Please enjoy a complimentary evening with great food, drink & company and meet the 2018 inductees: Buy his book. Canadian ice hockey player-coach - Bob Pulford was born in Newton Robinson (human settlement in Simcoe County, Ontario, Canada) on March 31st, 1936 and is 87 years old today. Try a week on us. They won just 30 games in 2002-03 and just 20 games in 2003-04, so a roster shakeup was clearly justified. Well, OK, not all the Blackhawks saw the bigger picture. (Photo by Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images), Brent Seabrook, Dustin Byfuglien, Corey Crawford and Duncan Keith were Blackhawks in large part thanks to Mike Smith. And he was a nonstop nemesis for goalie Murray Bannerman and those Hawks entrusted with the responsibility of shadowing the elusive and resourceful rookie. Like how Bob Murray was . With his career seemingly on the upswing, the Blackhawks and Berard agreed on a one-year $3 million contract for the 2004-05 campaign. Bob Pulford - Wikiwand ''You`ve really got to watch him. Find out more. Bob Pulford had 643 points over his career. When push comes to shove, we know we can win it.''. She recently crossed covering Wimbledon off her bucket list. , end time: 1972-01-01T00:00:00Z. ''He has the size (6 feet 4 inches, 200 pounds), the hockey sense and he`s great with the puck. I dont know how I felt. Watch our How-To Videos to Become a Stathead, Subscribe to Stathead and get access to more data than you can imagine. He is currently a senior advisor in the Philadelphia Flyers organization. NHL, the NHL Shield, the word mark and image of the Stanley Cup and NHL Conference logos are registered trademarks of the National Hockey League. An example of data being processed may be a unique identifier stored in a cookie. ago] Height 5.11 -- Weight 188 [180 cm/85 kg] Embed Bob Pulford stats! And while hes not overly bitter, hes also not shy. 400 Kipling Ave. Web Site: etobicokesports.ca, Inductees He hated the players and the players hated him. So, in part because of family ties and in part because of past success, Pulford retains good memories of his time. If you would like to change your settings or withdraw consent at any time, the link to do so is in our privacy policy accessible from our home page.. Coincidentally, her husband was in the Los Angeles area this weekend scouting for the Philadelphia Flyers. Several of her books have been shortlisted for awards, and many of her short stories have won or been highly commended in national competitions. Pulford, a favorite of Bill Wirtz, was famously loyal to his guys, and famously contentious with countless others, from Smith to Mike Keenan to Bobby Hull. He is 511 ft tall, which is equal to 1.8 meters. So how did I feel in 2010? Logos were compiled by the amazing SportsLogos.net. On October 11, 2007, Pulford was named an officer with the Wirtz Corporation , parent company of the Blackhawks, and is no longer part of the day-to-day management of the Blackhawks. She lives in Outram, Otago, New Zealand. ( Full Record) Hall of Fame 4x Cup Winner 20 20 Become a Stathead & surf this site ad-free. 14. The winning streak is the Hawks` longest this season, but the Norris Division-leading St. Louis Blues were able to stay seven points ahead of the second-place Hawks by trouncing the Toronto Maple Leafs 5-3 Thursday night. But to him, its a perfect example of how right he was for the job, and how wrong Pulford was. ''I didn`t realize Lemieux is as good as he is,'' said Pulford. Before that, he was the sports editor of the Post-Tribune of Northwest Indiana. Etobicoke, Ontario M8V3L1, Phone: 416.254.4429 Time Travel . Copyright 1999-2019 Los Angeles Kings, LLC and the National Hockey League. ANOTHER HAWK SQUEAKER - Chicago Tribune Continue with Recommended Cookies. ( 16 Jul,2001 ) ( 16 Jul,2007 ) ( 16 Jul,2002 ) ( 13 Jul,2008 ) Ken Gibb ( 13 Jul,2010 ) I was told repeatedly that Duncan Keith was the worst draft pick ever, and Dustin Byfuglien was the second-worst.. Thirty-one years earlier when a New York Rangers team he helped build as an assistant coach and college scout reached the 1979 Stanley Cup Final, a year after he was canned as part of a front-office house-cleaning that replaced GM John Ferguson with Fred Shero Smith learned that you rarely get to see your work come to fruition. Some hockey portraits on this site are licensed from Images on Ice, Hockeys Photo Agency. Im not going to tell you who, because the Blackhawks used to have a tendency to fire people if you stepped out of line. Bob Pulford Hockey Stats and Profile at hockeydb.com Smith told them hed consider taking him as a late-round flyer, and the Blackhawks wound up grabbing him in the now non-existent eighth round. Byfuglien chased down a puck in the corner behind and to the left of the goalie, but as he was going down to retrieve the puck, he quickly glanced over his shoulder to see the play developing behind him. But as he watched his guys Keith, Seabrook and Byfuglien lift the Cup in 2010, then again in 2013 and 2015 alongside his other guy, Crawford, Smith didnt feel angry. "Without Bob, I don't think I would have been mentored the way I was.". And what about the players? Pulford played 14 seasons for the Maple Leafs winning 4 Stanley Cups and . I want to be defined by who I am, not just as a hockey guy, he says. Thats when I realized I was in a business where you can be part of a group that does some really good things, but youre not going to be there when things finally work out, he says. Her husband said he`ll take as many as he can get. The SPORTS REFERENCE and STATHEAD trademarks are owned exclusively by Sports Reference LLC. All rights reserved. Hall of Fame: Inducted as Player 1991. He served as coach for the Blackhawks on three separate occasions from 1977 to 1987. Today, he plays a key role as Alternate Governor for the team and sitting on the advisory committee to league ownership. Organization category, Terrill Samuel - Athlete category, Bruce Boyd - Builder category. Pulford, a favorite of Bill Wirtz, was famously loyal to his guys, and famously contentious with countless others, from Smith to Mike Keenan to Bobby Hull. In his first season as GM, the Blackhawks made the playoffs for the first time in five years, and Smith was named Executive of the Year by The Sporting News. We weren`t sharp. Legends He left the Kings after the 1976-77 season to become general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks. But the way Smith sees it, history is written by the winners. Country: Canada. In pre-draft discussions, Blackhawks director of player development Marshall Johnston and western scout Bruce Franklin were at odds over Big Buff. Blogger of my most recent life chapter: Life as a traveling hockey wife: the Culture, Cooking, and Crafts that I am learning while traveling. Caroline Wozniacki Dumped By Rory McIlroy - The Inquisitr You can go back to when I first got there (in December of 1999), Smith says. National Hockey League Players' Association, List of NHL players with 1000 games played, General manager of the Chicago Black Hawks/Blackhawks, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bob_Pulford&oldid=1145287197, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Biographical information and career statistics from, This page was last edited on 18 March 2023, at 08:09. Mike Smith is talking about xenophobia in the Blackhawks front office, about Bob Pulfords relentless two-year quest to get him fired, about the organization actively sabotaging his chances at landing future jobs, about how his name has been all but erased from the history books when it comes to the modern Blackhawks resurgence. About A hockey wife. But four months later, Smith was fired. During the Leafs glory-days in the sixties, Pulford earned four Stanley Cup rings. 37 Bob Pulford Photos and Premium High Res Pictures - Getty Images All Archival Browse 37 bob pulford stock photos and images available, or start a new search to explore more stock photos and images. Their next two games will be against one of the weakest teams in the NHL, the Detroit Red Wings. The Real Housewives of Atlanta The Bachelor Sister Wives 90 Day Fiance Wife Swap The Amazing Race Australia Married at First Sight The Real Housewives of Dallas My 600-lb Life Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. Bob Pulford Awards. It helped that the Hawks were playing one of the dullest teams in the National Hockey League--at least in terms of its record. Its too cold to get them set up yet, though.. Cult/Star player for Toronto Marlboros. We and our partners use cookies to Store and/or access information on a device. Smith was the Blackhawks general manager from September 2001 through October 2003, and the manager of hockey operations for the 2000-01 season. e.g. . From 1956 on when his playing career began, he collected 643 points (281 goals, 362 assists) in 1,079 games. When you get down to the seventh, eighth, ninth round, theyre all maybes, Smith says. It fell apart as soon as Bob Pulford found out I wouldnt do what he told me to do, Smith says. Humber College Scholarships ''He`s going to be a great player in a few years,'' he said. But even though Keith, Seabrook and Byfuglien all played massive roles in the citys first Stanley Cup in 49 years, his name barely came up at all. "There are people who can draw a line between business and family," she said. Chicago had a very poor history of drafting, mainly because they were terribly biased against anyone whos not from Canada. If he starts worrying about defense, he won`t be the same player.''. Early life [ edit] Sponsored name plates will be available to purchase at the event, with all proceeds supporting Special Olympic athletes and student scholarship programs The teams will meet in a Saturday matinee in Detroit and in a Sunday-afternoon rematch in the Stadium. The beehives came yesterday, Smith says over the phone. | View as text Coaching [notes] Midseason replacement Awards Related Information League Information The including, Brewer, Bob Pulford, Billy Harris and Allan Stanley called themselves the Blue and White investment club and were making more money on Bay Street than Carlton St. Its a fair question in a city with a gaping, decade-wide hole in its hockey memory. I remember being cut to shreds when I took Teppo Numminen in Winnipeg.. The Kings will honor Pulford in an on-ice ceremony Saturday at Staples Center before their game against the Ducks. East Coast educated. Former King Bob Pulford enjoying team's success In 2012, Pulford was honoured by the Kings in a pregame ceremony; the team wore their purple and gold 1970s throwback uniforms in the game following this ceremony. Less than a week later, at prospect camp, Smith was thumbing through all the shirtless photos of all the players taken during their fitness tests as a way of evaluating body types and potential growth. I mean, Winnipeg got rid of Teemu Selanne. Terry put his catching hand down on the ice in an attempt to keep his balance. Use arrows to navigate between autocomplete results. Cooke however, often meddled in player personnel matters, and in the mid-1970s, reverted to his old habits of trading promising young players and draft picks for veteran, past their prime former stars. But though the Penguins are dull on paper, they tend to be dynamic on the ice, thanks to rookie sensation Mario Lemieux. There were people I had hired who left good jobs to come there. He had long ago been numbed to the fateful whims of managing an NHL franchise. Do you have a blog? Bob Pulford - Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame Since then, they have an 0-9-1 record. ''Troy Murray, Curt Fraser and Ed Olczyk were charging the net and I thought maybe one of them could get the rebound.''. There were a few holdovers from his time in Chicago. The wearing of the green (and purple) and get used to seeing Jonathan Quick, NHL suspends Sharks Dany Heatley for two games. , start time: 1956-01-01T00:00:00Z Bob Pulford has won 4 Stanley Cups as a player. In 1967 Pulford was elected the first president of the National Hockey League Players' Association. Join Facebook to connect with Bob Pulford and others you may know. Los Angeles Kings is a trademark of Los Angeles Kings, LLC. Check back soon for some tidbits about Thursdays game. Smiths impact and legacy are undeniable. How the hell do you do that? Right now he`s all offense, and that`s the way it should be. He had nothing to do with any of the draft picks when I was there. The Black Hawks continued to make up for lost time Thursday night to the dismay of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the delight of a crowd of 15,628 in the Stadium. It was a constant parade in my office of agents and players complaining about how he treated them. Bob Pulford is a 87 years old Canadian ice hockey player-coach from Newton Robinson. Whats wrong with that? Smith said. Rich Hammond Elizabeth Pulford is a writer of fiction, poetry and non-fiction for children, teenagers and adults. Manage Settings But youre not going to see the Chicago Blackhawks mention my name, because then you have to go back and ask why they fired me. Would they have taken other players, anyway? Back in 2003, there were nine rounds. Would things have gone as well had Smith stayed on as GM, rather than Tallon? Pulford and his family lived on King St. in Weston, Ontario from 1940 to 1950, and he attended Memorial School prior to the family move to rural Ontario. The following fall, Keith made the Blackhawks roster out of camp, played 81 games and never looked back. She was struck by the response of the Sharks' staff and players. There was a lot of controversy behind this pick, Smith says. Its a butterfly effect with too many