Oatman played with clubs that won five league championships, and he was a successful coach and captain of five different hockey teams.

Born and raised in Springford, Ontario, Eddie Oatman began playing organized hockey at age ten and continued for the next eight years in youth leagues in his hometown.

[1] He died on November 11, 1973, and was interred at the Springford Cemetery, Oxford County, Ontario, where he is buried next to his brother Russell.

The next year he played with the Simcoe Intermediate OHA and, in 1909, he turned professional with the Cleveland, Ohio, club of the International League.

The next season, he played on a line with Joe Malone and Jack McDonald for Waterloo of the Ontario Professional Hockey League.

[3] With Portland's near victory over Montreal, expectations grew for their chances in the 1916–1917 season, but these hopes ended when Oatman enlisted in the Canadian armed forces as part of the 228th Battalion.

When the Rosebuds suspended operations, Oatman joined the Victoria Aristocrats as their captain and remained with the team for the next five years.

As result of another player's injury, he saw action with the Vancouver Millionaires when they lost the Stanley Cup to the Toronto St. Pats in 1922.

[4] He helped the team win the Western Canada Hockey League title, but were denied a Stanley Cup championship when they again lost to the Montreal Canadiens.

"[6] Oatman claimed that he was first taken aback by the speed of his teammates when he first joined the Quebec Bulldogs, and that he realized that he had to improve his skating to keep up with the professional game.