Frank McGee “One-Eyed Frank"

How many athletes could lose the sight in one eye, become the most feared scorer of their generation, and then exchange the roar of a hockey crowd for the gunfire of the Western Front? Francis Clarence “One-Eyed Frank” McGee, born in Ottawa on 4 November 1882, lived a life that seems almost impossible. He became one of Canada’s first hockey superstars, set one of the most extraordinary records in Stanley Cup history, and later served as a lieutenant in the Canadian Expeditionary Force. His story is not simply about sporting greatness. It is about courage, determination and sacrifice.

McGee lost the sight in his left eye after being struck by a raised puck during a hockey game in March 1900. Many believed his competitive career was over, yet he returned to senior hockey in 1903 and joined the Ottawa Hockey Club, later celebrated as the Ottawa Silver Seven. Despite his limited vision, McGee developed into one of the most dangerous forwards of the pre-NHL era, helping Ottawa win three consecutive Stanley Cups. His defining performance came against the Dawson City Nuggets in January 1905, when he scored 14 goals in a 23 to 2 Stanley Cup victory. Eight of those goals came consecutively in just eight minutes and twenty seconds, creating one of the most remarkable scoring displays the sport has ever witnessed.

What made Frank McGee so difficult to stop? Contemporary accounts remembered his speed, strength, shooting ability and fierce determination. His damaged eyesight did not make him cautious. Instead, it became part of the legend surrounding “One-Eyed Frank.” His senior career lasted only a few seasons, but its impact was immense. After leaving competitive hockey at the age of 23, McGee continued his career as a federal civil servant, having worked in the Department of Indian Affairs and later the Department of the Interior. Hockey had made him famous, but the outbreak of the First World War would place him on a very different stage.

McGee had previously served with the 43rd Regiment, Duke of Cornwall’s Own Rifles, and attested for overseas service at Kingston on 9 November 1914. He was appointed a temporary lieutenant in the 21st Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force, and sailed for England with his unit in May 1915. After qualifying in machine-gun work at Shorncliffe, he proceeded to France with the battalion in September. In December 1915, a high-explosive shell struck near an armoured vehicle in which he was serving, throwing the vehicle into a ditch and injuring his right knee. Hospitalization and continuing medical problems kept him away from the front for several months, but he repeatedly sought to return to active service and rejoined the 21st Battalion in August 1916.

Only weeks later, McGee entered the fighting around Courcelette during the Somme offensive. The Battle of Flers-Courcelette began on 15 September 1916, with Canadian troops attacking German positions around the village. On 16 September, Lieutenant Francis Clarence McGee was reported killed in action at the age of 33. His body was not identified, leaving him with no known grave. His name is commemorated on the Canadian National Vimy Memorial in France, alongside thousands of Canadians who died in France and whose final resting places remain unknown.

Veterans Affairs Canada officially records McGee’s First World War medal entitlement as the 1914-15 Star, British War Medal and Victory Medal. These three awards recognized his overseas and operational service with the Canadian Expeditionary Force. No verified individual gallantry decoration or Mention in Despatches has been established from the official evidence presently available, so no additional decoration or ribbon device should be attributed to him without further documentary confirmation.

Frank McGee’s legacy continued long after his death. In 1945, he was selected as one of the first players inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, securing his place among the foundational figures of Canadian hockey. Few lives connect the early history of the Stanley Cup and the sacrifice of the First World War as powerfully as his. He was a record-setting scorer, a one-eyed sporting phenomenon, a Canadian officer and a casualty of the Somme. The question is not whether Frank McGee was a hockey hero or a wartime hero. It is how one remarkable life managed to become both.