This Day in Hockey History – October 23, 1925 – Fred “the Fog” Shero, Renaissance Man

Frederick Alexander Shero, was born on October 23, 1925, in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, to Russian immigrant parents, Alexander Shero and Emilia Folz.  Growing up in the North End of Winnipeg, he took up boxing at age thirteen and held the Bantamweight boxing championship.   At seventeen years of age he was signed by the New York Rangers.  Although his father signed his contract, Fred was warned by his father that “hockey players were looking for work when they are age 30”.  He spent his time in the minors between the New York Rovers and the Brooklyn Crescents in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League.  During World War II, Shero served in the Royal Canadian Navy and played for the Winnipeg Navy HMCS Chippawa senior hockey team. 

Upon his return from service, Shero rejoined the Rangers and played in the minor league for two years, before getting called up to the NHL.  He made his NHL debut on October 16, 1947, the 1947-48 season opener at the Montreal Forum, against the Stanley Cup Champions, the Montreal Canadiens.  Shero divided his time that season, between the St. Paul Saints of the United States Hockey League and the New York Rangers.  It was during his time with the Saints, that Shero would earn his nickname “The Fog.” Many accredited the nickname to his eccentricity and how he appeared to always be lost in fog of thought.  Another theory is the nickname came about when one night in 1948, when the fog was so thick in the arena in St. Paul Minnesota, due to the high humidity, Shero was the only player who claimed to be able to see the puck.

Shero became a regular with the Rangers during the 1948-49 season, which included post-season action. The following year had career highs of 67 games played and with assists (8) and points (10).  The Rangers qualified for post season play, taking the fourth position and made it to the Stanley Cup Final, facing and upsetting the Montreal Canadiens in the first round.  The Rangers played the Detroit Red Wings in the finals but lost the seventh game to them in double overtime on April 23, 1950.  This was the last NHL game Shero played. 

Shero was traded to the American Hockey League (AHL) Cleveland Barons on May 14, 1951.   The Barons won the Calder Cup in 1953-1954 and Shero was named a Second Team All-Star for the AHL, in 1954.  He then moved to the Western Hockey League, with the Winnipeg Warriors for the 1955-56 season.  During his first season, the Warriors won the WHL championship with Shero as captain.  He stayed with the Warriors for one more season before moving to the Quebec Hockey League (QHL), playing for the Shawinigan Cataractes in 1957.  It was during the 1957-58 season with the Cataractes, that Shero began coaching, serving as player/coach he helped them win the QHL championship.  Shero retired from play in 1958.

Shero coached in the minor league for thirteen years.  A winning coach, he earned six first place wins, five second and two thirds in several leagues. Including leading his former team the Saints to the International (IHL) Championship, and the Turner Cup in 1960 and 1961.  In 1970 he led the Buffalo Barons to win the Calder Cup in the AHL.  That same year he was honored with the Louis A.R. Pieri Memorial Award, as AHL coach of the year. 

In 1971, Ed Snider brought in Shero as coach of the Philadelphia Flyers. In his first season, 1971-72, as coach, the Flyers finished in a disappointing 5th place, having missed the playoffs for the second time in three years.  The 1972-73 season, Shero had two firsts for a coach.  The first was incorporating the systems he had used in the minor leagues up at the NHL level and the second was hiring the first full-time assistant coach in the league, Mike Nykoluk.  Shero with the help of Nykoluk, saw the Flyers franchise have their first winning season. In 1973-74 the Flyers won the Stanley Cup and Shera was named coach of the year and presented with the Jack Adams Trophy.  The Flyers won the Cup again in the 1974-75 season and almost repeated as Cup winner in 1975-76 but lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

 One of Shero’s proudest moments occurred on January 11, 1976, when the Flyers defeated CSKA Moscow 4-1, at the Philadelphia Spectrum.  Spero traveled twice to the then Soviet Union, to observe how their teams practiced and played.  He adjusted several of their practices to fit the NHL.   

“Yes, we are the world champions,” proclaimed Shero after the victory. “If they had won, they would have been the world champions. We beat a helluva machine. Ninety-nine per cent of the National Hockey League didn’t think we could do it.”

For his success with the Flyers, Sharo was rewarded by being name All-Star coach of the Campbell Conference, for the years 1975, 1976, 1977 and 1978.

In 1979, Shero went on to coach the New York Rangers, with the Rangers agreeing to give the Flyers  $100,000 and a first-round draft pick.  During his first season as coach, the team went to the Stanley Cup Final.  The Rangers lost the series four games to one, to the powerful Montreal team.  During his second season with Rangers they again made it to the playoffs, defeating the Atlanta Flames before facing the Flyers to whom they lost in round two.  Shera resigned from the Rangers in 1980. His final coaching position was for the Hebro Tilburg Trappers of Tilburg, The Netherlands for the 1987-88 season. In 1990, he returned to the Flyers as Community Relations Advisor. 

In hockey, Fred “the Fog” Shero will always be remembered for his pioneering coaching style and the ability to think outside the current norms. His legacy is firmly held in place with his 2013 induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category.  His other Hall of Fame inductions include: the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985, the Flyers Hall of Fame in 1990, the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1999, and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame in 2008. 

In his personal life he was something of a renaissance man, he played the violin, loved reading, was a fan of Charles Dickens and Shakespeare, and bragged he was the first New York Ranger member to hold a New York Public Library card.  At one point after the Flyers Cup win, he considered retiring from hockey to attend law school.  While he remained in coaching, he did take correspondences courses in law. 

Fred Shero died of cancer, November 24, 1990, aged 65, in Camden City, Camden New Jersey.  He was survived by his wife Marietta and two sons. 

Additional Sources:

• John M. McFarlane, Some Canadian Naval Ice Hockey Stars and Personalities, 2012 (Updated 2015), nauticapedia.ca.
• Winnipeg Navy H.M.C.S. Chippawa all-time player list, Hockeydb.com.
• Gerald Eskenazi, The New York Times, Rangers Obtain Shero as Coach, June 2, 1978, section A, p. 15.
• “Fred Sharo quits Rangers,” Reno Evening Gazette, Saturday, November 22, 1980, p. 2B.
• Honoured members Database, Fred Shero, Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame.
• Legends of Hockey, Fred Shero, HHOF.com.
• Joe Juliano and Gary Miles, “Cancer beats Fred Shero,” Daily Advocate Stamford Connecticut, November 25, 1990, p. 25.
• Ralph Bernstein, Flyers outmuscle Soviet Army 4-1,” The Morning Call, Monday, January 12, 1976, p. 22.