Relatives of historic, Alberta-raised NHL player making Hockey Hall of Fame pitch

Tommy ‘Cowboy’ Anderson is one of only three players to win the NHL’s Hart Trophy as most valuable player who isn’t in the Hockey Hall of Fame. His family wants

An Alberta family is making their pitch to the Hockey Hall of Fame: induct their great-uncle Tommy “Cowboy” Anderson.

The Drumheller-raised Anderson won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in 1942 and then promptly enlisted in the Canadian Army to serve in the Second World War.

“It’s pretty wild to think winning NHL’s most valuable player and then deciding, after winning it, that you were going to enlist in the military,” Robbie Thomlinson, Anderson’s great-nephew, told CTV News.

-The information you need to know, sent directly to you: Download the CTV News App

With the Brooklyn Americans, Anderson was the first defenseman to lead the NHL in points.

“Back then I don’t think defensemen came past the centre red line much. So, he was almost the first rushing defenseman,” Thomlinson said.

He also came by his nickname honestly, winning a bronc riding title at the Calgary Stampede.

“His mother didn’t know he was competing in the Calgary Stampede. She wouldn’t have approved. So, his friends all got together to pay the entry fee so he could compete, and he won,” said Tina Nelson, Anderson’s great-niece.

-Watch the full interview in the video player above

Nelson and Thomlinson are working with Atomic 10 Films on a documentary on Anderson.