Murray Balfour
| Murray Balfour | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
August 24, 1936 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Died |
May 30, 1965 (aged 28) Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| Playing career | 1957–1965 | ||
Murray Gordon Louis Balfour (August 24, 1936 – May 30, 1965) was a Canadian
with Chicago. His career ended due to lung cancer, which led to his death in 1965.Playing career
Balfour first played in the
Balfour was a member of the renowned "Million Dollar Line" alongside
His play declined as a result of the injury, and he was traded to the Boston Bruins in 1964. He started the 1964–65 season with the Bruins, however he complained about being tired and began slowing down. As a result, Balfour was sent to their minor-league affiliate, the Hershey Bears. After 31 games with Hershey, Balforur stopped playing, and was treated for a lesion on his lung. On April 5 he had surgery, where an inoperable tumor was found.[3][4]
He recorded 67 goals and 90 assists for a total of 157 points over his career, having played in 306 games.
Personal life
After the tumor was found on Balfour's lung, he returned home to Regina, and entered a hospital on May 29. He died of lung cancer on May 30, 1965.[3][4][5]
The City of Regina named a hockey arena in Balfour's honour.[6]
Balfour's parents were Gordon and Margaret Balfour of Regina.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Regular season
|
Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1952–53 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 31 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1952–53 | Regina Pats | Al-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1953–54 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 35 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 99 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 45 | ||
| 1954–55 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 38 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 156 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 30 | ||
| 1954–55 | Regina Pats | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1955–56 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 34 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 104 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 20 | ||
| 1955–56 | Regina Pats | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 65 | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | OHA Sr | 19 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | QHL | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 35 | ||
| 1957–58 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Montreal Royals | QHL | 62 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 107 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 1958–59 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 67 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 181 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | Chicago Black Hawks
|
NHL | 61 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 55 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 123 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 1961–62 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 49 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 72 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 1962–63 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1963–64 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 41 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 306 | 67 | 90 | 157 | 393 | 40 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 45 | ||||
See also
- List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career
References
- ^ Feige 2011, p. 35
- ^ Feige 2011, p. 36
- ^ a b c Feige 2011, p. 37
- ^ ISBN 978-1-77090-427-9.
- ^ Cole, Rick (2015-05-31). "50 Years Ago in Hockey - Murray Balfour Succumbs to Cancer". The Hockey Writers. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "Murray Balfour Ice Arena - City of Regina". Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2010-05-31.
Bibliography
- Feige, Timothy (2011), Hockey's Greatest Tragedies: The Broken Heroes of the Fastest Game on Earth, London: Arcturus Publishing, ISBN 978-1-84837-742-4
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Picture of Murray Balfour's Name on the 1961 Stanley Cup Plaque
- Murray Balfour at Find a Grave
 | This biographical article relating to a Canadian ice hockey winger born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |