Earl Johnson/Johansson Passes Away

I just learned former Detroit Red Wings player Earl Johansson passed away on February 7th, 2015. He was 83.

Johansson played under the name Johnson, as he Americanized his Swedish name back then. Later in life he returned to the proper name.

That is just one of many things I learned about Earl Johansson's life thanks to Tom Hawthorn's excellent website Benched - A Final Farewell To Canada's Athletes.

Things like Johansson had his named inscribed on the Stanley Cup, only to have it later removed:

Earl Johnson was a rare player to have his name removed from the Stanley Cup.

Earl Johnson The left winger played a single game for the Detroit Red Wings in 1953-54, yet had his name engraved on the storied trophy after Detroit went on to win the NHL championship. Three years later, when the Cup was redesigned, a new engraving for the 1954 Red Wings excluded his name.

That lone game for Detroit was Johnson’s only NHL action. He did not appear on the score sheet.

Here is Tom Hawthorn's full obituary.