Gilles Mayer

Gilles Mayer
Born	(1929-08-24)August 24, 1929 Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died	September 29, 2015(2015-09-29) (aged 86) Rhode Island, USA
Height	5 ft 6 in (168 cm)
Weight	135 lb (61 kg; 9 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1946–1963

Joseph Gilles Camille "Gil" Mayer (August 24, 1929 – September 29, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Mayer stood 5'6" tall, and weighed 128 lbs.

American Hockey League

Mayer made the jump from amateur hockey with the Lake Placid Roamers to junior ice hockey in 1949. He was the goalie of the Barrie Flyers who lost the Eastern Canada championship final series 5-4 to the Montreal Royals, in April 1949 for the George Richardson Memorial Trophy. He began his Professional hockey career in 1949 with the Pittsburgh Hornets.

Gil stood 5'6" and weighed between 128 and 135 pounds during his career.He was "nicknamed "The Needle".

In the 1951-1952 season Mayer wore # 0 because he was so hard to score against with 5 shutouts and a Goals Against Average (GAA) of 2.57 for the Pittsburgh Hornets. Mayer was selected to the AHL all-star team for the 1950-1951 season and consecutively from the 1952-1953 season through the 1954-1955 season. The same year he won a league title, a $300 bonus, and captured goalie honors with a 3.25 goals against average. He allowed 146 goals in 52 games. During his career he was on 3 Calder cup winning teams; 2 with the Pittsburgh Hornets and 1 with the Hershey Bears.

Gil won the AHL "Hap" Holmes Award (goaltender with the lowest GAA) 5 times. This is a 1st all-time record. Mayer was 2nd all time in AHL Regular Season Play in the following categories: 14 seasons, 680 games, 346 wins, 41 shutouts. He was also 2nd all time in AHL Playoffs in these categories: 80 games, 50 wins, 6 shutouts.

His lifetime GAA during regular season play was 2.89. His lifetime GAA in playoff action was 2.27.

Early in the second period of Pittsburgh's game against the Syracuse Warriors, on February 6, 1952, Mayer was cut by a puck which struck his face. His nose hemorrhaged but he returned to the ice after thirty minutes. The Warriors triumphed 4-2 in a contest in which Mayer made several stellar saves. The deciding goal, in front of a crowd of 1,534 at Memorial Auditorium in Syracuse, New York, was quite lucky. Kelly Burnett made a baseball swing at a high-flying hard-hit puck and knocked it 18 feet, still in the air, past Mayer.

Mayer shut out the Springfield Indians on March 22, 1955, in the first round of the AHL playoffs. The Hornets benefited from goals by Bob Hassard and Jack Caffery.

He was traded to the Hershey Bears on July 5, 1956. The Bears also obtained from Pittsburgh defenceman Jack Price, centre (ice hockey) Willie Marshall, centre (ice hockey) Bob Hassard, and forward (ice hockey) Bobby Solinger.

As goalie of the Cleveland Barons he sustained a broken jaw and missed three weeks of competition in 1959. He was hit by a slapshot during practice which required four sutures. His jaw was set at Lakewood Hospital in Cleveland. He was replaced by Don Rigazio, a goalie for the 1956 U.S. Olympic Team.

In 1959 Mayer became the first goalie in the AHL to wear a Goalie mask. He was joined in 1960 by Gerry McNeil of the Quebec Aces.

Trainer Les Binkley replaced Mayer after he was hit behind the ear with a puck in a Barons' loss to the Buffalo Bisons on October 30, 1960. Binkley ceded all three Bisons' goals, playing all the way after the fifth minute.

NHL

Mayer made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs against the Detroit Red Wings on December 1, 1949, after being called up from the Hornets. Toronto's regular goalie, Turk Broda, was suspended for weighing 197 pounds. He had a weight limit of 190 pounds. Broda, 35, was the oldest active NHL goalie at the time.

Mayer had a natural weight of 128 pounds but tipped the scales at 166 pounds wearing all of his equipment. The 38 pounds of steel, wood, leather and wool costs $300 and required 30 minutes for dressing and removal.

On October 21, 1954, Mayer was brought up from Pittsburgh to substitute for injured Toronto goalie Harry Lumley. As a replacement Mayer was all that could be asked and he was given practically faultless support by his fast-skating mates. The Leafs surprised a Montreal crowd of 14,004 by defeating the Montreal Canadiens, 3-1, in a game which Harry Watson scored his 200th career goal.

