Joseph “Joe” Michael Shaughnessy, with a largely undeveloped talent for hockey, blended into Boston’s large Shaughnessy community. Joe lived and died near his birthplace in Revere, Massachusetts. He most likely attended Boston College High School. During his Junior year (1913/14), he was selected for the hockey team. For the Boston Globe, Boston College High hockey was in a second-tier league. As a result, they did not receive much coverage. Joe’s skill development lacked a significant public record. Furthermore, he probably dropped out before his Senior year (1914/15).

   Shaughnessy apprenticed as a mailer with the International Typographical Union (I.T.U.). He worked at the Boston Post. For the 1916/17, Shaughnessy played on the Boston Arena Hockey Club. With the Arenas, he helped them to a second-place finish having lost to the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) in the final playoff game. In December 1917, he tried out for the Arenas, again. World War I intervened. Then, he found himself on the First Naval District team.

   After the war, Joe returned to the mailrooms of the Post and then the Globe. He left hockey’s limelight. Although seen with the 1922/23 B.A.A. team, they probably kept him as a substitute. His real sports passion was baseball. He played short-stop for several seasons on the Boston Typos. The Boston Typos played in the Union Printers’ Baseball League, the longest running amateur league in the United States. In 1921, they won the championship. Beyond these few events, Shaughnessy largely kept out of the public attention.

     Despite a stale public life, his private life roared to life. He married Marie Sullivan prior to the war. As the Roaring-20s kicked off, Shaughnessy’s family also grew. Joseph Arthur and Marie were born. Later, they were followed by Rita and William. All seemed well until Arthur died in 1946. Still, this Shaughnessy clan can claim a mantle of honor.

   Discovering Joe Shaughnessy was more about discovering who he wasn’t. Even with the help of US Census data, it was challenging to unravel Joe from John, Ed, Frank, an insurance broker and the others. Obituaries seemed to blend Joe with Frank, who coached hockey in the 1920s. Publicly available family trees listed his last name as O’Shaughnessy. Differentiating them became a matter of one fact, Joe was born, raised, lived, and died in Revere, Massachusetts. Joe also remained true to his family and profession, a mailer. In his obituary, The Boston Globe noted Joe’s 37 years of service. In reality, Joe was probably closer to 45 years with I.T.U. Boston Mailers’ Local 16. When Marie died in 1976, they counted three children, nine grandchildren, and ten great grandchildren. I like to think that Joe probably never made himself out to be more than what he was.