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Glenn Hall

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Glenn Hall
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1975
Hall with the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1960s
Born (1931-10-03) October 3, 1931 (age 93)
Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Black Hawks
St. Louis Blues
Playing career 1951–1971

Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed a game and was a consistent performer, winning the Vezina Trophy, which at the time was awarded to the goaltender on the team allowing the fewest goals against (a distinction that now results in being awarded the William M. Jennings Trophy), three times, being voted the First team All-Star goaltender a record seven times, and winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as best rookie. Nicknamed "Mr. Goalie", he was the first goaltender to develop and make effective use of the butterfly style of goalkeeping.[1] In 2017 Hall was named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history.[2][3] He is the grandfather of Grant Stevenson.

Professional playing career

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Detroit Red Wings

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After finishing his junior years playing for the Humboldt Indians and the Windsor Spitfires, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings in 1949. The first few years of his NHL career were spent playing in Detroit's minor system. In the 1952 playoffs, he was called up from the minors to be the backup goalie in the finals but did not play for Detroit. Detroit still put Hall's name on the Stanley Cup, before he had played his first NHL game. He finally made the Red Wings' lineup as their starting goalie in the 1955–56 season, displacing Terry Sawchuk. Hall played in every game of his first full season with the Red Wings, recording twelve shutouts, winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year, and being voted the Second Team All-Star goaltender. He seemed erratic during the Stanley Cup Finals against Montreal.

Chicago Black Hawks

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Glenn Hall 1963 trading card

During his second full season with Detroit, he again played every game and was voted as the First Team All-Star goaltender, which since the Vezina Trophy was automatically awarded to the goaltenders on the team allowing the fewest goals, was essentially being named the best goaltender in the league. Despite this, at season's end, he found himself traded to the Chicago Black Hawks along with NHL Players' Association co-organizer Ted Lindsay. Hall continued his stellar play in the Windy City, playing every regular-season game as well as every playoff game. In 1961, Hall backstopped the Black Hawks to their first Stanley Cup Championship since 1938 over Detroit. On November 7, 1962, the record streak finally came to an end against the Boston Bruins, as Hall had back problems. Denis DeJordy replaced him during the game. Hall managed to play 502 consecutive complete games, which spanned eight seasons, an NHL record for goaltenders that is unlikely to be broken. He never wore a goaltending mask or helmet during the streak, only doing so late in his career, which will be an unbreakable record as the mask has now become a mandatory piece of equipment. It is rumoured that Hall threw up before each game, then drank a glass of orange juice. During his time in Chicago, he was voted the First Team All-Star goaltender five times and the Second Team All-Star goaltender three times.

Later success

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Despite winning the Vezina Trophy in 1966–67, the 36-year-old Hall was left unprotected for that summer's NHL expansion draft and was chosen by the St. Louis Blues. One of six expansion franchises in their first year in the league, the Blues stocked themselves with veteran talent, including Red Berenson and Phil Goyette, and won the West Division Playoffs in two seven-game series. Hall's play led them to the Stanley Cup Finals. Most hockey fans expected an utter rout when the established Canadiens faced the 1st-year expansion Blues. But this was Hall's fourth trip to the finals, and his goaltending was the most outstanding contribution to the surprisingly good performance of the Blues against the Montreal Canadiens. The Blues lost the best-of-seven series getting swept 4–0, but in 4 exciting 1-goal games (3–2 (OT), 1–0. 4–3 (OT), and 3–2). Hall's remarkable play was recognized by being awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs' Most Valuable Player, an award rarely going to a player from a losing team. ‘Even though we lost to the Canadiens in a sweep, I don’t feel it tainted my winning the Smythe one bit’, said Hall. ‘The odds were heavily stacked against us right from the start.’

In 1968, veteran goaltending legend Jacques Plante joined the Blues, sharing duties with Hall. The two put together a fine season in 1968–69, winning the Vezina Trophy, and setting a then-Blues' record of 13 shutouts. Hall was voted the First Team All-Star goaltender emblematic of being the best goaltender in the league, his record seventh selection as such.

Retirement

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Glenn Hall in 2011

He had retired after the 1968–69 season, but Hall came out of retirement to play 18 games in 1969–70 season. He was in goal when the Boston Bruins' Bobby Orr scored the Stanley Cup-clinching goal in game 4 of the 1970 Finals after only 40 seconds of overtime.

Hall's career ended after the 1970–71 season when he announced his retirement at the age of 39. In 1975 he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. Hall won his third Stanley Cup as the goaltending coach with Calgary Flames in 1989.

Legacy

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Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, (right) scored his 500th goal against Glenn Hall, becoming the first National Hockey League player to achieve the feat.