During a Toronto losing streak Mayer conceded a late first-period goal to Ed Litzenberger of the Chicago Black Hawks on February 5, 1956. The shot from along the boards hit Mayer's pads and dribbled into the far corner of the net. It proved to be the winning tally in a 3-2 victory and the fourth loss in a row for the Maple Leafs.

Mayer's last season of professional hockey came during the 1962-63 season, playing in the American Hockey League for the Providence Reds.

Mayer died at the age of 86 on September 29, 2015.

Career statistics

				Regular season									Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA		SV%	GP	W	L	SO	MIN	GA	GAA
1947–48	Barrie Flyers	OHA		19				1140	59	3	3.11			10	8	2	0	600	36	3.60
1948–49	Barrie Flyers	OHA		46	26	16	4	2760	134	5	2.91			8	8	0	1	480	21	2.63
1949–50	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		50	20	19	11	3000	142	4	2.84			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1949–50	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		1	0	1	0	60	2	0	2.00			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1950–51	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		71	31	33	7	4350	174	6	2.40			13	9	4	2	835	26	1.87
1951–52	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		68	46	19	3	4120	175	5	2.57			11	8	3	1	753	24	1.91
1952–53	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		62	36	20	6	3760	146	6	2.33			10	6	4	0	695	20	1.73
1953–54	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		68	33	30	5	4080	212	3	3.12			5	2	3	1	330	13	2.36
1949–50	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		1	0	0	1	60	3	0	3.00			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1954–55	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		64	31	25	8	3840	179	3	2.80			20	7	3	1	639	28	2.63
1954–55	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		1	1	0	0	60	1	0	1.00		0.947	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1955–56	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		56	40	12	4	3360	151	5	2.70			4	1	3	0	312	14	2.69
1955–56	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		6	1	5	0	360	18	0	3.00		0.871	–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1956–57	Hershey Bears	AHL		29	14	12	3	1740	103	1	3.55			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1957–58	Hershey Bears	AHL		22	12	7	3	1358	62	0	2.82			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1958–59	Hershey Bears	AHL		19				1140	61	0	3.21			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1959–60	Cleveland Barons	AHL		41	19	19	3	2460	126	3	3.07			7	3	4	1	420	22	3.14
1960–61	Cleveland Barons	AHL		66	32	34	0	3960	222	3	3.36			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
1961–62	Providence Reds	AHL		30	16	13	1	1800	122	1	4.07			3	1	2	0	185	11	3.57
1962–63	Providence Reds	AHL		34	16	15	3	2040	99	1	2.91			–	–	–	–	–	–	–
AHL totals				680	346	258	57	41008	1974	40	2.89			63	37	26	6	4169	158	2.27

References

• "Olson Of Barons Captures American Loop Scoring Title". Elyria Chronicle Telegram. March 24, 1953. p. 14.
• "Hershey Bears Get Six Hornet Hockey Players In Big Deal". Connellsville Daily Register. July 6, 1957. p. 7.
• "Sports Briefs". Lancaster Eagle Gazette. October 29, 1959. p. 26.
• "Little Big Guy". Lethbridge Herald. November 30, 1949. p. 20.
• "The Diet League". Lethbridge Herald. December 2, 1949. p. 19.
• "Gil Mayer Leads Hornets To 2-0 Hockey Triumph". Monessen Daily Independent. March 23, 1955. p. 4.
• "Indians End 3-Way Tie At Top Spot". Indiana Evening Gazette. October 31, 1960. p. 10.
• "Two Masked Goalies". Reno Evening Gazette. November 3, 1960. p. 9.
• "Victory First For Syracuse Over Top Team". Syracuse Post-Standard. February 7, 1952. p. 18.
• "Thrust Halted". Syracuse Post-Standard. March 13, 1952. p. 18.
• "Montreal Royals Gain Memorial Cup Birth". Winnipeg Free Press. April 18, 1949. p. 16.
• "Terry Sawchcuk Top Goalie". Winnipeg Free Press. October 21, 1949. p. 22.
• "Mathers AHL Star Once Again". Winnipeg Free Press. April 28, 1954. p. 29.
• "Leafs Win First; Wings On Top". Winnipeg Free Press. October 22, 1954. p. 30.
• "Bruins, Hawks Spurt As Leafs Fade Fast". Winnipeg Free Press. February 6, 1956. p. 19.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• AHL Hall of Fame Bio
• Habs goalies bio