Jerry Toppazzini
Jerry Toppazzini | |||
---|---|---|---|
Born |
Copper Cliff, Ontario , Canada | July 29, 1931||
Died |
April 21, 2012 Sudbury, Ontario, Canada | (aged 80)||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
Weight | 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb) | ||
Position |
Right wing | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
Chicago Black Hawks Detroit Red Wings | ||
Playing career | 1952–1964 |
Jerry "Topper" Toppazzini (July 29, 1931 — April 21, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Boston Bruins, between 1952 and 1964. A skilled defensive specialist and penalty killer, he set the then-NHL record for shorthanded goals in a season in 1958 with seven.[1]
Playing career
Toppazzini was born and raised in
Signing with the Boston Bruins, he spent the following season with their American Hockey League farm team, the Hershey Bears, playing with his younger brother Teddy and helping the Bears to a division title with 20 goals and 45 points in 54 games.
In the subsequent
Wearing #21, Toppazzini remained with Boston for the next nine seasons, blossoming into a skilled two-way player while playing on a line with smooth center Don McKenney and hard charging left wing Fleming Mackell; the trio was Boston's best line as they surged to the Stanley Cup finals in 1957, knocking off the heavily favored former Cup champion Detroit Red Wings en route.[3] His best seasons statistically were 1958, when he scored a career high 25 goals in the regular season and added nine goals in the Stanley Cup playoffs (with a hat trick against the New York Rangers and three game-winning goals) in leading the Bruins to the Cup finals, as Boston would mount a serious challenge to the dynastic Montreal Canadiens for NHL supremacy and 1962, when he scored 19 goals en route to a career high 50 points.[4] Always a fan favorite, he won the Elizabeth C Dufresne Trophy twice in a row, in 1956-57 and 1957–58, as the best performing and most popular Boston Bruin at home games. He was noted in his time with the Bruins for his "crazy chatter" in the locker room. According to teammate Bronco Horvath:
"Topper was always giving everybody the business, keeping up a competitive atmosphere. Drove me nuts."[5]
Boston traded the fading Toppazzini in the 1964 offseason, and he played the remaining four seasons of his professional career in the minor leagues, spending the 1965 season with the Pittsburgh Hornets of the AHL. His rights were then acquired by the Los Angeles Blades of the Western Hockey League in the 1965 Reverse Draft; he initially held out before joining the Blades for the 1966 and 1967 seasons.[6] [7] He finished his playing career in 1968 as the player-coach of the Port Huron Flags of the International Hockey League.
Goaltending stint
On
Coaching career
After his retirement as a player, Toppazzini was named coach of the
Retirement and death
After his retirement from coaching, Toppazzini settled in
Toppazzini died on April 21, 2012, following a short illness.[14]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1947–48 | Copper Cliff Junior Redmen | NOJHA | 9 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
1947–48 | Copper Cliff Junior Redmen | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | ||
1948–49
|
St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 45 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 37 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
1949–50
|
Barrie Flyers | OHA | 36 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 60 | 9 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | ||
1950–51
|
Barrie Flyers | OHA | 54 | 40 | 50 | 90 | 116 | 12 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 15 | ||
1950–51 | Barrie Flyers | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 28 | ||
1951–52 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 54 | 20 | 25 | 45 | 26 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
1952–53 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 10 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9 | ||
1953–54 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 37 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1953–54 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 16 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1953–54 | Chicago Black Hawks
|
NHL | 14 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1954–55 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1955–56 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 40 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1955–56 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1956–57 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
1957–58 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 64 | 25 | 24 | 49 | 51 | 12 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 2 | ||
1958–59 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 61 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | ||
1959–60 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 12 | 33 | 45 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1960–61 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 15 | 35 | 50 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1961–62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1962–63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1964–65 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 65 | 16 | 31 | 47 | 32 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 0 | ||
1965–66 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 47 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1966–67 | Los Angeles Blades | WHL | 59 | 19 | 37 | 56 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
1967–68 | Port Huron Flags | IHL | 37 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
NHL totals | 783 | 163 | 244 | 407 | 436 | 40 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 13 |
Achievements and legacy
- Was named to play in the National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1955, 1958 and 1959. Also named to play in a benefit All-Star Game between the NHL All-Stars and the Buffalo Bisons in February, 1959.[16]
- Led the NHL in games played with 70 in 1959 and 1962.
- Toppazzini's older brother Zellio, a long time star for the minor league Providence Reds, also played in the NHL for the Bruins and New York Rangers between the 1949 and 1951 seasons.
- On March 27, 1958, Toppazzini scored an overtime goal in the semifinals to defeat the Rangers 4-3.
- His grandnephew Justin Williams played in the NHL, starting in 2000
- As of October 2020, Toppazzini ranks 30th in Bruins history with 151 regular-season goals scored.
- As of November 2014 Toppazzinni ranks 31st in Boston history in regular-season points scored.[17]
Transactions
- February 16, 1954: Traded to Chicago Black Hawks for Gus Bodnar.
- May 27, 1955: Traded to .
- January 17, 1956: Traded to Real Chevrefils for Murray Costello and Lorne Ferguson.
- June 9, 1964: Traded to Chicago Black Hawks with Matt Ravlich for Murray Balfour and Mike Draper.
- October 10, 1964: Traded to Pittsburgh Hornets for Hank Ciesla.
- June 9, 1965: Claimed by Los Angeles Blades in Reverse Draft.
References
- ^ [1] Hockey Hall of Fame website
- ^ Coleman, C., Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III, p. 282, Progressive Publications (1976)
- ^ Coleman, C., Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III, p. 315, Progressive Publications (1976)
- ^ Coleman, C., Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III, p. 348, Progressive Publications (1976)
- ^ McGourty, J., "Celebrating Willie O'Ree," NHL.com, January 16, 2008
- ^ "Toppazzini Holds Out as Blades Prep for Seals," Los Angeles Times, October 6, 1965
- ^ Park, C., "Toppazzini And Deschamps Debut With Blades Friday," Los Angeles Times, December 8, 1965
- ^ Keene, K., Tales Of The Boston Bruins, p. 153, Sports Publishing (2003)
- ^ Coleman, C., Trail Of The Stanley Cup, Vol. III, p. 413, Progressive Publications (1976)
- ^ Bartlett, C., "Hawks Beat Bruins, 5-2, for 4th in Row," Chicago Daily Tribune, October 17, 1960
- ^ Vautour, K., The Bruins Book, p. 153, ECW Press (1997)
- ^ Vautour, K., The Bruins Book, p. 143, ECW Press (1997)
- ^ Vautour, K., The Bruins Book, p. 431, ECW Press (1997)
- ^ a b Hockey legend Jerry Toppazzini passes away Archived 2013-01-05 at archive.today The Sudbury Star, April 22, 2012
- ^ Litalien, M., "NHL players chip in for charity", Sudbury Northern Life, August 13, 2009
- ^ Klein, Jeff Z., "50 Years Later, Remembering a Lost All-Star Game," New York Times, January 4, 2009
- ^ "Boston Bruins - Statistics". Archived from the original on 2014-11-29. Retrieved 2014-11-16.
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database