Position Goaltender Name Turk Broda Height 1.75 m Career end 1952 | Played for Toronto Maple Leafs Career start 1935 Caught Left Role Ice hockey player Weight 75 kg | |
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Born May 15, 1914
Brandon, MB, CAN ( 1914-05-15 ) Died October 17, 1972, Toronto, Canada Similar People Georges Vezina, Mike Babcock, Dion Phaneuf, Brian Burke | ||
Playing career | ||
Legends row ceremony turk broda tim horton dave keon january 23 2016
Walter Edward "Turk" Broda (Ukrainian: Володимир Брода; 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. After retiring from active play, Broda coached minor league and junior ice hockey teams. On January 1, 2017, in a ceremony prior to the Centennial Classic, Broda part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.
Contents
- Legends row ceremony turk broda tim horton dave keon january 23 2016
- Turk broda
- Personal life
- Early career
- NHL career
- Battle of the Bulge
- Legacy
- Awards and achievements
- References
Turk broda
Personal life
Broda was born in Brandon, Manitoba to a Ukrainian family. 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 recently), Publicity Director Stan Obodiac of the Maple Leafs, who knew Broda, dispelled this and confirmed Broda's Ukrainian origin.
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.
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 would start his professional career with the Detroit Olympics.
NHL career
In 1935-36, he was acquired by the Toronto Maple Leafs for $7500. Broda was starting to emerge as one of the league's top goaltenders. In the 1940-41 NHL season, he led the league in wins with 28 in 48 games. In 1941-42, he won his first Stanley Cup with the Leafs. The Leafs won the Cup when they were down 3 games to none against the Detroit Red Wings. The Maple Leafs made one of the greatest comebacks in NHL history and took the Cup by winning the next 4 games.
In 1942-43, Broda joined the army for 2 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 would retire in 1951-52, at 38 years of age.
"Battle of the Bulge"
The "Battle of the Bulge" was a battle between him and the head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs Conn Smythe about Broda losing weight. This argument brought a lot of attention from the media in Toronto. Smythe ordered Broda to lose 10 lbs. in a week 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. 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. He died in 1972 at the age of 58 from a heart attack.