Samuel “Porky” Levine, played in five different hockey leagues over the course of his career as a goalie…like many, his hockey journey stated in the OHA
By – David McPherson
Cambridge, ON – With a handle like Porky, it’s expected that you are a local legend.
Samuel “Porky” Levine, played in five different hockey leagues over the course of his career as a goalie. The nickname arrived — not from hockey, but from baseball — when Levine was growing up in Northern Ontario. The story goes that his local team was treated to a family-style dinner with the main course being roast pork. Levine declined this dish and from that day forward he became known as Porky Levine.
Born May 15, 1908, in Russia, Levine emigrated with his family to Canada at a young age, settling first in Timmins and later in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. At a time when many athletes preferred to stay private about their religious beliefs, Porky was open about his faith and often spoke about his Jewish heritage in interviews.
Before turning professional, the 5’ 8”, 185-pound Levine played for the Ontario-based South Porcupine Seniors and the North Bay Trappers. A journeyman, Porky made an impact wherever he played. Beginning with the Detroit Olympics, a minor league pro team that played in the Canadian Professional Hockey League and International Hockey League, in the 1927-28 season and ending with the Lake Washington Shipyards in 1942.
In between, Porky played net for many other squads, including the Windsor Bulldogs, the Kansas City Pla-Mors and the Tulsa Oilers. During a stint in the 1928-29 season, when he played for the Seattle Eskimos — on loan from the Detroit Olympics — he stopped the Eskimos’ losing streak, winning his first two games with shutouts, and became a local fan favourite.
Later, Levine won two Harry F. Sinclair Trophy championships as American Hockey Association/AHA winners (1933 and 1934) with the Kansas City Pla-Mors/Kansas City Greyhounds.
Photo courtesy of Minneapolis Star and Tribune Photographs (M/A 0359)
According to this feature, Levine was one of the first in the west “to bring an ‘eastern style’ of goaltending — characterized by freezing the puck by catching it and falling on it when the opposing team was threatening or when a goalie felt his team needed a faceoff.” Before this became a common practice adopted by all goaltenders, these tactics by Porky caused near riots to erupt in the Pacific Coast Hockey League.
Off the ice, Levine always had his hand in another business. While living in Windsor, he ran a local gas station. After retiring from hockey, Porky spent almost a decade in Vancouver, working in the hotel industry. He also lived for a while in the 1950s in the Yukon where he opened Porky’s Men’s Wear, before returning to his family in Kirkland Lake. In retirement, he still stayed active and involved in sports locally – serving as the president of the Porcupine Old Timers hockey club and chairman of the Associated Canadian Traveller’s Hockey Committee that honored the hometown 1939-40 Allan Cup Champions.
Levine passed away suddenly on April 1, 1970. Porky is remembered in his hometown of Kirkland Lake, along with 40 other local legends that went on to careers in the National Hockey League, with this monument.
About the Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) was founded on November 27, 1890, and is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior hockey in the Province of Ontario. It is comprised of three Junior hockey leagues and two Senior hockey leagues: Junior A – Ontario Junior Hockey League; Junior B – Greater Ontario Hockey League; Junior C – Provincial Junior Hockey League, Senior –Allan Cup Hockey (AAA) and Ontario Elite Hockey League (AA). For the 2025-2026 season, these five leagues encompass 132 teams. 3100 players, and about 6,000 games each hockey season. The majority of our players are 16 to 21 years of age.
The objectives of the OHA are to foster and encourage the sport of amateur hockey, to conduct competition in the various categories established, to determine teams for entry into the inter-branch competitions that may be provided by Hockey Canada, and to provide for the affiliation of other hockey organizations.
The OHA provides administrative resources, coordinates programs, services and events for hockey participants and provides support to various Development Programs for coaches, officials, trainers and players, Safety and Risk Management Issues and offers resources for Harassment and Abuse education.
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For more information or to set up an interview, please contact:
Chris McCleary
General Manager, Operations & Marketing
Ontario Hockey Association
