Personal Life
Born in Mitchell, Ontario to William Frederick Morenz and Rose Pauli, Howie Morenz had three sisters and two brothers. Morenz learned his hockey by playing shinny on the Thames River. At the age of eight, he played his first organized game as a goaltender, where he allowed 21 goals in a game. After that game, a coach switched Morenz to rover, a defensive position. Starting the 1916–17 junior season as a goaltender, Morenz became a forward when it became apparent his speed was much more suitable for an offensive role, and he helped the Mitchell ice hockey team win the Western Ontario junior championship. After the Morenz family moved to Stratford, a nearby community, in May 1917, Morenz tried enlisting in the Canadian military but was refused when recruiters learned he was only 15 years old.
At the age of 18, Morenz became an apprentice with the Canadian National Railways (CNR) factory in Stratford. When not playing hockey, Morenz bet avidly on horse races and played the ukelele. In 1926 he married Mary McKay; together, they had three children: Howie, Jr. in 1927, Donald in 1933, and Marlene in 1934. Marlene later married Bernie Geoffrion, who played for both the Canadiens and Rangers from 1950 to 1968. Their son, Morenz's grandson, Dan, played for the Canadiens in 1979-80. Dan's son, Blake, played with the University of Wisconsin and won the Hobey Baker Award as best collegiate player in 2010. Selected in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft by the Nashville Predators, he made his debut with the Predators in 2011, the first fourth-generation NHL player. Blake was traded to Montreal in 2012, meaning that all four generations of the Morenz-Geoffrion family have played within the Canadiens organization.
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