Charlie Burns

Charlie Burns
Born	February 14, 1936 (1936-02-14) (age 75) Detroit, MI, USA
Height	5 ft 11 in (1.80 m)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Center
Shot	Left
Played for	Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins Oakland Seals Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars
Playing career	1952–1974

Charles Frederick Burns (born February 14, 1936 in Detroit, Michigan) is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars. Burns was mainly known for being an excellent skater, playmaker and defensive player who performed checking and penalty-killing. His trademark was the heavily padded helmet that he was forced to wear after suffering a serious head injury while playing junior hockey in 1954–55.

In 1959, he was the only US-born player in the NHL. Although Burns was born in Detroit, his family moved to Toronto when he was a child.^[1] Burns chose Canadian citizenship when he turned 21 ^[2] and later played for the 1958 World Champion Whitby Dunlops.

Burns had three spells as a player-coach, twice with the San Francisco Seals (1965-66 & 1966-67) and one with the Minnesota North Stars (1969–70). He coached the Stars again in 1974-75 after his retirement. Curiously, all of these were midseason assignments. He currently coaches youth hockey for the Wonderland Wizards of Bridgeport, Connecticut in his spare time.^[3]

References

1. ^ Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p.47), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN-1425910289
2. ^ The Pappy Line, Time Magazine, March 2, 1959
3. ^ Kurzberg, p.48

One of 14 children; adopted by his uncle when his mother passed.

External links

• Charlie Burns's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Charlie Burns's biography at Legends of Hockey

Persondata
Name	Burns, Charlie
Alternative names
Short description	American ice hockey player
Date of birth	February 14, 1936
Place of birth	Detroit, MI, USA
Date of death
Place of death