Buddy O'Connor

Buddy O'Connor
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1988
Born (1916-06-21)June 21, 1916
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died August 24, 1977(1977-08-24) (aged 61)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 145 lb (66 kg; 10 st 5 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
New York Rangers
Playing career 1941–1951

Herbert William "Buddy" O'Connor (June 21, 1916 – August 24, 1977) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers in the National Hockey League between 1941 and 1951. He won the Hart Trophy and Lady Byng Trophy in 1948.

Playing career

O'Connor played for the Montreal Canadiens from 1941 to 1947 and won two Stanley Cups during his career in 1944 and 1946 while playing for the Canadiens.

In 1947, O'Connor was traded to the New York Rangers. He had 60 points that season, finishing second to Montreal's Elmer Lach in the scoring race. He was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy and Lady Byng Memorial Trophy and was the first player to win both in the same year.[1] He was also the first Ranger to win the Hart.[2] These achievements were reflected in his being named winner of the Lionel Conacher Award, as Canada's male athlete of the year for 1948.

O'Connor played for the Rangers until 1951. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988, becoming the first inductee into the now-defunct Veteran category.

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked O'Connor at No. 38 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[2]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1934–35 Montreal Jr. Royals QJHL 10 15 7 22 4 2 1 1 2 0
1934–35 Montreal Royals QSHL — — — — — 4 1 0 1 2
1934–35 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — 1 1 0 1 0
1935–36 Montreal Royals QSHL 22 14 10 24 6 8 6 5 11 6
1935–36 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — 4 1 0 1 4
1936–37 Montreal Royals QSHL 19 10 17 27 27 5 0 4 4 2
1937–38 Montreal Royals QSHL 22 9 14 23 10 1 0 0 0 0
1938–39 Montreal Royals QSHL 22 13 23 36 28 5 5 4 9 2
1938–39 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — 13 10 10 20 15
1939–40 Montreal Royals QSHL 29 16 25 41 6 8 8 6 14 2
1939–40 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — 5 5 5 10 6
1940–41 Montreal Royals QSHL 35 15 38 53 12 8 2 7 9 4
1940–41 Montreal Royals Al-Cup — — — — — 14 6 14 20 4
1941–42 Montreal Canadiens NHL 36 9 16 25 4 3 0 1 1 0
1941–42 Montreal Royals QSHL 9 1 5 6 4 — — — — —
1942–43 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 15 43 58 2 5 4 5 9 0
1943–44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 44 12 42 54 6 8 1 2 3 2
1944–45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 21 23 44 2 2 0 0 0 0
1945–46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 11 11 22 2 9 2 3 5 0
1945–46 Montreal Royals QSHL 2 0 1 1 0 2 0 2 2 0
1946–47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 46 10 20 30 6 8 3 4 7 0
1947–48 New York Rangers NHL 60 24 36 60 8 6 1 4 5 0
1948–49 New York Rangers NHL 46 11 24 35 0 — — — — —
1949–50 New York Rangers NHL 66 11 22 33 4 12 4 2 6 4
1950–51 New York Rangers NHL 66 16 20 36 0 — — — — —
1951–52 Cincinnati Mohawks AHL 65 11 43 54 4 4 2 3 5 2
1952–53 Cincinnati Mohawks AHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
NHL totals 509 140 257 397 34 53 15 21 36 6

Personal

In the mid-1950s, Danny Gallivan was known to assist with the Department of Education's Physical Fitness Division's annual hockey school in PEI, along with NHL chief referee Red Storey and NHL star Buddy O'Connor.[3]

References

  1. ^ Duff, Bob and Shea, Kevin (2011). Hockey Hall of Fame MVP Trophies & Winners. Firefly Books Ltd. p. 67.
  2. ^ a b Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 136. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  3. ^ "Annual Report of the Department of Education of the Province of Prince Edward Island for the fiscal year ending March 31st, 1957 | Prince Edward Island Legislative Documents Online". Archived from the original on 2016-12-20. Retrieved 2015-11-06.
Sporting positions
Preceded by New York Rangers captain
1949–50 		Succeeded by
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Winner of the Hart Trophy
1948 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1948 		Succeeded by
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