Eddie Shack

Edward Steven Phillip Shack (February 11, 1937 – July 25, 2020), also known by his nicknames "the Entertainer" and "the Nose",[1] was a Canadian professional ice hockey player of Ukrainian descent who played for six National Hockey League (NHL) teams from 1959 to 1975. He spent eight and a half seasons of his career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.

Eddie Shack
Shack with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s
Born (1937-02-11)February 11, 1937
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Died July 25, 2020(2020-07-25) (aged 83)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 200 lb (91 kg; 14 st 4 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
Los Angeles Kings
Buffalo Sabres
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 1957–1975

Early life

Edward Steven Phillip Shack was born in Sudbury, Ontario, on February 11, 1937,[2][3] the son of Ukrainian immigrants Lena and Bill Shack.[4] He had an elder sister named Mary.[4] As a child, he struggled in school due to illnesses between first and third grade that hampered his attendance. Consequently, he stayed illiterate and eventually dropped out altogether.[4] He began working as a salesman for a butcher shop, but left this job to try out with the Guelph Biltmores hockey club; during his time with them, he supported himself with jobs at a meat market and on a coal truck.[4]

Shack met his wife, Norma Givens, when she worked at the Eaton’s across from the Empress Hotel in Peterborough, Ont., where the team held its training camps. The couple married in 1962 and had two children.

Playing career
Shack (left) with a fan wearing his jersey (right) at an NHL charity event in January 2007

Shack played junior hockey for the Guelph Biltmores of the OHA for five seasons starting at the age of 15.[5] He had his best season in 1956–57, when he led the league in assists[6] and starred in the Memorial Cup playoffs.[7]

The New York Rangers signed Shack and assigned him to their AHL Providence Reds farm team for half a season. He made the NHL in the 1958–59 season and played two years for the Blueshirts. In 1960, he was to be traded with Bill Gadsby to the Detroit Red Wings for Red Kelly and Billy McNeill, but the transaction was cancelled when Kelly decided to retire rather than accept the trade.[8]

In November of the 1960–61 season, Shack was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he played seven seasons on the left wing as a colourful, third-line agitator who was popular with the fans despite a lack of scoring prowess. Canadian sports writer Stephen Cole likened Shack's playing to that of "a big puppy let loose in a wide field".[9]

During the 1965–66 season Shack broke out, scoring 26 goals on a line with Ron Ellis and Bob Pulford. His popularity was such that a novelty song called "Clear the Track, Here Comes Shack", written in his honour and performed by Douglas Rankine with The Secrets,[10] reached No. 1 on the Canadian pop charts and charted for almost three months.[2]

Shack was a member of the Maple Leafs' last Stanley Cup-winning team in 1967, although his production fell significantly and he was traded in May 1967 to the Boston Bruins for Murray Oliver and cash.[11] Playing on the right wing on a line with Derek Sanderson and Ed Westfall, Shack's performance rebounded and he scored 23 goals.[12]

Afflicted by injuries, he spent the next four seasons moving among the Los Angeles Kings, the Buffalo Sabres, and the Pittsburgh Penguins. Although he was never a big scorer or playmaker, he was able to score 20 goals three more times during these years, including a career high of 27 in 1970–71 in 11 games with Los Angeles and 56 games with Buffalo. Pittsburgh sold him back to Toronto for the 1973–74 season.[13] He retired after the 1974–75 season.[12]

Post-playing career

After his retirement, Shack was a popular advertising spokesman in Canada, most notably for The Pop Shoppe soft drinks[14] and Schick razors, shaving off his moustache for one of their promotions. He also promoted a small chain of doughnut stores bearing his name.[15] He appeared for a number of years at alumni all-star games. He also revealed he had been illiterate most of his life and subsequently became an advocate for literacy programs in his native Ontario.[16]

Death

Shack died from throat cancer at a hospital in Toronto on the night of July 25, 2020. He was 83 years old.[2][17] Shack was survived by his wife of 58 years, Norma Givens and their two children.

