Bruce Gamble
Encyclopedia
Bruce George Gamble was a professional ice hockey
goaltender
who played 10 seasons in the NHL
between 1962 and 1972, with some years in the minor leagues in between. In the NHL he played 2 games with the New York Rangers
, 80 for the Boston Bruins
, 210 as a Leaf
and finally 35 as a Philadelphia Flyer
to end his career.
berth. The next season he did so again with the Guelph Biltmores of the OHA
, and was elected to the 1957 OHA first All-Star team. He made it to the Memorial Cup a third time with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
, the following year.
of the WHL
, and received his first 2 game call-up with the New York Rangers. His performance impressed other NHL teams, and the Boston Bruins chose him in the 1959 Intra-League Draft. After a year with Providence Reds
in the AHL
, Gamble was the team's starting goalie in 1960–61. During the next 4 seasons he played mainly in the minors (Portland Buckaroos
, Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL)
and Springfield Indians
) , tallying only 28 games for the Bruins in 1961–62.
After refusing to go back to the minors for Eddie Shore
in 1964–65, the Bruins suspended him from Springfield for the entire season. Gamble got his way the following year by being traded to the Leafs.
For the first couple seasons Gamble had trouble trying to establish himself, playing behind Hall of Fame
rs Johnny Bower
and Terry Sawchuk
. However in 1966–67, the Leafs won the Stanley Cup
, and he contributed by playing in 23 regular season games going 5–10–4 with a GAA of 3.39. However, Gamble was sent to the minors to play for the Tulsa Oilers, before the trading deadline. He did not spend the whole season with Toronto, and his name was left off the Stanley Cup. After this, along with NHL expansion, Gamble had his best years playing in 41 games in 1967–68, 62 in 1968–69 (going 28–20–11 and a GAA of 2.80) and 44 in 1969–70, while being traded mid-season to the Flyers in a deal that saw Bernie Parent
go to Toronto. He was the MVP of the 21st National Hockey League All-Star Game
in 1968.
in a 3-1 win, on February 8, 1972, over the Vancouver Canucks
. Although he fell at one point during the game, he did not complain of problems until afterward, and traveled with the team to Oakland on February 9 in preparation for a game that evening against the California Golden Seals
. As his chest pains continued, Gamble was admitted to an Oakland hospital where it was found that he had had a heart attack. Gamble did not play in the NHL again. Ten years later Gamble died of another heart attack, hours after a practice session with an "old-timers" hockey team, the Niagara Falls Flames. On December 29, 1982, after a practice session the evening before with the Flames, Gamble woke up with chest pains, and died at a hospital in Niagara Falls, Ontario
at the age of 44. Because Gamble suffered both heart attacks after playing or practicing hockey, erroneous accounts have been written that he was taken to a hospital during the 1972 NHL game, or that he "died during an old-timer's game". Neither of Gamble's heart attacks disabled him while he was on the ice, although both had their onset soon afterward.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
goaltender
Goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender is the player who defends his team's goal net by stopping shots of the puck from entering his team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring...
who played 10 seasons in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
between 1962 and 1972, with some years in the minor leagues in between. In the NHL he played 2 games with the New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
, 80 for the Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
, 210 as a Leaf
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
and finally 35 as a Philadelphia Flyer
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
to end his career.
Junior career
Bruce played 3 seasons with the Port Arthur Bruins of the Thunder Bay Junior Hockey League between 1953 and 1955. In the 1955–56 season, he backstopped the Port Arthur North Stars to a Memorial CupMemorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
berth. The next season he did so again with the Guelph Biltmores of the OHA
Ontario Hockey Association
The Ontario Hockey Association is the governing body for the majority of Junior and Senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey Association. Other Ontario sanctioning bodies along with the...
, and was elected to the 1957 OHA first All-Star team. He made it to the Memorial Cup a third time with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
Hull-Ottawa Canadiens
The Hull-Ottawa Canadiens were a team in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior "A" league for 3 seasons from 1956-59. The team played an interlocking schedule in 1956-57 with the Quebec Senior Hockey League. The Canadiens then played in the Eastern Professional Hockey League from 1959-63...
, the following year.
