Babe Dye - Playing Career

Playing Career

Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Dye moved to Toronto when he was one year old, following the death of his father. He played junior hockey from 1916 to 1918 for the Toronto Aura Lee and Toronto De La Salle of the Ontario Hockey Association. As a senior, he played for the amateur Toronto St. Patricks in 1918–19, and then turned professional with the Toronto St. Patricks NHL team in 1919. A slow skater, Dye was known for his hard and accurate shot. He played with the St. Pats for eight seasons, leading the league in goals scored in the 1920–21, 1922–23, and 1924–25 seasons, winning the Art Ross Trophy as top scorer in 1923 and 1925, and finishing second in goals scored in 1921–22 and 1923–24. He led the St. Patricks to Stanley Cup championship in 1922, scoring nine goals in the five-game final series. His 38 goals in the 30-game 1924–25 season set a St. Pats/Maple Leafs franchise record that stood for 35 years until broken by Frank Mahovlich in the 70-game 1960–61 season. Over his first six seasons in the NHL, Dye scored 176 goals in 170 games.

Dye was loaned to the Hamilton Tigers for that team's NHL debut in the first game of the 1920–21 season. Dye scored two goals in the game and then returned to the St. Pats for the rest of the season.

Dye was also a professional baseball player, beginning his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the International League in 1920. He was sent to Brantford of the Class B Michigan-Ontario League, popularly known as the Mint League. The Boston Red Sox held an option on Dye but chose not to exercise it. In September 1921, the Brantford Baseball Club announced that it had sold Dye to the Buffalo Bisons of the IL for the highest price ever paid for a Brantford player. He had a strong season with the Bisons in 1923, and was then considered a top prospect for the major leagues. In September 1923, Dye announced that he was retiring from hockey to focus on baseball, but when hockey season started he re-signed with the St. Pats. After hockey season, he rejoined the Bisons for training camp in March 1924. "Dye is surely a nifty baseball player, a good hitter, reliable outfielder, and speedy on the base paths," reported The Sporting News in August 1924. Dye again played for the Bisons in 1925, and was sold to the baseball Leafs after the end of the season. He was released by Toronto in July 1926 and signed by the Baltimore Orioles of the International League, where he finished his baseball career that year.

Before the 1926–27 season, the Toronto St. Pats sold Dye to the Chicago Black Hawks, a new NHL franchise. Dye had an outstanding season in Chicago, again leading the league in goals scored on the NHL's highest-scoring team, playing on a line with fellow Hamilton-born player Dick Irvin, who led the league in assists. Unfortunately, both players would soon suffer serious injuries that curtailed their playing careers. At training camp before the next season, Dye's leg was broken and he was never the same player again. He went scoreless for the Black Hawks in 10 games in the 1927–28 season and was then sold to the New York Americans. Over 42 games in 1928–29, Dye had just one goal for the Americans. In November 1929, he was traded to the minor league New Haven Eagles of the Canadian-American Hockey League. In February 1930, he was signed as a free agent by his former team in Toronto, which had been renamed the Maple Leafs. Dye played six games with the club in the 1930–31 season before being released. Over his final 58 games in the NHL after his injury in 1927, Dye had scored just one goal.