Gump Worsley

Gump Worsley
Hockey Hall of Fame , 1980
Date of birth	May 14, 1929
place of birth	Montréal , Québec , Canada
date of death	January 26, 2007
Place of death	Saint-Hyacinthe , Quebec , Canada
size	170 cm
Weight	70 kg
position	goalkeeper
Catch hand	Left
Career stations
1946-1948	Verdun Cyclones
1948-1949	Montréal St. Francis Xavier
1949-1950	New York Rovers
1950-1951	St. Paul Saints
1951-1952	Saskatoon Quakers
1952-1953	New York Rangers
1953-1954	Vancouver Canucks
1954-1963	New York Rangers
1963-1965	Québec Aces
1965-1969	Montréal Canadiens
1969-1974	Minnesota North Stars

Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (born May 14, 1929 in Montréal , Québec ; † January 26, 2007 in Saint-Hyacinthe , Québec) was a Canadian ice hockey goalkeeper who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers , Montréal Canadiens and Minnesota North Stars was active. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980.

Career

Lorne John Worsley, who all his life was called "Gump" Worsley in reference to a cartoon character, began his career as a hockey goalkeeper in a junior league in the Canadian province of Quebec in 1946 . After playing as an adult in different leagues and has won several awards, participated in the New York Rangers of the NHL in 1952 under contract. He also immediately prevailed in the 1952/53 season against Chuck Rayner as the team's regular goalkeeper. At the end of the season he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the best rookie .

But the following season he played exclusively in the lower-class Western Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks , which only became a member of the NHL years later after he had asked the general manager of the Rangers for a raise of $ 500. Worsley was named an MVP of the Western Hockey League after the season .

He made it back to the NHL and played nine more years for the Rangers. But despite his good performance, the team did not achieve any success worth mentioning.

In 1963 he was transferred to the Montréal Canadiens with three other players for Jacques Plante and Phil Goyette . There he found himself with the Quebec Aces in the AHL for the first two years and was rarely used for the Canadiens. But again he was able to convince with very good performances with the farm team and finally made the leap to the post of goalkeeper for the 1965/66 season . With the fewest goals conceded by all goalkeepers in the regular season, for which he received the Vezina Trophy , he led the Canadiens through the playoffs to winning the Stanley Cup . It was Worsley's second, as he was able to celebrate this success as a substitute goalkeeper the year before.

In 1966/67 he was absent for a long time because he had to undergo knee surgery. But in the 1967/68 season he was able to shine again with his performances and again received the Vezina Trophy, as the Canadiens had conceded the fewest goals. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup again and repeated the success the following year.

But the pressure to succeed associated with the Stanley Cup victories became a burden for Worsley. In addition, significantly younger goalkeepers were added to the team, who gradually ousted him. On November 28, 1969, he decided to end his career.

Nevertheless, the Minnesota North Stars secured the rights to Worsley in a transfer in late February 1970, and he returned to the NHL only a short time later. The now 40-year-old Worsley and Cesare Maniago formed the North Stars goalkeeper team. Together with Maniago, he guarded the gate until 1974, before finally announcing the end of his career.

A major problem during his career was his extreme fear of flying. When he was playing for the New York Rovers in the late 1940s and he was on a plane with the team on their way to an away game, an engine caught fire and an emergency landing had to be made. In 1968/69 he suffered a nervous breakdown after a turbulent flight and had to undergo medical attention. The many air trips are said to have been one of the reasons for his resignation from the Montréal Canadiens. The Minnesota North Stars, on the other hand, did not have to travel so often by plane, which was very convenient for Worsley.

Worsley was next to Andy Brown and Joe Daley the last goalkeeper in the NHL who still played without a goalkeeper mask . He only wore one for the last six games of his career. After Daley, who had meanwhile switched to the WHA , also used a mask, they left Brown alone as the last goalkeeper without. In 1969 , however, Worsley was the last goalkeeper without a mask to win the Stanley Cup.

He was also known for his humor. At the beginning of his career with the New York Rangers, which were considered a bad team at the time, he got 40 to 50 shots on goal in almost every game. After such a game he was once asked which team was causing him the most problems. His answer was, "The New York Rangers."

In 1980 Gump Worsley was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame .

On January 27, 2007, Worsley died of complications from a heart attack that he had suffered a few days earlier.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Victory cut	Conceded goal	Shutout
Regular season	21st	861	0.389	2.88	43
Playoffs	12	70	0.571	2.78	5

Sporting successes

• Stanley Cup : 1965 , 1966 , 1968 and 1969

Personal and awards

• Calder Memorial Trophy : 1953
• AHL First All-Star Team : 1964
• NHL First All-Star Team : 1968
• NHL Second All-Star Team : 1966
• Vezina Trophy : 1966 and 1968 (together with Charlie Hodge and Rogatien Vachon )
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1961, 1962, 1965 and 1972

Web links

• Gump Worsley in the database of the Hockey Hall of Fame (English)
• Gump Worsley at hockeydb.com (English)
• Gump Worsley at hockeygoalies.org