Tom Howard joined the Winnipeg Victorias in 1890 and during the 1890–91 season the team played non-league games against the city-rival Winnipeg Hockey Club. He was one of the charter members of the Winnipeg Victorias alongside fellow players Jack Armytage, George "Whitey" Merritt, Fred Higginbotham and multi-athlete Jack McCulloch. He played nine seasons for the club, winning the Stanley Cup in 1896 and playing in a Stanley Cup challenge series in 1899. In 1899–1900, Howard moved to New York City with his wife and two sons and played four seasons with the New York Athletic Club. He played two seasons with the New York Wanderers and one game with the Brooklyn Skating Club in 1905–06 to end his career. He scored 105 goals in 100 games during his career.
Playing manager
During his last active season as a player, in 1905–06, Howard acted as a playing manager of the Brooklyn Skating Club. At the onset of the season Howard tried to acquire a group of Canadian players, mostly from Montreal, among them Frank "Pud" Glass of the Montreal Wanderers and Ernie "Moose" Johnson of the Montreal Hockey Club. The AAHLrules committee ruled the Canadian players ineligible to play with the American club on counts of professionalism, and the Brooklyn Skating Club ice hockey team ceased its operations two games into the seasons. After 1910, Howard joined A.G. Spalding & Co. of New York. He endorsed a hockey stick model and edited the Spalding Ice Hockey Guides. He also coached several different ice hockey teams, both in the AAHL and within the American intercollegiate ice hockey circuit.
Playing style
Howard played the predominant bulk of his ice hockey career as a right winger. He was a speedy skater prone to quick dashes down his side of the rink, and he also possessed a good and hard shot. During his time with the New York Wanderers in the AAHL he played on the cover point position.
"... Howard had coaxed back the form which has made him famous. His frequent journeys down the rink side were as brilliant as chain-lightning over a dark sky. He had the speed of a schoolboy and the cleverness of a master. His skating, criss-cross dribbling and shots which seemed to fairly leap for the net were beautiful to look upon."
Tom Howard had two sons, Tom Howard Jr. and Jack Howard, with his wife Kathleen Howard. Tom Jr. and Jack both played with the New York Hockey Club in the AAHL during the 1916–17 season. Kathleen Howard was a hockey player and manager herself and managed a girls team branch of the St. Nicholas Hockey Club. Jack Howard died in an automobile crash on December 21, 1919 at an age of 23. The car was driven by his older brother Tom. Tom Howard eventually moved to Los Angeles, where he died at the age of 74 in 1945.