Professional career
Gamble played his first year as a pro with the Vancouver CanucksVancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
of the WHL
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
, and received his first 2 game call-up with the New York Rangers. His performance impressed other NHL teams, and the Boston Bruins chose him in the 1959 Intra-League Draft. After a year with Providence Reds
Providence Reds
The Providence Reds were a hockey team that played in the Canadian-American Hockey League between 1926–1936 and the American Hockey League from 1936 to 1977, the last season of which they played as the Rhode Island Reds. The team won the Calder Cup in 1938, 1940, 1949, and 1956...
in the AHL
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League...
, Gamble was the team's starting goalie in 1960–61. During the next 4 seasons he played mainly in the minors (Portland Buckaroos
Western Hockey League (minor pro)
The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League...
, Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL)
Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL)
The Kingston Frontenacs of the Eastern Professional Hockey League were a minor league professional ice hockey team affiliated with the NHL's Boston Bruins....
and Springfield Indians
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with...
) , tallying only 28 games for the Bruins in 1961–62.
After refusing to go back to the minors for Eddie Shore
Eddie Shore
Edward William Shore was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman, principally for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, and the longtime owner of the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League, iconic for his toughness and defensive skill.Shore won the Hart Trophy as the...
in 1964–65, the Bruins suspended him from Springfield for the entire season. Gamble got his way the following year by being traded to the Leafs.
For the first couple seasons Gamble had trouble trying to establish himself, playing behind Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
rs Johnny Bower
Johnny Bower
John William Bower , nicknamed "The China Wall", is a Hockey Hall of Fame goalie.-Playing career:...
and Terry Sawchuk
Terry Sawchuk
Terrance Gordon Sawchuk was a Ukrainian-Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 21 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers.-Early life and playing career:Sawchuk was born and raised...
. However in 1966–67, the Leafs won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
, and he contributed by playing in 23 regular season games going 5–10–4 with a GAA of 3.39. However, Gamble was sent to the minors to play for the Tulsa Oilers, before the trading deadline. He did not spend the whole season with Toronto, and his name was left off the Stanley Cup. After this, along with NHL expansion, Gamble had his best years playing in 41 games in 1967–68, 62 in 1968–69 (going 28–20–11 and a GAA of 2.80) and 44 in 1969–70, while being traded mid-season to the Flyers in a deal that saw Bernie Parent
Bernie Parent
Bernard Marcel Parent , better known as Bernie Parent, is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one season in the World Hockey Association with the...
go to Toronto. He was the MVP of the 21st National Hockey League All-Star Game
21st National Hockey League All-Star Game
The 21st National Hockey League National Hockey League All-Star Game was played in Maple Leaf Gardens on January 16, 1968, where the host Toronto Maple Leafs battled a team of all-stars from the remaining NHL teams...
in 1968.
Urban legends regarding Gamble
The next season saw his NHL career end from a heart attack that had its onset while he was tending goal for the Philadelphia FlyersPhiladelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
in a 3-1 win, on February 8, 1972, over the Vancouver Canucks
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver, :British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Canucks play their home games at Rogers Arena, formerly known as General Motors Place,...
. Although he fell at one point during the game, he did not complain of problems until afterward, and traveled with the team to Oakland on February 9 in preparation for a game that evening against the California Golden Seals
California Golden Seals
The California Golden Seals were a team in the National Hockey League from 1967–76. Initially named California Seals, the team was renamed Oakland Seals part-way through the 1967–68 season, and then to California Golden Seals in 1970. The Seals were one of six teams added to the league as part of...
. As his chest pains continued, Gamble was admitted to an Oakland hospital where it was found that he had had a heart attack. Gamble did not play in the NHL again. Ten years later Gamble died of another heart attack, hours after a practice session with an "old-timers" hockey team, the Niagara Falls Flames. On December 29, 1982, after a practice session the evening before with the Flames, Gamble woke up with chest pains, and died at a hospital in Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls, Ontario
Niagara Falls is a Canadian city on the Niagara River in the Golden Horseshoe region of Southern Ontario. The municipality was incorporated on June 12, 1903...
at the age of 44. Because Gamble suffered both heart attacks after playing or practicing hockey, erroneous accounts have been written that he was taken to a hospital during the 1972 NHL game, or that he "died during an old-timer's game". Neither of Gamble's heart attacks disabled him while he was on the ice, although both had their onset soon afterward.