Brian Smith

Brian Smith
Position	Left wing
Shot	Left
Height Weight	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) 170 lb (77 kg)
Teams	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens (EPHL) Springfield Indians (AHL) Los Angeles Kings (NHL) Phoenix Roadrunners (WHL) Memphis South Stars (CHL) Minnesota North Stars (NHL) Denver Spurs (WHL) SC Bern (Swiss NLA) Houston Aeros (WHA)
Nationality	Canadian
Born	September 6, 1940(1940-09-06), Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Died	August 2, 1995(1995-08-02) (aged 54), Ottawa, Ontario, CA
Pro Career	1960 – 1973

Brian Desmond (Smitty) Smith (September 6, 1940 – August 2, 1995) was a Canadian athlete and sportscaster. Smith was born in Ottawa, Ontario, the son of former professional ice hockey player Des Smith and brother of former professional hockey goaltender Gary Smith. Smith was a professional ice hockey player from 1960 to 1973. After his career, he was a broadcaster for CJOH-TV in Ottawa, until he was murdered in 1995.

Career

Brian played junior hockey for the Brockville Canadiens in 1959–60, making a Memorial Cup appearance in 1960. He began his professional ice hockey career with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of the EPHL from 1960 to 1963. He refused to report to the Springfield Indians in 1963 because he was wary of mistreatment by coach Eddie Shore. He played the 1963–64 season in Austria, under the assumed name Bobby Smith before joining the Indians, but only after being suspended by International Ice Hockey Federation President Bunny Ahearne for playing without his release. He played for the Indians from 1964 to 1967 and participated in the team's strike against Shore in 1966. Smith, along with teammate Bill White, got the then little-known Alan Eagleson to represent the players in the conflict, which eventually started Eagleson's career as an agent. The players refused to practice and ultimately Shore was forced to sell the team to Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke for $900,000.

Brian Smith scores his first career goal, October 22, 1967.

When the NHL expanded in 1967, he was one of the players transferred to the new Los Angeles Kings franchise when they purchased the Indians franchise and its contracts, and he was one of the original Kings' players, playing the 1967-68 season with the Kings. He became the first player to score an NHL goal against his brother, as Phil Esposito was to score against his brother Tony for the first time the next season.

In the following season, he played for the Phoenix Roadrunners of the Western Hockey League and the Memphis South Stars of the CHL. He then returned to the NHL with the Minnesota North Stars in 1968–69, and finished his career with the WHA Houston Aeros in 1972–73. He broke his jaw in an exhibition game and soon after his career ended.

In 1973, Smith joined Ottawa television station CJOH-TV as the station's 6 p.m. sports anchor, a position he held until his death. He also participated in charitable activities, and especially the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club.

Death

On August 1, 1995, Smith was shot in CJOH's parking lot, just minutes after the end of the station's 6 p.m. newscast. He was on his way to a charitable fund-raising event for the Children's Wish Foundation. He died about 18 hours later on August 2 in the Ottawa Civic Hospital. The gunman, Jeffrey Arenburg, was an escaped mental patient who had gone to CJOH because he thought the station was broadcasting messages in his head. Smith was not the intended target, but was the first broadcast personality that Arenburg saw and recognized coming out of the building.

'Smitty' patch

His death was a shock to the Ottawa sports community. The Ottawa Senators honoured Brian with a 'Smitty 18' patch on their jerseys, which they wore for the 1995–96 season and with a banner hanging in the rafters at Scotiabank Place. Flags flew at half-mast for a baseball game of the Ottawa Lynx, and a tribute was held at a game of the Ottawa Rough Riders, where players raised their helmets, while the crowd joined in a one-minute cheer.

Arenburg was found to be mentally deficient and was sentenced to a mental institution in 1997. He had previously been sentenced to a mental institution but had never reported. An inquest into Smith's killing recommended there should be more public protection and significant changes to the Mental Health Act of Ontario . The end result, Brian's Law, was passed on June 21, 2000 by the Ontario Legislature.

Smith's widow, Ottawa Citizen journalist Alana Kainz, established the Brian Smith Memorial Scholarship fund in Smith's memory, which provides tuition funds to attend college or university. It is administered by the Ottawa Boys and Girls Club. In 2001, the club renamed its summer camp from Camp Minwassin to Camp Smitty in Smith's honour. CJOH-TV established the Brian Smith Foundation to give disadvantaged children and young adults in the Ottawa region an opportunity to participate in athletics, recreation and education.

Career Statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1960-61	Montreal-H.O.	EPHL	3	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
1960-61	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL	—	—	—	—	—	5	1	0	1	0
1961-62	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL	59	16	15	31	35	8	4	3	7	2
1962-63	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL	72	24	34	58	40	3	0	0	0	0
1964–65	Springfield Indians	AHL	70	22	12	34	32	—	—	—	—	—
1965–66	Springfield Indians	AHL	69	20	18	38	15	6	0	2	2	4
1966–67	Springfield Indians	AHL	68	30	31	61	15	—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	58	10	9	19	33	7	0	0	0	0
1968–69	Phoenix Roadrunners	WHL	21	1	3	4	0	—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Memphis South Stars	CHL	21	5	7	12	11	—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Minnesota North Stars	NHL	9	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Denver Spurs	WHL	60	17	25	42	15	—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	SC Bern	Swiss NLA	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	SC Bern	Swiss NLA	—	—	—	—	—	--	--	--	--	--
1972–73	Houston Aeros	WHA	48	7	6	13	19	10	0	2	2	0
	WHA totals		48	7	6	13	19	10	0	2	2	0
	NHL totals		67	10	10	20	33	7	0	0	0	0

External Links

• Canadian Encyclopedia reprint of Maclean's magazine article on Smith's murder
• Brian Smith's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa