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Syl Apps
CM
Syl Apps; CM
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1961
	Apps with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1942
Born	January 18, 1915; Paris, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 24, 1998 (aged 83); Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1936–1948
Men's athletics
British Empire Games
Minister of Correctional Services
	In office; 1971–1974
Premier	Bill Davis
Preceded by	Allan Grossman
Succeeded by	Richard Potter
Ontario MPP
	In office; 1963–1975
Preceded by	William McAdam Nickle
Succeeded by	Keith Norton
Constituency	Kingston, 1963–1967; Kingston and the Islands, 1967–1975
Personal details
Political party	National Government (Federal); Progressive Conservative (Provincial)
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Army
Years of service	1943–1945
Battles/wars	World War II

Charles Joseph Sylvanus Apps CM (January 18, 1915 – December 24, 1998),^[1] was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948, an Olympic pole vaulter and a Conservative Member of Provincial Parliament in Ontario. In 2017 Apps was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Athletic career

Apps was a strong athlete, six feet tall, weighing 185 pounds, and won the gold medal at the 1934 British Empire Games in the pole vault competition. Two years later he represented Canada at the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he placed sixth in the pole vault event. After watching him play football at McMaster University, Conn Smythe signed Apps to play hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Apps played centre position with the Toronto Maple Leafs for his entire professional hockey career. His jersey number was 10. He was the winner of the first Calder Memorial Trophy in 1937, and the 1942 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Apps served as the Maple Leafs captain during the first National Hockey League All-Star Game October 13, 1947, at Maple Leaf Gardens. He also played for an all-star team competing in Montreal on October 29, 1939, to raise money for Babe Siebert's family.

Apps was in the prime of his career when he joined the Canadian Army during World War II at the end of the 1943 season. He served two years until the war was over, whereupon he returned to captain the Leafs, winning 2 more Stanley Cups in 1947 and 1948.^[3]

Apps contemplated retirement following the 1947 Stanley Cup win, but returned in order to reach the 200 career goals milestone. With 196 career goals heading into the final weekend of the regular season, Apps scored 5 goals in the two weekend games to surpass his goal.^[4] Despite scoring 53 points in 55 games and setting a career high in goals, Apps retired from the NHL at the age of 33 and took a marketing job with the Simpson's department store. At the same time, he also served as the Ontario Athletic Commissioner.

Politics

While still playing hockey, Apps ran for parliament in the 1940 federal election. He was a candidate in the riding of Brant for the National Government Party but lost to incumbent George Wood of the Liberals by 138 votes.

Apps was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1975. He represented the riding of Kingston from 1963 to 1967 and Kingston and the Islands from 1967 to 1975. He served as the Minister of Correctional Services from 1971 to 1974.

Death

On December 24, 1998, Apps died from a heart attack and was buried in Mountview Cemetery in Cambridge, Ontario. After his death, the Maple Leafs honoured his jersey number and George Armstrong's number, who both wore the number 10. Their numbers were not retired, as the Maple Leafs had a policy of only retiring numbers for players "who have made a significant contribution to the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and have experienced a career-ending incident while a member of the Maple Leaf team". However, this policy was changed for the Maple Leafs' centennial season, with Apps' number, along with 15 others, officially being retired on October 15, 2016.

Legacy

Apps was known for his athleticism, character, skating and play-making abilities (alongside a scoring touch, six times reaching the 20 goal plateau).^[4] He has been praised by Maple Leafs alumni, authors, historians and even competitors. Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe called Apps the greatest player in franchise history, with teammate Howie Meeker noting his strong, consistent play. Ted Kennedy often spoke of his character. Jack Adams, famous for his managerial roles with the Detroit Red Wings, stated that Apps was the greatest centre he had ever seen. Boston Bruins legend Milt Schmidt called Apps the greatest player he ever played against, as did Ted Lindsay in relation to the centre position and gentlemanly characteristics.^[4]

In 1975, he was elected to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame and two years later Apps was made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Several institutions are named for him, including the Syl and Molly Apps Research Centre in Kingston, Ontario, and the Syl Apps Youth Centre in Oakville, Ontario. The sports arena in his home town of Paris is named the Syl Apps Community Centre.

In 1997, Syl Apps was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.^[5] Unveiled by the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame on January 13, 1998, the Syl Apps Award is emblematic of Ontario's Athlete of the Year.^[6]

In 2001, Canada Post included Apps in a series of NHL All-Star 47-cent postage stamps.

The National Hockey League itself listed Apps as one of the 100 Greatest Players to ever play in the league as part of the league's centennial celebrations in 2017.^[4]

Family

Apps and wife Mary Josephine had five children, Joanne, Robert, Carol, Janet and son Syl Apps Jr. (the latter also played in the NHL). His granddaughter (and daughter of Syl Jr.) Gillian Apps won the gold medal in the 2006 Winter Olympics, the 2010 Winter Olympics, and the 2014 Winter Olympics for Canada's women's ice hockey team, and his grandson Syl Apps III was a college hockey star at Princeton University and played four years in the minor leagues. His grandson Darren Barber won a gold medal at the 1992 Barcelona Olympics in the men's 8 in rowing. Barber is now a family doctor in Peterborough, Ontario.^[7] Another cousin, whose grandparents had settled in Manitoba, was Murray Dryden; his sons Dave Dryden and Ken Dryden were NHL Goalkeepers.

NHL awards and achievements

Calder Memorial Trophy winner in 1937.
Selected to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1938, 1941, and 1943.
Selected to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1939, and 1942.
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner in 1942.
Stanley Cup champion in 1942, 1947, and 1948.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961.
Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
In 1998, he was ranked number 33 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
#10 jersey retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[8]
In January 2017, Apps was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1930–31	Paris Green	OHA-Jr.	7	5	1	6	0	—	—	—	—	—
1935–36	Hamilton Tigers	OHA-Sr.	19	22	16	38	10	9	12	7	19	4
1935–36	Toronto Dominions	OHA-Sr.	1	0	1	1	0	—	—	—	—	—
1935–36	Hamilton Tigers	A-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	4	5	4	9	2
1936–37	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	48	16	29	45	10	2	0	1	1	0
1937–38	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	47	21	29	50	9	7	1	4	5	0
1938–39	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	44	15	25	40	4	10	2	6	8	2
1939–40	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	27	13	17	30	5	10	5	2	7	2
1940–41	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	41	20	24	44	6	5	3	2	5	2
1941–42	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	38	18	23	41	0	13	5	9	14	2
1942–43	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	29	23	17	40	2	—	—	—	—	—
1945–46	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	40	24	16	40	2	—	—	—	—	—
1946–47	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	54	25	24	49	6	11	5	1	6	0
1947–48	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	55	26	27	53	12	9	4	4	8	0
NHL totals			423	201	231	432	56	67	25	29	54	14

Electoral record

v t e 1940 Canadian federal election: Brant
Party	Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	George Wood	4,657	50.8	+6.3
	National Government	Syl Apps	4,519	49.2	+12.1
Total valid votes			9,176	100.0

Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

References

^ Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-66093-8.
^ ^a ^b "100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
^ "HHOF - Player Details".
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Syl Apps: 100 Greatest NHL Players". National Hockey League. Retrieved January 1, 2016.
^ "Syl Apps". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on December 29, 2014. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
^ "Syl Apps Athlete of the Year Award". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on October 21, 2016. Retrieved September 24, 2014.
^ "Gold medalist coaching coaching novice women's eights at Trent | ThePeterboroughExaminer.com". October 7, 2014.
^ "Toronto Maple Leafs retire the numbers of 17 players". National Hockey League. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history

Cabinet post (1)
Ontario provincial government of Bill Davis
Predecessor	Office	Successor
Allan Grossman	Minister of Correctional Services 1971–1974	Richard Potter

Sporting positions
Preceded by Red Horner	Toronto Maple Leafs captain 1940–1943	Succeeded by Bob Davidson
Preceded by Bob Davidson	Toronto Maple Leafs captain 1945–1948	Succeeded by Ted Kennedy
Awards
Preceded by Rookie of the Year Mike Karakas	Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy 1937	Succeeded by Cully Dahlstrom
Preceded by Bobby Bauer	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1942	Succeeded by Max Bentley