he was reinstated by the league prior to the 1913–14 season and played for the New York Irish-Americans in 1913–14, 1914–15 and 1916–17, again leading the league in goals in 1913–14.
McGrath later worked as a secretary for American politician and businessman George Walbridge Perkins, a friend of his former employer Theodore Roosevelt. Through Perkins he got involved in the fishing business and ran a fishing company in Boston.
He died in Newton Centre, Massachusetts on February 18, 1924, 32 years old, after a brief period of illness. He was survived by his wife Florence Steinbach and six children.

Statistics

NSSHL = Nova Scotia Senior Hockey League, AAHL = American Amateur Hockey League
Statistics per Society for International Hockey Research at sihrhockey.org