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Toe Blake

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Toe Blake
CM
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1966
Blake in the 1960s
Born (1912-08-21)August 21, 1912
Victoria Mines, Ontario, Canada
Died May 17, 1995(1995-05-17) (aged 82)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 162 lb (73 kg; 11 st 8 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Maroons
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1934–1951

Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake CM (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). Blake played in the NHL from 1935 to 1948 with the Montreal Maroons and Montreal Canadiens. He led the NHL in scoring in 1939, while also winning the Hart Trophy for most valuable player, and served as captain of the Canadiens from 1940 to his retirement. He won the Stanley Cup three times as a player: in 1935 with the Maroons, and in 1944 and 1946 with the Canadiens. While with the Canadiens Blake played on a line with Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard which was dubbed the Punch line, as all three were highly-skilled players. In 2017 Blake was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history. He was also known as "The Old Lamplighter"[1] due to his skill for putting the puck in the net.

Blake retired as a player in 1951, and soon after turned to coaching. After several years in lower leagues he was named the Canadiens' coach in 1955, and would remain in that role until his retirement in 1968. As coach of the Canadiens he won the Stanley Cup a further eight times, and helped Montreal become one of the most dominant teams in NHL history.

Early life

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Blake was one of 13 children to Wilmer and Arzélie Blake (11 survived childhood).[2] Wilmer (born 1874) was originally from Massachusetts and had moved to Canada around 1896, and was of English and Irish ancestry.[3] Arzélie was born in Buckingham, Quebec in 1877; her family, the Filions, had arrived in Quebec in the 17th century.[4] Wilmer and Arzélie married in 1898, and shortly after moved to Sudbury, Ontario for work.[5] Soon after Blake's birth the family moved to Coniston, as the mine Wilmer had been working at was slowly closing.[6]

Playing career

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The Punch line: Maurice Richard (bottom left), Elmer Lach (centre), and Toe Blake (bottom right)

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 during the 1934–35 season before he signed with the Montreal Maroons of the National Hockey League on February 22, 1935; he made his NHL debut two days later on February 24, against the Chicago Black Hawks.[7] Blake played eight games with the Maroons in the 1934–35 season, but was held scoreless; he did not play in any of the team's playoff games, but when the Maroons won the Stanley Cup, Blake's name was added to the trophy. Blake then played for the Canadiens until his retirement in 1948. He won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Most Valuable Player in 1938–39; that same year he was also the league scoring champion with 47 points. For the last eight seasons, he was team captain, and led the Canadiens to Stanley Cups in 1944 and 1946. In the latter year, in which he incurred only one minor penalty, he became the first Canadien ever to win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship, which only Mats Näslund has replicated since as of 2022 (in 1987–88).

While playing with the Canadiens, he was part of a trio called the "Punch Line," with Elmer Lach at centre and Maurice Richard at right wing. He scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in the 1944 Stanley Cup Finals at 9:12 of the first overtime of game four, helping the Canadiens complete a four-game sweep of the Chicago Blackhawks. The following season, the Punch Line became the second set of linemates ever to finish first, second, and third in NHL scoring in one season (Lach had 80 points, Richard 73, and Blake 67). They followed the Boston Bruins' Kraut Line of 1939–40, and would be followed by the Detroit Red Wings' Production Line in 1949–50.

Toe Blake

During a loss to the New York Rangers on January 11, 1948,[8][9] Blake collided with Rangers' skater Bill Juzda, awkwardly hit the boards and suffered a double fracture of his ankle, ending his NHL career.[10][9] In 1998, he was ranked number 66 on The Hockey News’ list of the NHL's 100 greatest players of all time to date.[11] At the time of his retirement from the NHL Blake was second all-time in career scoring with 527 points, 21 points behind Bill Cowley for the all-time record. He had the all-time record for career points in the playoffs with 62 points in 58 games.[12]

Coaching career

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After eight years coaching several of the Canadiens' minor-league affiliates, he was named head coach of the Canadiens on June 8, 1955, replacing Dick Irvin.[13] Blake was fluently bilingual in English and French, and Canadiens management also felt that Richard's former linemate was better suited to control the star's explosive temper (which had led to a riot the past spring).

