Charlie Conacher
Encyclopedia
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. (December 20, 1909 – December 30, 1967) was a Canadian professional
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 ice hockey
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...

 forward
Forward (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a forward is a player position on the ice whose primary responsibility is to score goals. Generally, the forwards try to stay in three different lanes, also known as thirds, of the ice going from goal to goal. It is not mandatory however, to stay in a lane. Staying in a lane aids in...

 who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs
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...

, Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

 and New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...

 in the National Hockey League
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...

. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful shot and goal scoring. He led the NHL five times in goals, and twice led in overall scoring. Over five seasons from 1931-32 to 1935-36 Conacher was named to three NHL First All-Star Teams and two NHL Second All-Star Teams. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

.

Junior career

Conacher played three years of junior hockey, most notably with the Toronto Marlboros
Toronto Marlboros
The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association and Ontario Hockey League from 1904 to 1989...

. Playing with future Maple Leafs teammate Harvey "Busher" Jackson
Busher Jackson
Harvey "Busher" Jackson was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and defenceman who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New York Americans in the National Hockey League....

, he achieved staggering scoring numbers, leading the Marlboros to the Memorial Cup
Memorial 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...

 playoffs in 1928 and 1929. In 28 playoff games with the Marlies in those two seasons, Conacher scored 50 goals, including 28 goals in the 1929 playoffs to lead his team to a Memorial Cup championship, its first of six eventual titles.

Professional career

Signed the next season by the Maple Leafs with Jackson
Jackson
- United States :*Jackson, Alabama*Jackson, California*Jackson, Georgia*Jackson, Kentucky*Jackson, Louisiana*Jackson, Maine*Jackson, Michigan*Jackson, Minnesota*Jackson, Mississippi, the state capital*Jackson, Missouri*Jackson, Nebraska...

, Toronto manager Conn Smythe
Conn Smythe
Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe MC was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1927 to 1961 and as the builder of Maple Leaf Gardens...

 paired the two with former farmhand Joe Primeau
Joe Primeau
Alfred Joseph Francis "Gentleman Joe" Primeau , was a Canadian professional ice hockey player.-Playing career:...

. The trio, nicknamed the "Kid Line
The Kid Line
The Kid Line was a NHL line for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1930s. It included Charlie Conacher, Harvey "Busher" Jackson and Joe Primeau. When they first came together as a line, Primeau was the oldest at 23 years old, while Jackson and Conacher were both 18...

" for their inexperience - Primeau was 23, Conacher and Jackson both 18 - became an immediate sensation in Toronto, as Conacher scored his first NHL goal in Toronto's opening 2-2 tie with the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

 on November 14. Although he missed six games at the end of the season with an infected hand , he finished the season with 20 goals.

The following season
1930-31 NHL season
-NHL awards:Howie Morenz won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng for the fourth consecutive year. Roy Worters won the Vezina Trophy for the one and only time in his career.-All-Star teams:...

, Conacher broke into the elite of the league, despite missing a number of games due to a reinjured hand. He scored 31 goals - the first of five times he led the league in goal scoring - and finishing third overall in points to Howie Morenz
Howie Morenz
Howard William Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens , the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers...

 and Ebbie Goodfellow
Ebbie Goodfellow
Ebenezer Robertson "Poker Face" Goodfellow, "Ebbie" for short, was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the NHL for fourteen seasons with the Detroit Red Wings from 1929 to 1944 as both a forward and defenceman...

. Primeau finished 6th in league scoring as well, and Jackson 15th.

The 1932 season
1931-32 NHL season
-NHL awards:Howie Morenz won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Joe Primeau won the Lady Byng, the one time he would win the trophy in his career...

 saw the team move into the new Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens
Maple Leaf Gardens is an indoor arena that was converted into a Loblawssupermarket and Ryerson University athletic centre in Toronto, on the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto's Garden District.One of the temples of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the...

. In return for Black Hawk Johnny Gottselig
Johnny Gottselig
John Gottselig was a professional ice hockey left winger who played 17 seasons for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League between 1928 and 1946. He was the second player born in the Russian Empire to play in the NHL, as well as the first European-born head coach in the league's...

, whom Smythe coveted, Chicago asked for Conacher and star defenceman King Clancy
King Clancy
Francis Michael "King" Clancy was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won All-Star honours...

 for compensation, to which Smythe reportedly cabled that Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...

 lived at the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...

, not in Maple Leaf Gardens. Once again, Conacher missed time with a broken hand, during which a curious incident took place. League rules stated that a player receiving a third major penalty in the season would receive a one-game suspension. Conacher had two at the time of his injury, but he was dressed by coach Irvin. According to another league rule, any player jumping on the ice while his team was at full strength received a major penalty, and Irvin had Conacher do so, thus triggering his automatic suspension for a game in which he could not play anyway. With Dick Irvin
Dick Irvin
James Dickinson Irvin, Sr. was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League.Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Irvin was one of the greatest players of his day, balancing a torrid slapshot and tough style with gentlemanly play...

 the new coach of the Leafs, the Kid Line shone, leading Toronto to a 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...

 championship. Jackson led the league in scoring, Primeau was second and Conacher - used sparingly after his return from his injury - fourth, while once again leading the league in goals and being named to the Second All-Star Team, his best game coming in an 11-3 romp over the New York Americans in which he scored five goals.