Achievements
  • Shack won the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967.[12] He scored the winning goal in 1963, famously claiming that he had scored the goal off his backside and was only trying to get out of the way of the shot.[4]
  • He played in the National Hockey League All-Star Game in 1962, 1963, and 1964.[12]

Career statistics

Source: [12]

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1952–53 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 21 2 6 8 43 — — — — —
1953–54 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 54 13 9 22 46 1 1 0 1 4
1954–55 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 19 6 7 13 35 2 0 0 0 4
1955–56 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 48 23 49 72 93 3 1 0 1 10
1956–57 Guelph Biltmores OHA-Jr. 52 47 57 104 129 10 4 10 14 53
1956–57 Guelph Biltmores M-Cup — — — — — 6 2 2 4 26
1957–58 Providence Reds AHL 35 16 18 34 98 — — — — —
1958–59 New York Rangers NHL 67 7 14 21 109 — — — — —
1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 62 8 10 18 110 — — — — —
1959–60 Springfield Indians AHL 9 3 4 7 10 — — — — —
1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 12 1 2 3 17 — — — — —
1960–61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 55 14 14 28 90 4 0 0 0 2
1961–62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 7 14 21 62 9 0 0 0 18
1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 16 9 25 97 10 2 1 3 11
1963–64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 64 11 10 21 128 13 0 1 1 25
1964–65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 5 9 14 68 5 1 0 1 8
1965–66 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 26 17 43 88 4 2 1 3 33
1965–66 Rochester Americans AHL 8 3 4 7 12 — — — — —
1966–67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 63 11 14 25 58 8 0 0 0 8
1967–68 Boston Bruins NHL 70 23 19 42 107 4 0 1 1 6
1968–69 Boston Bruins NHL 50 11 11 22 74 9 0 2 2 23
1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 73 22 12 34 113 — — — — —
1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 2 2 4 8 — — — — —
1970–71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 56 25 17 42 93 — — — — —
1971–72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 50 11 14 25 34 — — — — —
1971–72 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 5 9 14 12 4 0 1 1 15
1972–73 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 74 25 20 45 84 — — — — —
1973–74 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 59 7 8 15 74 4 1 0 1 2
1974–75 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 26 2 1 3 11 — — — — —
1974–75 Oklahoma City Blazers CHL 8 3 4 7 10 — — — — —
1976–77 Whitby Warriors OHA-Sr. 9 5 4 9 8 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,047 239 226 465 1,437 74 6 7 13 151

See also

References
  1. "Eddie Steven Phillip Shack". Legends of Hockey. Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on February 23, 2011. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  2. McGran, Kevin (July 26, 2020). "The Entertainer, Eddie Shack, was everything Leafs fans wanted in a hockey player". Toronto Star. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  3. Fischler, Stan; Fischler, Shirley (March 2, 2003). Who's Who in Hockey. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-7407-1904-2. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  4. Tiemstra, Kelvin (November 26, 2015). "Eddie Shack". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  5. Staff, Bathroom Readers' Institute (2005). Uncle John's Bathroom Reader Shoots and Scores. Raincoast Books. p. 70. ISBN 978-1-55192-849-4. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  6. Diamond, Dan; Zweig, Eric (September 1, 2003). Hockey's glory days: the 1950s and '60s. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 150. ISBN 978-0-7407-3829-6. Retrieved August 25, 2011.
  7. Klinkenberg, Marty (July 26, 2020). "Maple Leafs legend Eddie Shack dies at 83". The Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  8. "Eddie Shack on hockey-reference.com".
  9. "Décès du coloré Eddie Shack". Ligue nationale de hockey. July 26, 2020. Retrieved July 26, 2020. (in French)
  10. Kearney, Mark; Randy Ray (1999). The Great Canadian Book of Lists. Dundurn Press. p. 208. ISBN 978-0-88882-213-0. Retrieved January 12, 2009.
  11. "Leafs Trade Shack for Bruins' Oliver". Windsor Star. May 16, 1967. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  12. "Eddie Shack Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  13. "Trade Doesn't Surprise Shack". The Star-Phoenix. July 6, 1973. p. 14. Retrieved June 11, 2013.
  14. Matthews, Blair. "The Epic of The Pop Shoppe". Soda Pop Dreams Magazine. Playing with Words Specialty Publications. Archived from the original on October 31, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  15. Belasco, Warren James; Philip Scranton (2002). Food Nations: Selling Taste in Consumer Societies. Routledge. p. 51. ISBN 978-0-415-93077-2.
  16. Rutherford, Krissie (May 19, 2007). "Eddie Shack teaches personal literacy lesson" (PDF). The Oakville Beaver. Metroland Media Group. Archived from the original (PDF) on November 27, 2008. Retrieved November 27, 2008.
  17. Stubbs, Dave (July 26, 2020). "Shack, four-time Stanley Cup winner, dies at 83". National Hockey League. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
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