possibilities to track. In 1967, he became the NHLs first Player Union President. They had actually cost me jobs. Would the 2010 Stanley Cup and a decade of dominance have even happened? His legacy might be lost to younger Chicagoans who fell in love with the sport in the late 2000s, but someday youll be able to see it hanging from the rafters of the United Center. He knows that. / Los Angeles Kings. With sixty-three seconds left in the opening period, Terry dove to make his ninth save of the game and had Leaf Bob Pulford fall over his outstretched body. It's gonna be a great night in Etobicoke No use dwelling on what happened some 17 years ago, no use raging against people who are no longer relevant, no longer working in hockey, and in some cases, no longer alive. It turned out to be essential when John Chabot scored for the Penguins with 2 minutes 23 seconds left in the game. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? "The Pulfords are a family that I love dearly," she said. Terrill Samuel - Athlete But Pulford was in love with (former Blackhawks forward and coach) Darryl Sutter, and had to protect Brian. And during that lockout, Keith had a stellar season for the Norfolk Admirals of the American Hockey League, which was loaded with just about every top prospect in the league because of the wiped-out NHL season. The defense-oriented defenseman scored the deciding goal--and his fourth goal of the season--on a shot from the blue line 29 seconds into the final period. Pulford is less of a coach, and more of a guy they put on the bench because someone has to be there. Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile, The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (2-Oct-1974), Carol for Another Christmas (28-Dec-1964), Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile. Oh, my God, this guy is fat, Smith recalls saying to no one in particular. She said her husband also has a close relationship with Pulford and she doesn't see the family situation being a hindrance to him being the Hawks' general manager. Pulford vs. Harper: The Battle that Divided the Penalty Box! The first Kings team ever to win 40 games was the squad Pulford coached in 1974-75, which won 42 games and still holds the franchise record of 105 points. Growing up in Weston he played a variety of sports football for Weston Collegiate, lacrosse and hockey, as part of the Toronto Maple Leafs organization. Join the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame for it's 4th Annual Wine and Cheese Night! Why is Frank McCourt really pushing this? He stepped back twice more, however, between then and June, 2005, always returning to his role as Senior Vice President. Bob Pulford. In 1997, after 20 successful seasons in which the Blackhawks always made the playoffs, Pulford stepped down as General Manager. Player stats broken down into various categories; i.e. But they always tried to come to a consensus at the draft table, where everyones in agreement that, yes, we should take this guy. Bruce Boyd - Builder Pulford played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros for three seasons from 1953 to 1956, winning two Memorial Cups under coach Turk Broda. Do you have a sports website? I always felt if we had gotten by them, it really would have established hockey here.. She said the phone at their home in Sonoma, Calif., has been ringing non-stop with reporters looking for Dean and friends from Chicago asking if she is coming back. He knows all about planting seeds in a garden, and wondering if youll ever get to see them grow. Bob Pulford vs.Terry Harper - once the fisticuffs were done on the ice they continued fighting in the shared penalty box that NHL arenas had at the time. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. He moved up to the Maple Leafs for the 195657 season and remained with the team for 14 seasons wearing jersey number 20. "He's got to find himself a wife that'll help him, actually almost dedicate her life to him being a success," he told ESPN. The Leafs traded him to the Los Angeles Kings on September 3, 1970, where he played two seasons and retired as a player in 1972. Dean Lombardi took the scouting job at the start of this season, and Wandamae Lombardi said he's enjoying just evaluating players and not worrying about budgets and other GM duties. There are people desperate to get back into hockey when theyre out. He says he almost got fired for the pick. We outdrew the Lakers in those days, said Pulford, who will be 75 later this month and splits his time between Chicago and Florida. Her husband said he`ll take as many as he can get. He was an outstanding penalty killer, registered four 20-or-more goal seasons and was an NHL All-Star six times. It had become apparent to me toward the end of last season and the beginning of this year that our general manager and head coach were not on the same page, Pulfords statement read. After five successful seasons in L.A., Pulford joined the Chicago Blackhawks as Head Coach and General Manager. Robert Shaw - NNDB 50 years later, Maple Leafs legend Bobby Baun still unstoppable Yaremchuk seems certain to remain on the roster. Stanley Cup. