Hy Buller
Hy Buller | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Montreal, Quebec, Canada | March 15, 1926||
Died |
August 3, 1968 Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. | (aged 42)||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
Weight | 183 lb (83 kg; 13 st 1 lb) | ||
Position |
Defence | ||
Shot | Left | ||
Played for |
Detroit Red Wings New York Rangers | ||
Playing career | 1943–1953 |
Hyman Buller (March 15, 1926 – August 3, 1968) was a Canadian
He was on the
Biography
Hy Buller’s father, Nathan Buller, immigrated to Canada in 1893 from
Winters in Saskatoon were devoted to hockey. Buller’s love of the sport developed in the flooded and frozen vacant lot belonging to his uncle. Many of the local boys played a form of hockey called shinny, or street hockey, and in 1937 the first artificial ice arena opened in Saskatchewan and the boys soon formed leagues. Buller moved quickly up the ranks throughout his childhood and teen years, often playing alongside older and more experienced team members. But his athletic abilities were recognized and desired by coaches early on. Aside from ice hockey, Buller also participated in football, baseball, basketball, golf, swimming, and track and field; earning many awards.
In David A. Schwartz’s article "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story" from the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia's journal The Scribe, he describes how in the 1930s and ‘40s, there was one team in
After one season with the New York Rovers, Buller made his debut in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings.[6] In 1944, there were only six teams in the NHL so space was limited; because of this Buller was demoted to the American Hockey League in the 1944–45 season. He was sold to the Hershey Bears and played for them for three seasons, during which they were runners-up for the pennant twice before eventually winning the title in 1946–47. Buller was traded to the Cleveland Barons mid-season and helped them set a league record of thirty undefeated games, as well as win the championship. Buller spent a total of eight years in the American Hockey League. In his final year with the Cleveland Barons they won the Calder Cup,[2] and Buller, who at that time held the record for most all-time points scored by a defenseman, was awarded a spot on the AHL All-Star Team, a position he had held a couple of years before in 1948–1949.
In 1951 Buller was traded to the New York Rangers, and after much deliberation moved his young family to the city. In his first year Buller played defense alongside Allan Stanley and his performance matched the Rangers’ record for a defenseman. He won the West Side Association of Commerce Trophy as the Rangers’ most valuable player and came in second for the Calder Memorial Trophy; he was also the first rookie defenseman to be chosen for the Rangers’ All-Star second team.[7]
Buller's connection to the large
In 1954, Buller was traded to the Montreal Canadiens but before the season began he announced his retirement from hockey. David A. Schwartz, Buller's nephew, discounts theories that Buller retired because the game was too violent, in his article "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story" from the Jewish Historical Society of British Columbia's journal The Scribe. Schwartz discovered that Buller retired mostly because he did not want to uproot his family again but also because an NHL salary was not substantial. And his physical condition was weakened as a result of the injuries he had suffered throughout the course of his career.[9]
Buller was married to Elaine Witten for 22 years and they had three sons, Bob, Bruce and Jeff.[3]
The Buller Family returned to Cleveland for a few years where Hy worked as a salesman before moving to Vancouver, British Columbia in 1962 where he coached several amateur hockey teams. In 1965 Buller was diagnosed with cancer. He and his wife decided to move back to Cleveland, and in 1968 he died of cancer.[3][10]
Nine years after his death, he was inducted into the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame.[3]
On July 4, 2017, Buller was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame at the Wingate Institute, Netanya, Israel.[11]
The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia has an extensive collection of records related to the career and family of Buller.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1941–42 | Saskatoon Jr. Quakers | N-SJHL | 8 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 27 | 6 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 28 | ||
1941–42 | Saskatoon Jr. Quakers | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
1942–43 | New York Rovers | EAHL | 41 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 61 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 14 | ||
1943–44 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1943–44 | Indianapolis Capitals | AHL | 46 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 51 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
1944–45 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1944–45 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 41 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
1945–46 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 59 | 8 | 19 | 27 | 61 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1946–47 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 63 | 12 | 32 | 44 | 56 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 | ||
1947–48 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1947–48 | Cleveland Barons
|
AHL | 36 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 55 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||
1948–49 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 62 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 44 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | ||
1949–50 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 43 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 32 | 9 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
1950–51 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 66 | 16 | 41 | 57 | 31 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | ||
1951–52 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 96 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1952–53 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1953–54 | New York Rangers | NHL | 41 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1953–54 | Saskatoon Quakers | WHL
|
27 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 36 | 11 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 | ||
AHL totals | 447 | 79 | 203 | 282 | 405 | 63 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 47 | ||||
NHL totals | 188 | 22 | 58 | 80 | 215 | — | — | — | — | — |
See also
References
- ^ Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 18.
- ^ a b Legends of Hockey
- ^ a b c d Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 29.
- ^ Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 8.
- ^ ""Hy Buller" NHL Players". Nhl.com. March 15, 1926. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ ""Hy Buller" Detroit Red Wings Team". NHL.com. Retrieved February 2, 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Pelletier, Joe. "Hy Buller". Nyrangerslegends.blogspot.com. Retrieved February 2, 2010.
- ^ Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 23.
- ^ Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 25–27.
- ^ Schwartz, David A. "A Mensch on Defense – The Hy Buller Story." The Scribe, no. 1 (2002), 28–29.
- ^ Hyman "Hy" Buller
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Hy Buller at Detroit Red Wings: Team History[permanent dead link]
- Buller, Hy at Jews in Sports
- Hy Buller at Joe Pelletier’s Greatest Hockey Legends: The Hockey History Blog
- Hy Buller at New York Rangers: History
- The Jewish Museum and Archives of British Columbia
- The Scribe