Pete Conacher

Charles William "Pete" Conacher, Jr. (born July 29, 1932) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League between 1951 and 1957. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1951 to 1966, was mainly spent in the American Hockey League.

Pete Conacher
Born (1932-07-29) July 29, 1932
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Black Hawks
New York Rangers
National team  Canada
Playing career 1951–1966

Conacher played with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and New York Rangers. In 1959, Conacher played for the World Champion Belleville McFarlands. He is the son of NHL Hall of Famer, Charlie Conacher.

Junior hockey career

Pete Conacher began his hockey career in the Toronto Hockey League in 1943 with the Leaside PeeWee team. He went on to play for the North Toronto Kinsmen Terriers in the 1944-45 season; where he would go on to be a Minor Bantam finalist. At the age of 16, he became property of the Chicago Blackhawks but was sent to their Ontario Hockey Association affiliate, the Galt Black Hawks. He would play in Galt (now part of Cambridge, Ontario) for two seasons. His best offensive season came in 1951-'52 where he would score 120 points (53G, 67A) in 51 games. In 1952, he turned pro with the Chicago Blac Hhawks to play in the National Hockey League.

Professional hockey career

In his 13 years as a professional hockey player, he would also end up playing for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Hershey Bears, St. Louis Flyers, and Buffalo Bisons (AHL). In 1959, he would play for the Belleville McFarlands and go on to win the World Championship in Prague.[1] By the end of his professional hockey career, Pete had played 229 NHL regular season games, with 47 goals and 39 assists.[2]

After ending his professional career in 1966, he would join the NHL Oldtimers Hockey Club and would play charity hockey games across Canada for the following 13 years. To this day, he still plays for the Oldtimers hockey team. Pete was recognized for his 1959 World Championship success with the Belleville McFarlands by being inducted into the Belleville Hall of Fame.

Personal life

Pete was also a past President of the Ontario chapter of Special Olympics Canada. During summers he was not playing hockey, he would play in the Beaches Major Fastball League and senior baseball for Lizzies at the old Viaduct Stadium. He has also served as a board member for the Charlie Conacher Throat Cancer Research Fund at the Toronto General Hospital. Pete and his wife Ann have lived in Etobicoke for the past 48 years. He currently sits on the Board of Directors with the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Conacher's uncles, Lionel Conacher, and Roy Conacher, also played in the NHL and were later inducted into the Hall of Fame. His cousins, Lionel Conacher Jr., was a first round draft pick in 1960 for the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League. Another cousin Brian Conacher represented Canada at the 1964 Winter Olympics and played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, winning a Stanley Cup with them during the 1966–67 NHL season. Cory Conacher, formerly of the Tampa Bay Lightning, is also a distant relative of Pete's.[3] He is also a cousin with Murray Henderson.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1949–50 Galt Red Wings OHA 4825275222 —————
1950–51 Galt Black Hawks OHA 5232326410 356110
1951–52 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 20110 —————
1951–52 Galt Black Hawks OHA 51536712033 33360
1952–53 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 4156117 20000
1952–53 St. Louis Flyers AHL 291216286 —————
1953–54 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 701992823 —————
1954–55 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 182462 —————
1954–55 New York Rangers NHL 521071710 —————
1955–56 New York Rangers NHL 411111228 50000
1955–56 Buffalo Bisons AHL 181715326 —————
1956–57 Buffalo Bisons AHL 6026295516 —————
1957–58 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 50115 —————
1957–58 Buffalo Bisons AHL 481232442 —————
1958–59 Belleville McFarlands OHA Sr 10000 —————
1959–60 Buffalo Bisons AHL 565101516 —————
1960–61 Hershey Bears AHL 691124354 81234
1961–62 Hershey Bears AHL 7027295616 72025
1962–63 Hershey Bears AHL 702924536 155490
1963–42 Hershey Bears AHL 7234266012 60332
1964–65 Hershey Bears AHL 6334245810 1582104
1965–66 Hershey Bears AHL 601420344 —————
AHL totals 61522124947098 5116112715
NHL totals 22947398655 70000

International
Year Team Event GPGAPtsPIM
1959 Canada WC 873102
Senior totals 873102

Awards and honours
  • Belleville Hall of Fame
  • Province of Ontario Special Achievement Award (1991)
  • Ontario Special Olympics Hall of Fame (First Inductee, 1992)[4]
  • Queen Elizabeth II Golden Jubilee Medal (2002)
  • Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame (2002) [5]
  • Bobby Orr Hall of Fame (2010) [6]

References
  1. "Board of Directors". oshof.ca. Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on April 7, 2019. Retrieved February 20, 2016.
  2. "Pete Conacher". The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  3. Cristodero, Damian (September 22, 2011). "Undrafted free agent Cory Conacher in mix for roster spot with Tampa Bay Lightning". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on April 26, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2017.
  4. "Pete Conacher". Bobby Orr Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  5. "Pete Conacher". Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. July 16, 2002. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
  6. "Pete Conacher". Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame. July 16, 2002. Retrieved February 22, 2016.
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