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images), Despite Duncan Keiths size, Mike Smith thought he could thrive in the NHL. Thursday April 26th , 2018 at the Mastercard Centre Pulford and his wife, Roslyn, took Wandamae into their home after her parents died. Bob Pulford - Age, Birthday, Biography & Facts | HowOld.co Bob Pulford was born in NewtonRobinson, Canada. He was born on March 31, 1936 in Newton Robinson. View the profiles of people named Bob Pulford. Bob Pulford - Elite Prospects Updated hourly, with analysis, commentary and features from hundreds writers worldwide, our articles are read over 5 million times every month. He`s always in the openings. Pulford said he and his wife, Roslyn, usually visit Southern California once a season to catch up. Hes quite liberal taking credit for it.. But for that crucial 2002-03 season and draft, Tallon was back in the broadcast booth for a year. She said all the players took her husband out for a farewell that lasted into the morning. Thats the other part (of my relative anonymity), is Dale Tallon taking a lot of credit for these drafts, Smith says. I dont get mentioned much because the Blackhawks make sure not to mention me, he says. ''There`s not a game we go into that I don`t think we can win. But the Blackhawks saw the bigger picture and hoped the lack of speed would scare away other teams so hed fall to them. Bob Pulford, Canadian ice hockey player-coach, National Hockey League Bob Pulford finished with 281 regular season goals and 362 assists for 643 points in 1,079 games. Lombardi said her husband was "assessing the situation" and that they would discuss the matter this weekend. When he retired as a player, Pulford became Head Coach with the Los Angeles Kings. When he's not involved with hockey, he can be found restoring old automobiles, a long-time hobby, playing golf or fishing. In 1990 the Blackhawks President, William Wirtz, appointed Bob Pulford Senior Vice President, giving him more input into the crucial areas of team business and marketing. Subscribe to The Athletic for in-depth coverage of your favorite players, teams, leagues and clubs. He hired both Bowman and senior vice president of hockey ops Al MacIsaac. Every Chicago Black Hawks/Blackhawks Stanley Cup Playoff Head - Reddit Just let him talk. He even takes credit for the 2003 draft. He's a labor lawyer, so he knows the [collective bargaining agreement]. Less than four months after the Blackhawks fired Smith, star center Alex Zhamnov was traded to Philadelphia and Ville Nieminen was sent to Calgary. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spending 30 years with the Chicago Blackhawks as a coach and general manager. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1990, but took on the general manager's duties again from 1992 to 1997, from 1999 to 2000, and from 2003 to 2005. ''He`s going to make some of the other guys work harder for their jobs. In 2002, Smith drafted an undersized defenseman named Duncan Keith. With the series tied 11, Pulford scored the overtime game winner in game 3 of the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens. Before Lombardi, Bob Pulford was the Original Kings Architect - NHL Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Sunday, April 30, 4:59AM. (Christopher Hanewinckel / USA Today). So that got added to the fact that I wouldnt do what he told me to do. The only thing that stopped him was the 2004-05 lockout, as the trade market was frozen for an entire year. He spent six seasons on the Blackhawks beat for the Chicago Sun-Times after covering Notre Dames run to the BCS championship game in 2012-13. Some of our partners may process your data as a part of their legitimate business interest without asking for consent. He's the best man for any general manager job.". She said she and her husband have tremendous respect for both Pulford and the Wirtz family. There is also no pressure monetarily because the Sharks are still paying Lombardi for two more years.