Eddie Gerard excelled in a variety of sports, notably baseball, cricket, canoeing, and football. Though he won a canoeing title at the age of 15 and played backfield with the Rough Riders from 1909 to 1913, hockey was his true calling. Born and raised in Ottawa, Gerard joined his hometown team, the Senators, in 1913. He played forward for the first four seasons but switched to defense when the Sens moved from the National Hockey Association to the National Hockey League in 1917. Combining strength, puckhandling skill, and gentlemanly conduct, Gerard was an impenetrable defenseman. Also a respected leader, he was named captain in 1920, just at the beginning of his team's glory years. Between 1920 and 1923, the Senators claimed three Stanley Cup victories in four seasons, earning them the title of the "Super Six." Although they lost the playoff spot to the Toronto St. Pats in 1922, Gerard still found himself in the Cup finals. After one of Toronto's players was injured, the Ottawa defenseman was the St. Pats choice as a replacement. In game four of the showdown against the Vancouver Millionaires, Gerard proved to be so instrumental in securing a victory for Toronto that Vancouver refused to allow him to play in game five. Following his retirement from the ice in 1924, Gerard turned his talents to coaching. In 1926, he stood behind the bench of the Montreal Maroons, leading them to their first Stanley Cup victory. He coached the New York Americans from 1930 to 1932, and returned to Montreal in 1933. Gerard went south of the border once again to direct the St. Louis Eagles in 1934 but illness forced him to retire halfway through the season. Gerard was named a charter member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945.