Bob Pulford

Bob Pulford
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1991
Pulford with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s
Born (1936-03-31)March 31, 1936
Newton Robinson, Ontario, Canada
Died January 5, 2026(2026-01-05) (aged 89)
West Palm Beach, Florida
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Los Angeles Kings
Playing career 1956–1972

Robert Jesse Pulford (March 31, 1936 – January 5, 2026) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. He later served as head coach of the Kings before spending 30 years with the Chicago Blackhawks as a coach and general manager.

Early life

Pulford was born in Newton Robinson, Ontario, on March 31, 1936.[1] In his youth, he played in the Weston, Ontario Minor Hockey League, and then played for other minor league teams that were part of the Toronto Maple Leafs farm system.[2][3]

Playing career

Pulford played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros for three seasons from 1953 to 1956, winning two Memorial Cups under coach Turk Broda. He moved up to the Maple Leafs for the 1956–57 season and remained with the team for 14 seasons wearing jersey number 20. Pulford was an important member of the Leaf teams that won four Stanley Cups in 1962–1964 and 1967.[4] When the National Hockey League Players' Association was formed, Pulford became the organization's first president in the spring of 1967.[5]

With the series tied 1–1, Pulford scored the overtime game-winner in game 3 of the 1967 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens.[6] The Montreal goalie was Rogie Vachon.[7] Pulford later coached Vachon in Los Angeles as the Kings rose to prominence in the mid-1970s.

The Leafs traded him to the Los Angeles Kings on September 3, 1970,[8] where he played two seasons and retired as a player in 1972.[9]

Coaching career

Immediately after retiring as a player, Pulford became head coach of the Kings for the 1972–73 season and led the team for five years before becoming coach and general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1977. As coach of the Kings, he helped Los Angeles go from being one of the worst defensive and penalty-killing teams in the NHL to one of the best. He guided the Kings to their first playoff appearance in five years in 1974 and won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in the NHL in 1975. That season, the Kings amassed 105 points, still a club record through 2013. He also led the Kings to their first playoff series wins since 1969 when they defeated the Atlanta Flames in the first round of both the 1976 and 1977 NHL playoffs. Pulford left the Kings after the 1976–77 season after constant feuding with then owner Jack Kent Cooke. Pulford wanted to become general manager as well as coach, or at least have a bigger role in player personnel decisions. 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 veterans, past their prime former stars.

Pulford served as coach for the Blackhawks on three separate occasions from 1977 to 1987. 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. During his third stint as general manager, Pulford nominally doubled as head coach, demoting Lorne Molleken to an assistant. However, Molleken remained the team's main operator on the bench, with Pulford as more or less a senior consultant.

In seven seasons and 426 games as Hawks coach over three stints, Pulford won 182, lost 176, and tied 68. At the time he left the bench for good, only Billy Reay had won more regular season games for the Hawks. Pulford is now third, behind Reay and Joel Quenneville for most regular season games won as Hawk coach.

He won the Jack Adams Award for the best coach in the NHL in 1975. As well, he was named head coach of Team USA during the 1976 Canada Cup tournament.

Pulford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

On October 11, 2007, Pulford was named an officer with the Wirtz Corporation, parent company of the Blackhawks, and was no longer part of the day-to-day management of the Blackhawks.

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.

Personal life and death

Pulford died on January 5, 2026, at the age of 89.[10][11] His son-in-law was Dean Lombardi, who was the former president and general manager of the Los Angeles Kings when they won their first Stanley Cups in 2012 and 2014.[1]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1953–54 Weston Dukes MetJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1953–54 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 17 5 9 14 12 15 4 7 11 12
1954–55 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 47 24 22 46 43 13 7 10 17 29
1954–55 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 11 5 4 9 15
1955–56 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 48 30 25 55 87 11 16 8 24 2
1955–56 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup — — — — — 13 13 8 21 16
1956–57 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 11 11 22 32 — — — — —
1957–58 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 14 17 31 48 — — — — —
1958–59 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 23 14 37 53 12 4 4 8 8
1959–60 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 24 28 52 81 10 4 1 5 10
1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 11 18 29 41 5 0 0 0 8
1961–62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 18 21 39 98 12 7 1 8 24
1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 19 25 44 49 10 2 5 7 14
1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 18 30 48 73 14 5 3 8 20
1964–65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 19 29 39 46 6 1 1 2 16
1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 28 28 56 51 4 1 1 2 12
1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 17 28 45 28 12 1 10 11 12
1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 20 30 50 40 — — — — —
1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 71 11 23 34 20 4 0 0 0 2
1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 18 19 37 31 — — — — —
1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 59 17 26 43 53 — — — — —
1971–72 Los Angeles Kings NHL 73 13 24 37 48 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,079 281 362 643 792 89 25 26 51 126

