Toe Blake

Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Nickname(s)	Toe
Height Weight	ft  in ( m) 162 lb (74 kg)
Pro Clubs	Montreal Canadiens Montreal Maroons
Nationality	Canada
Born	August 21 1912(1912--), Victoria Mines, Ontario
Died	May 17 1995 (aged 82), Montreal, Quebec
Pro Career	1934 – 1948
Hall of Fame, 1966

Hector "Toe" Blake, CM (August 21, 1912 - May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).^[1]

Nickname

His nickname came out of his childhood for his sister was unable to pronounce his name. When she said it, it often sounded like Hec-toe, hence Toe as his nickname which later replaced the nickname he had been given as a scorer, the Old Lamplighter, because he often activated the light behind the goal.^[1]

Biography

Born in what is now the ghost town of Victoria Mines, Ontario, he was raised playing outdoor hockey in the town of Coniston, Ontario near the city of Sudbury in Northern Ontario. Blake played junior and senior hockey in the Sudbury area and was part of the 1932 Memorial Cup champions, the Sudbury Cub Wolves. He played for the Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Hockey Association before joining the NHL club with which he won his first Stanley Cup, the Montreal Maroons, in 1935, then playing for the Montreal Canadiens until his retirement in 1948. For the last eight seasons, he was team captain, and led the Canadiens to Stanley Cups in 1944 and 1946.

While playing with the Canadiens, he was part of a trio called the "Punch Line," which featured Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 1938-39.

A little after January 11, 1948, he suffered a double fracture of his ankle, ending his NHL career.^[1] Despite the relative brevity of his playing career, in 1998, he was ranked number 66 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After retiring from the Canadiens he resided permanently in Montreal, raising his children and subsequently where his grand children were raised. The "Toe" Blake Tavern, which he owned, became a successful watering hole in Montreal and "la belle province".^[1]

After eight years coaching several of the Canadiens' minor-league affiliates, he was named head coach of the Canadiens in 1955, replacing Dick Irvin. Blake was fluent in French (his mother was a Franco-Ontarian), and Canadiens management also felt that Blake was best-suited to control Richard's explosive temper (which had led to a riot the past spring).

Blake coached the Canadiens for 13 years, winning eight Stanley Cups – the most for any coach in the team's history and second in the NHL. He is still the winningest coach in Canadiens' history. He was known for his tough, but fair coaching style; his players always knew he was on their side.

Blake turned down Jacques Plante's request to wear a mask during games for fear that it would impair his vision. However, after a shot broke Plante's nose on November 2, 1959; Blake finally relented.^[1]

Blake was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982. A park located next to his Montreal West home is named in his honor.

In the end, it was Alzheimer's Disease, which Blake had for more than eight years, that ended his life. When respected writer Red Fisher visited him in the nursing home in 1989, Toe could not recognize his old friend. Toe Blake died of pneumonia, typical of Alzheimer's patients, on May 17, 1995.

Cultural references

In the film Slap Shot, Toe Blake's name along with Eddie Shore is considered synonymous with "Old-time hockey".

Career statistics

                                  Regular Season
Season  Team                    Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM

1934-35 Montreal Maroons        NHL   8    0   0    0    0
1935-36 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   11   1   2    3    28
1936-37 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   43   10  12   22   12
1937-38 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   43   17  16   33   33
1938-39 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   48   24  23   47   10
1939-40 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   48   17  19   36   48
1940-41 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   48   12  20   32   49
1941-42 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   48   17  28   45   19
1942-43 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   48   23  36   59   26
1943-44 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   41   26  33   59   10
1944-45 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   49   29  38   67   25
1945-46 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   50   29  21   50   2
1946-47 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   60   21  29   50   6
1947-48 Montreal Canadiens      NHL   32   9   15   24   4

                   NHL Totals         577  235 292  527  272

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players
• Stanley Cup
• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL seasons

References

1. ^ ^{a b c d e} Christie, James. Canadiens taskmaster won on skates and in a fedora, E6. The Globe & Mail, May 18, 1995.

External link

• Hockey Hall of Fame

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