Norm Ullman

Norm Ullman
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1982
Ullman with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1960s
Born (1935-12-26) December 26, 1935
Provost, Alberta, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Toronto Maple Leafs
Edmonton Oilers
Playing career 1955–1977

Norman Victor Alexander Ullman (born December 26, 1935) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward. He previously played for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975, and with the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association from 1975 to 1977. His career statistics rank him among the greatest centres to ever play in the NHL, with 490 career regular-season goals and 739 assists for 1229 points. Ullman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

Early life

Ullman was born on December 26, 1935, in Provost, Alberta, Canada.[1] He was one of seven children born to parents John and Madeline Ullman. John worked as a janitorial supervisor for the Edmonton Separate School Board.[2] His eldest sister died in 1961,[3] while his youngest brother Gordie died of cancer at the age of 13.[4]

Playing career

Growing up in Edmonton, Ullman learned to skate on a rink built by the United States Army before World War II. He began his minor hockey career playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).[4] Due to his committment to hockey, Ullman dropped out of high school before Grade 11.[5] He then skated with the Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League before turned pro with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League in the 1955–56 NHL season.[6] Ullman spent the majority of his rookie season on Detroit's fourth line with fellow former Flyer Bronco Horvath.[7] He scored his first career NHL goal on October 16, 1955, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.[8] Ullman finished his rookie season with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points through 66 games.[9]

Ullman improved upon returning to the Red Wings for his sophomore season. He credited his improvement to following the advice of his former coach, Ken McAuley.[9] Through his first five games of the 1956–1957 season, Ullman tied for second in scoring with five points.[10] He was also promoted to center the Red Wings' Production Line between Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe.[11][12] By the end of October, Ullman ranked among the top five scorers in the NHL with seven points.[13] Coach Jimmy Skinner credited the Production Line for Detroits improvements from the previous season.[14] By mid-November, all three members of the Production Line ranked among the top of the NHL in scoring and points.[15][16]

Ullman led Detroit in goals in 1961, 1965, and 1966 and led the league in 1964–65 with 42 goals. In that same season, he missed the overall scoring title by 4 points, second to Stan Mikita, and was voted a first team All-Star.

He appeared in eleven All-Star games during his 20-year career scored 30 goals and added 53 assists during Stanley Cup Playoff action in 106 games played. Ullman was twice the playoff-scoring leader.

He was part of a six-player blockbuster transaction in which he was traded along with Paul Henderson and Floyd Smith from the Red Wings to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and Carl Brewer on March 4, 1968. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings were in fifth and sixth place respectively at the bottom of the East Division standings at the time of the deal.[17] Ullman finished his NHL career with Toronto and ended his hockey career after two seasons with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers.

Honours and legacy

Ullman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.[18] In 1998, he was ranked number 90 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.[19]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1951–52 Edmonton Oil Kings WCJHL 1 1 0 1 0 1 0 0 0 0
1952–53 Edmonton Oil Kings WCJHL 36 29 47 76 4 13 4 6 10 0
1953–54 Edmonton Oil Kings WCJHL 36 56 45 101 17 10 11 26 37 0
1953–54 Edmonton Flyers WHL 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — —
1954–55 Edmonton Flyers WHL 60 25 34 59 23 9 3 1 4 6
1955–56 Detroit Red Wings NHL 66 9 9 18 26 10 1 3 4 13
1956–57 Detroit Red Wings NHL 64 16 36 52 47 5 1 1 2 6
1957–58 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 23 28 51 38 4 0 2 2 4
1958–59 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 22 36 58 42 — — — — —
1959–60 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 24 34 58 46 6 2 2 4 0
1960–61 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 28 42 70 34 11 0 4 4 4
1961–62 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 26 38 64 54 — — — — —
1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 26 30 56 53 11 4 12 16 14
1963–64 Detroit Red Wings NHL 61 21 30 51 55 14 7 10 17 6
1964–65 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 42 41 83 70 7 6 4 10 2
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 31 41 72 35 12 6 9 15 12
1966–67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 26 44 70 26 — — — — —
1967–68 Detroit Red Wings NHL 58 30 25 55 26 — — — — —
1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 13 5 12 17 2 — — — — —
1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 35 42 77 41 4 1 0 1 0
1969–70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 18 42 60 37 — — — — —
1970–71 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 73 34 51 85 24 6 0 2 2 2
1971–72 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 77 23 50 73 26 5 1 3 4 6
1972–73 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 20 35 55 10 — — — — —
1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 78 22 47 69 12 4 1 1 2 0
1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 9 26 35 8 7 0 0 0 2
1975–76 Edmonton Oilers WHA 77 31 56 87 12 4 1 3 4 2
1976–77 Edmonton Oilers WHA 67 16 27 43 28 5 0 3 3 0
NHL totals 1,410 490 739 1,229 712 106 30 53 83 67
WHA totals 144 47 83 130 40 9 1 6 7 2

Career awards

See also

References

  1. ^ "Norm Ullman". Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 13, 2026.
  2. ^ "Father of NHL Star supervised janitors". Edmonton Journal. March 6, 1985. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Norm Ullman Loses Sister". Telegraph-Journal. March 23, 1961. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b Sanderson, Iris (April 13, 1968). "With Nary A Word From Norm". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Norm Ullman wants to win". The Weston-Downsview Mirror. April 7, 1971. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "With the big club". Edmonton Journal. September 16, 1955. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Powers, Ned (March 1, 1956). "Power Plays". Saskatoon Star-Phoenix. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Norm Ullman Scores 1st NHL Goal As Red Wings Regain Their Form". Edmonton Journal. October 17, 1955. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  9. ^ a b O'Brien, Andy (December 31, 1965). "Hockey Tips From The All-Stars". The Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved February 13, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Ex-Flyer Second With Three Others". Edmonton Journal. October 24, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Ralby, Herb (November 8, 1956). "Ullman, 21, Fine Pivot For Howe and Lindsay". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 14, 2026.
  12. ^ "Red Wings Register 3-1 Win Over Hawks". The Morning Union. October 12, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Ted Lindsay Tops in NHL". The Journal Times. October 30, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "Casual Comment On Sport". The Kingston Whig-Standard. November 20, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Red Wing Production Line Tightens Scoring Chase". The Saginaw News. November 20, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  16. ^ "Production Line Is Setting Fast Pace". The Times-Transcript. November 21, 1956. Retrieved February 14, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Mahovlich, Ullman Traded," The Edmonton Journal, Monday, March 4, 1968. Retrieved January 25, 2023.
  18. ^ "Size not a factor in hall selection". The Hamilton Spectator. June 9, 1982. Retrieved February 15, 2026 – via newspapers.com.
  19. ^ Dryden, Steve, ed. (1998). The Top 100 NHL Players of All Time (Cloth ed.). Toronto: McClelland & Stewart. ISBN 0-7710-4175-6. Retrieved 2024-03-07 – via Internet Archive text collection.
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