Chief Armstrong

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CanadaCanada  Chief Armstrong Ice hockey player
Hockey Hall of Fame , 1975
Chief Armstrong
Date of birth July 6, 1930
place of birth Skead , Ontario , Canada
date of death January 24, 2021
size 185 cm
Weight 93 kg
position Right wing
number # 10
Shot hand Right
Career stations
1947-1948 Stratford Kroehlers
1948-1950 Toronto Marlboros
1950-1951 Pittsburgh Hornets
1949-1971 Toronto Maple Leafs

George Edward "Chief" Armstrong (born July 6, 1930 in Skead , Ontario , † January 24, 2021 ) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach . Between 1949 and 1971, the right winger played a total of 1188 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League (NHL), making him the team's record player. During this time he won four Stanley Cups with the team and led them to each as captain , an office he held for 13 years. His jersey number 10 is with the Maple Leafsno longer awarded , while a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1975 . Even after the end of his active career, Armstrong, who owes his nickname "Chief" to his Indian descent, worked for the Maple Leafs for many years, briefly as head coach and mainly as assistant general manager and scout .

Career

Armstrong in the Maple Leafs jersey

Armstrong grew up the son of a miner near Greater Sudbury and was of Ojibwe Irish descent. He played as a junior in the OHA and moved there in 1948 as MVP of the league from the Stratford Kroehlers to the Toronto Marlboros . The Toronto Maple Leafs secured the rights to him early on. He stayed with the Marlboros and played on the senior team. In the 1949/50 season, the Maple Leafs brought him for two games in the NHL. With the Marlboros he won the Allan Cup this season . At this tournament, the team visited an Indian reservation. When it was heard there that he was of Indian descent, he got the title "Big Chief Shoot the Puck".

Before he made his breakthrough in the NHL, there was another one and a half seasons in the American Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Hornets .

From the 1953/54 season he was set with the Maple Leafs. He wasn't a good skater, but was able to compensate for this with his good positional play. He was also an important player with leadership qualities in the team structure, who also made the team laugh again and again. From the 1957/58 season he was team captain with the Leafs and Conn Smythe called him the best captain the team has ever had. He led his team to four Stanley Cup victories in the 1960s .

After his active career, he coached the Toronto Marlboros and led his former junior team to win the Memorial Cup in 1973 and 1975 . In the 1988/89 season he coached the Toronto Maple Leafs in 47 games.

In 1975 he was honored with the induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame .

Armstrong passed away on January 24, 2021 at the age of 90.

NHL statistics

Seasons Games Gates Assists Points Penalty minutes
Regular season 21st 1188 296 417 713 721
Playoffs 15th 110 26th 34 60 52

Sporting successes

Personal awards

Web links

Commons : Chief Armstrong  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Maple Leafs Mourn Passing of Former Captain George Armstrong. nhl.com, January 24, 2021, accessed January 24, 2021 .
personal data
SURNAME Armstrong, chief
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Armstrong, George Edward (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Canadian ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH July 6, 1930
PLACE OF BIRTH Skead , Ontario , Canada
DATE OF DEATH January 24, 2021