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Harry Howell (ice hockey)

Canadian ice hockey player (1932–2019)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
People and ideasInterpretive dossier study · Crown Archives visual atlas
Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 27, 2026
Entity authorityQ356291 ↗
Source-derived summary

Henry Vernon Howell (December 28, 1932 – March 9, 2019) was a Canadian professional hockey player who was a defenceman for 21 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, California Golden Seals, and Los Angeles Kings. He also played three seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the New York Golden Blades / Jersey Knights, San Diego Mariners, and Calgary Cowboys.

A defensive stalwart and star for the Rangers for a franchise record 1,160 games, Howell won the James Norris Memorial Trophy for his play in 1967 and was named to the NHL All-Star Game seven times. Nicknamed "Harry the Horse", Howell departed the NHL for the WHA in 1973 and briefly held the record for most games played for his position. He served as player-coach for the New York Golden Blades (who subsequently relocated to Jersey and San Diego) from 1973 to 1975. He played one further season with Calgary before retiring in 1976, having played over 1,500 combined games in hockey.

After his playing career, Howell worked as general manager of the Cleveland Barons in the NHL during the 1977–78 season and coached the opening eleven games of the following year with the Minnesota North Stars. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979. He later served as a scout for the North Stars and Edmonton Oilers.

Early life

Howell was born in Hamilton, Ontario for a father who served as a furrier; Howell played hockey with the Hamilton Police Minor League as a youth.

Editorial summary

Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Harry Howell (ice hockey)” is canadian ice hockey player (1932–2019). The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Harry, Howell and hockey, not as a finished interpretation.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1932, 2019, 1967, 1973—that can be checked directly. The linked authority record independently contributes the date 1932-12-28. For this dossier, Harry, Howell and hockey is the immediate research focus.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The phrase “canadian ice hockey player (1932–2019)” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.

Evidence profile

Biographical claims are most persuasive when dates, appointments and relationships can be traced to records created close to the events described. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 27, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q356291. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1932, 2019, 1967 and 1973.

Critical limits

Public reputation and documentary evidence do not always develop together; absence from a summary is not evidence of historical absence. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Harry Howell (ice hockey)”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Harry Howell (ice hockey) primary sources, Harry Howell (ice hockey) archive and Harry research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Harry Howell (ice hockey)”?
  2. Which claims depend on a single source or contested interpretation?
  3. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
Subject index

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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from “Harry Howell (ice hockey)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.