Busher Jackson

Ralph Harvey Jackson (January 17, 1911 – June 25, 1966) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.

Selke signed Jackson to a contract and assigned him to the Toronto Marlboros in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA)'s junior league for the 1927–28 season.

Jackson scored four goals in four regular season games that season, and though the Marlboros were considered a favourite to win the Memorial Cup, the team was defeated in the Eastern final by the Ottawa Gunners.

He returned to the team for the 1928–29 season, scoring 10 goals and 14 points in 9 regular season games.

He then led the OHA playoffs with seven goals and nine points as the Marlboros won the OHA championship.

Jackson played 15 National Hockey League (NHL) seasons between 1929 and 1944 for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Americans, and Boston Bruins.

He was a member of the Maple Leafs' famed Kid Line with Joe Primeau and Charlie Conacher, one of the early NHL's dominant scoring trios.

Jackson was a leading offensive player for Toronto in the 1929 Memorial Cup playdowns, scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 13 games.

The Marlboros reached the final, defeating the Elmwood Millionaires in a best-of-three series to win the franchise's first Memorial Cup championship.

Joining the Maple Leafs for the 1929–30 season, the 18-year-old Jackson was the youngest player in the National Hockey League (NHL).

In his league debut against the Montreal Canadiens, Jackson knocked over his idol Howie Morenz with a bodycheck.

Assessing the youngster's potential following the hit, Morenz offered, "you'll do."

Jackson appeared in 31 games for the Leafs, scoring 12 goals and adding 6 assists.

He missed some time due to injury, during which he earned his nickname from the team's trainer, Tim Daly.

According to Jackson: "Daly asked me to carry sticks for him. I told him I wasn't a stick boy, I was a hockey player. So he said I was nothing but a fresh busher [a term for someone who had just been called up from the minors] and the name stuck."

During his first season, Jackson was placed on a line with two other young players.

Charlie Conacher, a teammate of his with the Marlboros, played right wing and Joe Primeau was their centre.

The trio formed what became known as the "Kid Line," one of the early NHL's most famous scoring trios.

Primeau was the line's playmaker, whose passes set up both Conacher and Jackson's goal-scoring ability.

Following a 31-point season in 1930–31, Jackson led the NHL in scoring with 53 points in 1931–32.

Jackson led the league in scoring in 1931–32 and was a member of Toronto's 1932 Stanley Cup championship team.

He was named to five NHL All-Star teams and played in three benefit All-Star Games, including the Ace Bailey Benefit Game, the first All-Star contest in NHL history.

He added five goals in the 1932 playoffs, including one of Toronto's six in the deciding game of the 1932 Stanley Cup Finals, a 6–4 victory over the New York Rangers that clinched Toronto's first Stanley Cup championship since 1922.

The Kid Line remained Toronto's top offensive threat for several years; Jackson, Conacher and Primeau were the team's top three scorers for four consecutive seasons between 1932 and 1935.

Following his league-leading season, Jackson led Toronto offensively in 1932–33 with 44 points.

He was named to three additional All-Star teams during this time, placed on the second team in 1932–33 and on the first team in both 1933–34 and 1934–35.

On November 20, 1934, Jackson set an NHL record when he became the first player in NHL history to score four goals in a period, notching four markers in the third period of a 5–2 victory over the St. Louis Eagles.

Additionally, Jackson played in the Ace Bailey Benefit Game on February 14, 1934.

Held in support of injured teammate Ace Bailey, it was the first all-star game in NHL history.

Jackson scored two goals for the Maple Leafs in a 7–3 victory over the NHL All-Stars.

Off the ice, Jackson was well-known for his high-spending lifestyle and drinking habit that prompted his trade from Toronto to New York in 1939.

He was remembered as one of hockey's tragic figures following his retirement, as he struggled with alcoholism and financial difficulty.

In the 1960s, Jackson was a figure of controversy within the Hockey Hall of Fame selection committee, as the Hall used his lifestyle and personal problems to block his induction.

He finally earned a place in the Hall of Fame in 1971, five years after his death.

Jackson is also an honoured member of Canada's Sports Hall of Fame, which he was inducted into in 1975.

He was the brother of fellow NHL player Art Jackson.

Jackson grew up in Toronto, playing his youth hockey at "Poverty Pond" in the city's east side before playing at the Ravina Rink where he was discovered by Frank Selke, the assistant general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.

At 21 years, 3 months old, he became the youngest scoring champion in NHL history, a record he would hold until 1980–81, when it was broken by Wayne Gretzky.

Jackson's 28 goals that season was the most he would score in his career, and he was named to the NHL's First All-Star team for the first time of his career.

The record has not been surpassed through 2019, though eleven players have matched it.