Turk Broda

Walter Edward "Turk" Broda (May 15, 1914 — October 17, 1972) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. A goaltender, Broda played his entire career for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1935 and 1951, taking a brief hiatus from 1943 to 1946 to fight in the Second World War. He was the first goaltender to reach 300 wins. After retiring from active play, Broda coached minor league and junior ice hockey teams. In 2017 Broda was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1]

Turk Broda
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1967
Broda with the Stanley Cup and Vezina Trophy in 1948
Born (1914-05-15)May 15, 1914
Brandon, Manitoba, Canada
Died October 17, 1972(1972-10-17) (aged 58)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1935–1943
1946–1951

Personal life

Broda was born in Brandon, Manitoba to a Ukrainian family.[2][3][4][5][6] Although he is commonly referred to as Polish by mistake (to the extent of him being inducted in the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame[7] in 2005), Publicity Director Stan Obodiac of the Maple Leafs, who knew Broda, dispelled this and confirmed Broda's Ukrainian origin.[2]

Broda acquired the nickname of "Turkey Egg" during his school days in Brandon because of his many freckles. "Turkey Egg" soon became "Turk", and the name followed him.[2]

Playing career

Early career

Broda started his playing career with the Brandon Athletics and the Brandon Native Sons. After playing a few years with them he played for the Winnipeg Monarchs, Detroit Farm Crest and the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. In 1932–33, he won the Memorial Cup. In 1933–34, the Detroit Red Wings invited Turk Broda to their training camp. But with Normie Smith and John Ross Roach already in Detroit, there was no way Broda could start in the NHL. Instead, he started his professional career with the Detroit Olympics.

NHL career

In 1935–36, he was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs for $7500.[8] Broda emerged as one of the league's top goaltenders in the 1940–41 season, as he led the league in wins with 28 in 48 games. In 1941–42, he won his first Stanley Cup with the Leafs, who came back from being down three games to none against the Detroit Red Wings in one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history.

In 1942–43, Broda joined the army for two and a half years during World War II. In 1945–46, Turk Broda returned to the Maple Leafs roster and was instrumental in the team's Stanley Cup victories in 1946–47, 1947–48, 1948–49 and in 1950–51. Turk Broda retired in 1951–52, at 38 years of age.

"Battle of the Bulge"

The "Battle of the Bulge" was a battle between him and the owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs Conn Smythe about Broda losing weight. This argument brought a lot of attention from the media in Toronto, Ontario. Smythe ordered Broda to lose 10 pounds (4.5 kg) in a week[9] and brought Al Rollins and Gilles Mayer from the minor leagues just to pressure Broda into losing weight. If Broda could not lose weight, then he would be removed from his goalkeeping duties. In the end, Broda lost enough weight to keep his job, though Broda admitted years later that the scales were rigged in his favour.

Legacy

After retiring, Broda became a coach. He coached the Ottawa Senators in the Quebec Hockey League.[10] He later became the head coach of the Toronto Marlboros. He led the Marlboros to back to back Memorial Cup championships in 1955, and in 1956.

Broda was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967 and was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1983 as an "Honoured" member. In 1998, he was ranked number 60 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. With 13 shutouts and a GAA of 1.98 in the playoffs, he helped the Leafs win 5 Stanley Cups and establish a dynasty. In 2005, Broda was inducted into the National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame.[7] He died in 1972 at the age of 58 from a heart attack.[11]

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPWLTMinGASOGAA GPWLTMinGASOGAA
1931–32 Brandon Athletics MAHA ———————— ————————
1932–33 Brandon Native Sons MJHL ———————— ————————
1932–33 Brandon Native Sons M-Cup ———————— 7223460901.17
1933–34 Winnipeg Monarchs MJHL 1211107205104.25 ————————
1933–34 Winnipeg Monarchs MHL 101060606.00 ————————
1934–35 Detroit Farm Crest MOHL 2110120402.00 ————————
1935–36 Detroit Olympics IAHL 4726183289010162.10 660—365811.32
1936–37 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4522194277010632.30 202—133502.26
1937–38 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4824159298012762.56 743—4521311.73
1938–39 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4819209299010782.15 1055—6172001.94
1939–40 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4725175290010842.23 1064—6571911.74
1940–41 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 482814629709952.00 734—4381502.05
1941–42 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4827183296013662.76 1385—7803112.38
1942–43 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 5022199300015913.18 624—4392002.73
1945–46 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 156639005303.53 ————————
1946–47 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 60311910360017242.87 1183—6802712.31
1947–48 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 60321513360014352.38 981—5572012.15
1948–49 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 60222513360016152.68 981—5741511.57
1949–50 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 68302512404016792.48 734—4501031.33
1950–51 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 311411518276862.23 851—492921.10
1951–52 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 101030306.00 202—120703.50
NHL totals 62930222410138,1671,609622.53 1016039—6,389211111.98

See also

References
  1. "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  2. Czuboka, Michael (1983). Ukrainian Canadian, Eh. Winnipeg: Communigraphics. p. 137.
  3. Palmer, Bryan D. (2009). Canada's 1960s: The Ironies of Identity in a Rebellious Era. University of Toronto Press. p. 133. ISBN 9780802099549.
  4. Viltis, Volumes 13-17. International Institute of Wisconsin. 1954. p. 22.
  5. Canadians of Ukrainian Descent. General Books LLC. 2010. ISBN 9781156416532.
  6. Forum, Issues 90-94. Ukrainian Fraternal Association. 1994. p. 34. The Hockey Hall of Fame in downtown Toronto has recognized a number of Ukrainian hockey players like [...] Turk Broda
  7. "National Polish American Sports Hall of Fame: Turk Broda".
  8. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: "Top Ten NHL Goalies Pt. 1". YouTube.
  9. NHL (2017-03-22), Turk Broda earned reputation as big-game goalie, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2017-04-24
  10. "Senators At Home Tomorrow". Ottawa Citizen. April 13, 1954. p. 25. Retrieved June 18, 2012.
  11. "The Morning Record - Google News Archive Search".
  12. "Toronto Maple Leafs retire the numbers of 17 players". NHL.com. October 15, 2016. Retrieved October 16, 2016.
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