Hall ended his career with 407 wins, 84 shutouts, a career GAA of 2.49, and was voted to eleven All-Star Games. Hall is widely regarded as one of the first NHL goalies to master the butterfly style of goaltending. He is thought of by many as one of the best goalies to ever play the game. Hall still holds the record for the most First Team All-Star selections (7) which he achieved while playing in the same era as other greats, Sawchuk and Plante—as well as other Hall of Famers, such as Johnny Bower and Gump Worsley.

In 1998, he was ranked number 16 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, currently the highest rank for a living former goaltender (No. 13-ranked Jacques Plante died in 1986, and No. 9 Terry Sawchuk in 1970).

In 2005, the City of Humboldt, Saskatchewan erected a permanent monument to Hall's career in Glenn Hall Park on Highway #5 (Glenn Hall Drive). The tribute included highlights of his career from his junior days in Humboldt until he retired from the NHL.

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1947–48 Humboldt Indians N-SJHL 5 5 0 0 300 17 0 3.40 2 0 2 120 15 0 7.50
1948–49 Humboldt Indians N-SJHL 24 13 9 2 1420 86 1 3.63 7 3 4 420 36 0 5.14
1949–50 Windsor Spitfires OHA-Jr. 43 31 11 1 2580 152 0 3.53 11 6 5 660 37 0 3.36
1950–51 Windsor Spitfires OHA-Jr. 54 32 18 4 3240 167 6 3.09 8 480 30 0 3.75
1951–52 Indianapolis Capitals AHL 68 22 40 6 4190 272 0 3.89
1952–53 Edmonton Flyers WHL 63 27 27 9 3780 207 2 3.29 15 10 5 905 53 0 3.51
1952–53 Detroit Red Wings NHL 6 4 1 1 360 10 1 1.67 .931
1953–54 Edmonton Flyers WHL 70 29 30 11 4200 259 0 3.70 13 7 6 783 44 2 3.37
1954–55 Edmonton Flyers WHL 66 38 18 10 3960 187 5 2.83 16 11 5 1000 43 1 2.58
1954–55 Detroit Red Wings NHL 2 2 0 0 120 2 0 1.00 .967
1955–56 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 30 24 16 4200 147 12 2.10 .921 10 5 5 604 28 0 2.78 .908
1956–57 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 38 20 12 4200 156 4 2.23 .926 5 1 4 300 15 0 3.00 .884
1957–58 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 24 39 7 4200 200 7 2.86 .908
1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 28 29 13 4200 208 1 2.97 .897 6 2 4 360 21 0 3.50 .909
1959–60 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 28 29 13 4200 180 6 2.57 .917 4 0 4 249 14 0 3.37 .892
1960–61 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 29 24 17 4200 176 6 2.51 .920 12 8 4 772 26 2 2.02 .936
1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 31 26 13 4200 185 9 2.64 .913 12 6 6 720 31 2 2.58 .924
1962–63 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 66 30 20 15 3910 166 5 2.55 .916 6 2 4 360 25 0 4.17 .896
1963–64 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 65 34 19 11 3860 148 7 2.30 .930 7 3 4 408 22 0 3.24 .889
1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 41 18 17 5 2440 99 4 2.43 .920 13 7 6 760 28 1 2.21 .925
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 64 31 24 7 3747 164 4 2.63 .914 6 2 4 347 22 0 3.80 .874
1966–67 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 32 19 5 5 1664 66 2 2.38 .920 3 1 2 176 8 0 2.73 .923
1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 49 19 21 9 2858 118 5 2.48 .912 18 8 10 1111 45 1 2.43 .916
1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 41 19 12 8 2354 85 8 2.17 .928 3 0 2 131 5 0 2.29 .931
1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 18 7 8 3 1010 49 1 2.91 .904 7 4 3 421 21 0 2.99 .907
1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 31 13 11 8 1761 71 2 2.42 .917 3 0 3 180 9 0 3.00 .864
NHL totals 906 407 326 162 53,544 2,230 84 2.49 .917 115 49 65 6,899 320 6 2.78 .911

"Hall's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Archived from the original on 2017-08-08. Retrieved 2017-08-07.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Blackhawks' 'Mr. Goalie' on NHL today: 'It's a goon game'". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on 2009-05-22.
  2. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  3. ^ NHL (2017-03-22), Ironman Glenn Hall started 502 straight games in goal, retrieved 2017-04-24
  4. ^ Chaves, Kevin. "The Best Non-Gretzky Records in NHL History". nhl.com. Archived from the original on 21 July 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2012.
  5. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 1, 2017. Archived from the original on August 23, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
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Preceded by Winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy
1968
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Calder Memorial Trophy
1956
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
1963
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Denis DeJordy

1967
Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Jacques Plante

1969
Succeeded by