The clapper

The clapper
Hockey Hall of Fame , 1947
Date of birth	February 9, 1907
place of birth	Newmarket , Ontario , Canada
date of death	January 21, 1978
Place of death	Newmarket , Ontario , Canada
size	188 cm
Weight	91 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Right
Career stations
1925-1926	Toronto Parkdale
1926-1927	Boston Tigers
1927-1947	Boston Bruins

Aubrey Victor "Dit" Clapper (* 9. February 1907 in Newmarket , Ontario , † 21st January 1978 ) was a Canadian hockey player (defender) and - trainer , who from 1927 to 1946 for the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League played .

Career

His nickname was Victor or Vic for short, but the little one couldn't pronounce that, because of his easy lisp, his name always sounded like Dit when pronounced and that stayed with him for a lifetime. As a member of the Boston Bruins , Clapper became the first player to play in the National Hockey League for 20 seasons . He was great as both a defender and a striker, and was named to the All-Star team in both positions. When asked about his goals as an NHL pro, young Gordie Howe said, "Play as long as Dit Clapper".

Clappers Bruins jersey in the Hockey Hall of Fame

The Bruins were his life and the only team he worked for and the Bruins honored him by not giving his number 5 back in 1947 in his honor. In the season 1931/32 he was captain of the Bruins, was for a season in 1938/39 by Cooney Weiland , represented. He then took over the post of captain again and wore the C on his chest until the end of his career in 1946. He was respected like no other in the NHL. In an argument with NHL President Clarence Campbell , Dit was violent, but was only suspended for one game as Campbell took the blame for the dispute. Only Ray Bourque and Steve Yzerman were captains of an NHL team longer than him . The prestige and memory of him is still great in Boston today. When they wanted to reassign their number in 1983, this triggered a storm of criticism and the club abandoned its plans.

In the 1945/46 season he worked as a player-coach and ended his playing career in the following season after only 6 games. Behind the gang he worked until 1949 and 10 years later took over the Buffalo Bisons in the AHL for one season.

After suffering a stroke, Clapper spent the last five years of his life in a wheelchair.

The NHL suspended the usual waiting period of five years and honored him with his admission to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1947, immediately after his retirement from active sport . He was also a member of the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame .

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	20th	833	228	246	474	462
Playoffs	16	82	13	17th	30th	50

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1929 , 1939 and 1941

Personal awards

• First All-Star Team : 1939, 1940 and 1941
• Second All-Star Team : 1931, 1935 and 1944

Web links

• Dit Clapper in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Dit Clapper at hockeydb.com (English)