Toe Blake

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Left Wing
shot = Left
height_ft = 5
height_in = 10
weight_lb = 162
played_for = Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Maroons
league = NHL
nationality = Canada
birth_date = birth date|1912|8|21|mf=y
birth_place = Victoria Mines, Ontario
death_date = death date and age|1995|5|17|1912|8|21
death_place = Montreal, Quebec
career_start = 1934
career_end = 1948
draft =
draft_year =
draft_team =


image_size =
halloffame = 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).Christie, James. "Canadiens taskmaster won on skates and in a fedora", E6. The Globe & Mail, May 18, 1995.]

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.

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. 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".

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.

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, at the age of 82.

Career statistics

Regular SeasonSeason Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM

1934-35 Montreal Maroons NHL 8 0 0 0 01935-36 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 1 2 3 281936-37 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 10 12 22 121937-38 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 17 16 33 331938-39 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 24 23 47 101939-40 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 19 36 481940-41 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 12 20 32 491941-42 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 28 45 191942-43 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 23 36 59 261943-44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41 26 33 59 101944-45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 49 29 38 67 251945-46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 29 21 50 21946-47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 21 29 50 61947-48 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32 9 15 24 4

NHL Totals 577 235 292 527 272

ee also

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

References

External links

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