Blake coached the Canadiens for thirteen years, winning the Stanley Cup eight times — the most titles for any coach in the team's history, the most with one team,[14] and second-most league-wide behind Scotty Bowman, who won nine Stanley Cups in total (five Cups with the Canadiens, one with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and three with the Detroit Red Wings.)[15] His 500 regular-season wins are still the most in Canadiens history.[14] Notably, he won championships in each of his first five seasons as a head coach, this streak being an NHL record that stands to this day. The only other person to have performed a similar feat in his first five seasons as a coach or manager of any particular team in North American professional sports is Casey Stengel of the New York Yankees, although unlike Blake's case the Yankees were not the first team Stengel managed.

Blake retired after the Habs clinched the Cup in game four of the 1968 Finals, ending 33 consecutive years at ice level with the Canadiens organization.

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 from Rangers player Andy Bathgate broke Plante's nose in a game on November 1, 1959, Blake finally relented.[10]

Personal life

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Born in what is now the ghost town of Victoria Mines, Blake was raised playing outdoor hockey in the town of Coniston near the city of Sudbury in Northern Ontario.

His nickname came from a childhood experience: his younger sister had difficulty pronouncing his name, rendering it as something like "Hec-toe". Thus, the nickname "Toe" arose, and ultimately replaced the nickname he had been given as a scorer, the Old Lamplighter, because he often activated the light behind the goal.[10]

After retiring from the Canadiens, Blake and his family resided permanently in Montreal. In 1952, he opened Toe Blake's Tavern, at the corner of Guy Street and Saint Catherine Street in Montreal, just a few blocks from the Montreal Forum.[10][16] The tavern closed in 1983.[16]

Blake suffered from Alzheimer's disease in his final years.[17] When respected writer Red Fisher visited him in the nursing home in 1989, Blake could not recognize his old friend. Blake died on May 17, 1995,[17] at the age of 82.

He was the uncle of Mike Blake.

Legacy

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Blake was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 in the player category, and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982.[9] A park located next to his Montreal West home is named in his honour.

In 2011, the community centre in Blake's hometown of Coniston, Ontario, was renamed the "Toe Blake Memorial Arena" in his honour.[18]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1929–30 Cochrane Dunlops NOJHA 7 3 0 3 4 — — — — —
1930–31 Sudbury Cub Wolves NOJHA 6 3 1 4 12 2 0 0 0 6
1930–31 Sudbury Industries NOHA 8 7 1 8 10 3 1 1 2 4
1930–31 Sudbury Cub Wolves M-Cup — — — — — 5 4 1 5 6
1930–31 Sudbury Wolves Al-Cup — — — — — 3 3 1 4 0
1931–32 Sudbury Cub Wolves NOJHA 3 5 0 5 4 — — — — —
1931–32 Falconbridge Falcons NOHA 10 8 1 9 18 2 1 0 1 2
1932–33 Hamilton Tigers OHA Sr 22 9 4 13 26 2 0 0 0 2
1933–34 Hamilton Tigers OHA Sr 23 19 14 33 28 3 4 3 7 4
1933–34 Hamilton Tigers Al-Cup — — — — — 8 5 2 7 4
1934–35 Hamilton Tigers OHA Sr 18 15 11 26 48 — — — — —
1934–35 Montreal Maroons NHL 8 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
1935–36 Providence Reds Can-Am 33 12 11 23 65 7 2 3 5 2
1935–36 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 1 2 3 28 — — — — —
1936–37 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 10 12 22 12 5 1 0 1 0
1937–38 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 17 16 33 33 3 3 1 4 2
1938–39 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 24 23 47 10 3 1 1 2 2
1939–40 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 19 36 48 — — — — —
1940–41 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 12 20 32 49 3 0 3 3 5
1941–42 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 28 45 19 3 0 3 3 2
1942–43 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 23 36 59 26 5 4 3 7 0
1943–44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41 26 33 59 10 9 7 11 18 2
1944–45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 49 29 38 67 25 6 0 2 2 5
1945–46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 29 21 50 2 9 7 6 13 5
1946–47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 21 29 50 6 11 2 7 9 0
1947–48 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32 9 15 24 4 — — — — —
1948–49 Buffalo Bisons AHL 18 1 3 4 0 — — — — —
1949–50 Valleyfield Braves QSHL 43 12 15 27 15 3 0 1 1 0
1950–51 Valleyfield Braves QSHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 0
NHL totals 577 235 292 527 282 57 25 37 62 23
  • Source: Total Hockey[19]

