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Tim Horton
Photo: Arnie Lee ( Arnielee ), CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons11

Tim Horton

Canadian ice hockey player and businessman (1930–1974)

Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He spent the majority of his career playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, later playing with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Buffalo Sabres.2

From Wikipedia’s article on Tim Horton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Born Jan 12, 1930, died Feb 21, 1974.1

About

Horton was a four-time Stanley Cup Champion in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967 with the Maple Leafs. In 2017, Horton was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history. He died at age 44 following a single-vehicle crash in which drugs and alcohol were involved.

A successful businessman, Horton co-founded the Tim Hortons restaurant chain.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tim Horton, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.2

Companies

Early life and education

  • Date not recordedSt. Michael's College School3
  • Date not recordedSudbury Secondary School3

Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario, at Lady Minto Hospital, to Aaron Oakley Horton, a Canadian National Railway mechanic, and Ethel May (née Irish). His father christened him Miles Gilbert after his two grandfathers, but he came to be known exclusively as Tim, the name his mother had wanted to give him. He had one brother, Jerry Horton.

The family moved in 1935 to Duparquet, Quebec, returning to Ontario in 1938 to Cochrane; the family then moved to Sudbury in 1945.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tim Horton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Career

Occupation: ice hockey player.5

Early career

Horton grew up playing ice hockey in Cochrane, and later in a mining community near Timmins. In 1947, he moved to Toronto to play junior hockey for the St Michael's Majors. He was named best defenceman in the Ontario Hockey Association in the 1948-1949 season.

Toronto Maple Leafs

In 1949, he turned pro with the Maple Leafs farm team, the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. He spent most of the first three seasons with Pittsburgh, playing in his first NHL game on March 26, 1950. With the Hornets, he won the 1952 AHL championship and was named an American League All-Star. Horton played his first full season with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1952. He remained a Leaf until 1970, winning four Stanley Cups.

In 1952, Horton's career was nearly ended after a bodycheck by Bill Gadsby broke his leg and fractured his jaw. He returned to play the next season.

Horton was known for his physical style and posture, and poise under pressure. As a hard-working and durable defenceman, he gained relatively few penalty minutes for an enforcer-type defenceman. He was also an effective puck carrier – in 1964–65 he played right wing for the Leafs. Horton appeared in seven National Hockey League All-Star Games. He was named an NHL first team All-Star three times: (1964, 1968, and 1969). He was selected to the NHL Second Team three times: (1954, 1963, 1967).

Between February 11, 1961, and February 4, 1968, Horton appeared in 486 consecutive regular season games; this remains the Leafs' club record for consecutive games and was the NHL record for consecutive games by a defenceman until broken by Kārlis Skrastiņš on February 8, 2007.

Horton had a reputation for enveloping players fighting him in a crushing bear hug.

While playing, Horton was generally acknowledged as the strongest man in the game; injuries and age were little more than minor inconveniences. Chicago Black Hawks left wing Bobby Hull declared, "There were defencemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. But you respected Tim Horton because he didn't need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check."

In 1962, Horton established a league postseason record for his position with 16 points (three goals, 13 assists), which Boston Bruins star Bobby Orr broke eight years later. The team record was tied in 1978 by Ian Turnbull (who played 13 games). It was broken in 1994, when David Ellett registered 18 points in 18 games.

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Post-Toronto years

In March 1970, the Maple Leafs traded Horton to the New York Rangers for future considerations; he spent the last fifteen games of the season in New York and all of the following as well. At the beginning of the 1971–72 season, he was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intra-league draft and, at age 41, signed a one-year contract for an estimated $100,000, the largest contract at the time for the five-year-old franchise. With a broken ankle and a shoulder separation, Horton only played 44 games for the Penguins and managed just 11 points.

In spite of Horton's age, 42, and considerable nearsightedness, Buffalo Sabres head coach and general manager Punch Imlach, who had held the same posts with the Leafs for much of Horton's time in Toronto, acquired Horton in the intra-league draft and signed him in 1972. In 1973, his performance assisted the Sabres in their first playoff appearance. Horton later signed a contract extension in the off-season.

While playing for the Leafs, Horton wore the number 7, the same number worn by King Clancy from 1930 to 1937. The team declared both Horton and Clancy honoured players at a ceremony on November 21, 1995, but did not retire the number 7 from team use; despite this, it became an honoured jersey number, abiding by Leafs honours policy. In 2016, the Leafs changed their retirement policy and, on October 15, retired the number 7 in honour of both Horton and Clancy.

Horton wore number 2 in Buffalo (as Rick Martin already had the number 7). Both numbers have since been retired.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tim Horton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Personal life

  • BornJan 12, 1930, Cochrane6
  • DiedFeb 21, 1974, St. Catharines7
  • CitizenshipCanada8

Married in 1952, Horton was survived by his wife, the late Lori Michalek of Pittsburgh, and four daughters. Horton was a Freemason, belonging to Kroy Lodge No. 676 in Thornhill, Ontario.

From Wikipedia’s article on Tim Horton (this version), CC BY-SA 4.0.

Awards

  • Date not recordedCanada's Sports Hall of Fame9
  • Date not recordedHockey Hall of Fame9
  • Date not recordedStanley Cup9

Sources

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