Coaching record

Team Year Regular season Postseason
G W L T Pts Finish W L Win % Result
LA 1972–73 78 31 36 11 73 6th in West — — — Missed playoffs
1973–74 78 33 33 12 78 3rd in West 1 4 .200 Lost in Quarterfinals (CHI)
1974–75 80 42 17 21 105 2nd in Norris 1 2 .333 Lost in preliminary round (TOR)
1975–76 80 38 33 9 85 2nd in Norris 5 4 .556 Lost in Quarterfinals (BOS)
1976–77 80 34 31 15 83 2nd in Norris 4 5 .444 Lost in Quarterfinals (BOS)
LA total 396 178 150 68 424 11 15 .423 4 playoff appearances
CHI 1977–78 80 32 29 19 83 1st in Smythe 0 4 .000 Lost in Quarterfinals (BOS)
1978–79 80 29 36 15 73 1st in Smythe 0 4 .000 Lost in Quarterfinals (NYI)
1981–82 28 12 14 2 72 4th in Norris 8 7 .533 Lost in Conference Finals (VAN)
1984–85 27 16 7 4 83 2nd in Norris 9 6 .600 Lost in Conference Finals (EDM)
1985–86 80 39 33 8 86 1st in Norris 0 3 .000 Lost in Division semifinals (TOR)
1986–87 80 29 37 14 72 3rd in Norris 0 4 .000 Lost in Division semifinals (DET)
1999–2000 58 28 24 6 62 3rd in Central — — — Missed playoffs
CHI total 433 185 180 68 438 17 28 .378 6 playoff appearances
Total 829 363 330 136 862 28 43 .394 10 playoff appearances

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "Pulford, 4-time Stanley Cup champion with Maple Leafs, dies at 89". NHL.com. New York: National Hockey League. January 5, 2026. Archived from the original on January 6, 2026. Retrieved January 8, 2026.
  2. ^ Orr, Frank (December 9, 1970). "Tourney to mark 25th anniversary of Weston League". Toronto Daily Star. Torstar. p. 23. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 8, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Dunnell, Milt (December 2, 1970). "Look for a beef and find boost". Toronto Daily Star. Torstar. p. 14. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 8, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ McGran, Kevin (January 5, 2026). "Hockey Hall of Famer Bob Pulford, who helped Maple Leafs win four Stanley Cups, dies at 89". Toronto Star. Torstar. ISSN 0319-0781. Archived from the original on January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  5. ^ Burnett, Red (June 7, 1967). "NHL Accepts Player's Union". Toronto Daily Star. Torstar. p. 14. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 7, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Burnett, Red (April 26, 1967). "Expendables to untouchables, Pulford and linemates shine". Toronto Daily Star. Torstar. p. 22. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 7, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Dunnell, Milt (April 26, 1967). "The spectacular became ordinary". Toronto Daily Star. Torstar. p. 22. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 7, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Burnett, Red (September 3, 1970). "Pulford traded to Kings". Toronto Daily Star (3-Star ed.). Torstar. p. 18. ISSN 0319-0781. Retrieved January 7, 2026 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Whyno, Stephen (January 5, 2026). "Hockey Hall of Fame player and longtime Blackhawks executive Bob Pulford dies at 89". AP News. New York: The Associated Press. ISSN 2836-5151. Archived from the original on January 7, 2026. Retrieved January 7, 2026.
  10. ^ "Bob Pulford, Dead at 89". Toronto Mike. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
  11. ^ "Pulford, 4-time Stanley Cup champion with Maple Leafs, dies at 89". NHL. January 5, 2026. Retrieved January 5, 2026.
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