Coaching record

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Team Year Regular season Playoffs
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Montreal Canadiens 1955–56 70 45 15 10 100 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1956–57 70 35 23 12 82 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1957–58 70 43 17 10 96 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1958–59 70 39 18 13 91 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1959–60 70 40 18 12 92 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1960–61 70 41 19 10 92 1st in NHL Lost in semi-finals
Montreal Canadiens 1961–62 70 42 14 14 98 1st in NHL Lost in semi-finals
Montreal Canadiens 1962–63 70 28 19 23 79 3rd in NHL Lost in semi-finals
Montreal Canadiens 1963–64 70 36 21 13 85 1st in NHL Lost in semi-finals
Montreal Canadiens 1964–65 70 36 23 11 83 2nd in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1965–66 70 41 21 8 90 1st in NHL Won Stanley Cup
Montreal Canadiens 1966–67 70 32 25 13 77 2nd in NHL Lost in Cup Final
Montreal Canadiens 1967–68 74 42 22 10 94 1st in East Won Stanley Cup
Total 914 500 255 159 1,159 — 13 playoff appearances
8 Stanley Cup Wins

Awards

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Toe Blake".
  2. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 10
  3. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 13
  4. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 14
  5. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 11
  6. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 12
  7. ^ Coleman 1969, p. 238
  8. ^ "Our History 1947-1948". Montreal Canadiens. Archived from the original on February 22, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  9. ^ a b c "Spotlight: One on one with Toe Blake". Hockey Hall of Fame. January 2, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  10. ^ a b c d Christie 1995, p. E6
  11. ^ Dryden 1997, p. 139
  12. ^ a b Hackel 2017
  13. ^ Logothetis 2020, p. 126
  14. ^ a b "Top 10s - Coaches". Montreal Canadiens. Archived from the original on January 27, 2020. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  15. ^ "Once around Scotty Bowman's home, in what is normally..." August 29, 2002. Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  16. ^ a b "Faubourg Building". Archived from the original on February 10, 2015. Retrieved February 9, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  17. ^ a b Thomas Jr., Robert McG (May 18, 1995). "Hector (Toe) Blake, 82, Is Dead; Coach of Canadiens Title Teams". The New York Times. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  18. ^ Punch, Rachel (September 13, 2011). "Toe Blake honour long overdue". Sudbury Star. Retrieved February 9, 2015.
  19. ^ Diamond 2002, p. 660

Bibliography

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  • Christie, James (May 18, 1995), "Canadiens taskmaster won on skates and in a fedora", The Globe and Mail, Toronto
  • Coleman, Charles L. (1969), The Trail of the Stanley Cup, Vol 2: 1927 – 1946 Inc., Sherbrooke, Quebec: Progressive Publications Incorporated
  • Diamond, Dan, ed. (2002), Total Hockey: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Hockey League, Second Edition, New York: Total Sports Publishing, ISBN 1-892129-85-X
  • Dryden, Steve, ed. (1997), The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, ISBN 0-7710-4176-4
  • Hackel, Stu (January 1, 2017), Toe Blake: 100 Greatest NHL Players, National Hockey League, retrieved January 15, 2022
  • Logothetis, Paul (2020), Toe Blake: Winning Is Everything, Toronto, Ontario: ECW Press, ISBN 978-1-77041-490-7
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Preceded by NHL Scoring Champion
1939 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Hart Trophy
1939 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens captain
1940–48 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1946 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens
1955–68 		Succeeded by
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