A broken collarbone sidelined Conacher for weeks in the 1933 season
1932-33 NHL season
-NHL awards:It was the first season that league president Frank Calder named the best rookie of the year. The first winner was Carl Voss of the Detroit Red Wings...

  - the only one in a six year stretch in which he failed to lead the league in goals - but he was once again named to the Second All-Star Team at right wing.

The next three seasons saw Conacher cemented among the top players in the game, as he regained his form and led the league in goal scoring all three seasons and in points in 1934
1933-34 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Debuts:...

 and 1935
1934-35 NHL season
-NHL awards:Eddie Shore won the Hart Trophy for the second time in his career. Frank Boucher won the Lady Byng for the seventh and final time in his career, and his third consecutive time...

, being named First Team All-Star all three seasons, years in which the Leafs finished as runner-up in the Stanley Cup finals. Things would change in
1937
1936-37 NHL season
-NHL awards:The "Rookie of the Year" award now had a trophy, the Calder Trophy, for the first time.-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Debuts:...

; Primeau and Clancy retired, while Conacher broke a wrist in training camp, an injury initially thought not serious. However, Conacher would only play 15 games that season and 19 the next after suffering a dislocated shoulder, as chronic injuries caught up to him, and he never again regained his form.

The Detroit Red Wings, seeking to improve their team, purchased Conacher in the fall of 1939
1938-39 NHL season
The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League . Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series.-League business:...

 for a sum reported to be $16,000, and contingent on him remaining in good health. While he finished fourth on the Wings in scoring with 23 points, his days as a superstar were over. He was optioned the following season to the New York Americans, where he played his final two seasons paired on defence with former Montreal Maroons
Montreal Maroons
The Montreal Maroons was a professional men's ice hockey team in the National Hockey League . They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935...

 star Hooley Smith
Hooley Smith
Reginald "Hooley" Smith was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, Boston Bruins and New York Americans. He won the Stanley Cup twice, with Ottawa and Montreal...

. The Amerks, who had loaded up with once-great players like Conacher, Smith, Busher Jackson, 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...

 and Nels Stewart
Nels Stewart
Robert Nelson "Old Poison" Stewart was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played for the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans and Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League...

, were notably slow and finished in last place both seasons, although Conacher played credibly, finished 3rd and 5th respectively in team scoring and serving as the Americans' captain both years. Only 30, Conacher retired after the 1941 season
1940-41 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:Note: GP = Games played, G = Goals, A = Assists, PTS = Points, PIM = Penalties in minutes-Leading goaltenders:...

.

Retirement and legacy

After his retirement, Conacher went into coaching, meeting with remarkable success: he led the junior league Oshawa Generals
Oshawa Generals
The Oshawa Generals are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. They are based in Oshawa, Ontario. The team is named for General Motors, an early sponsor which has its Canadian headquarters in Oshawa. The Generals are one of the most successful franchises in Canadian Hockey League...

 of the Ontario Hockey Association
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...

 to four straight OHA Championships between 1941 and 1944, as well as three straight Eastern Canada amateur championships in 1942, 1943 and 1944, and the Memorial Cup Championship in 1944. The Generals finished in second place in both 1946 and 1947 - ironically, losing in both seasons to the St. Michael's College Majors, coached by his old linemate Joe Primeau.

After resigning from his coaching post in Oshawa, Conacher was named to replace Johnny Gottselig as coach of the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...

 28 games into the 1949 season
1947-48 NHL season
-NHL awards:-All-Star teams:-Scoring leaders:GP = Games Played, G = Goals, A = Assists, Pts = Points-Leading goaltenders:GP = Games Played, TOI = Time On Ice , GA = Goals Against, SO = Shutouts, GAA = Goals Against Average-Debuts:...

. He coached the Black Hawks - a team on which his younger brother Roy
Roy Conacher
Roy Gordon Conacher was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks...

 played - to 6th, 5th and 6th place finishs respectively in his three seasons at the helm, after which he was fired in favor of Ebbie Goodfellow
Ebbie Goodfellow
Ebenezer Robertson "Poker Face" Goodfellow, "Ebbie" for short, was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the NHL for fourteen seasons with the Detroit Red Wings from 1929 to 1944 as both a forward and defenceman...

.

Conacher had nine siblings, including Hockey Hall of Famers Lionel Conacher
Lionel Conacher
Lionel Pretoria Conacher, MP , nicknamed "The Big Train", was a Canadian athlete and politician. Voted the country's top athlete of the first half of the 20th century, he won championships in numerous sports. His first passion was football; he was a member of the 1921 Grey Cup champion Toronto...

 and Roy Conacher
Roy Conacher
Roy Gordon Conacher was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 11 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks...

. He was also the father of retired NHL forward Pete Conacher
Pete Conacher
Pete Conacher is a retired professional ice hockey player who played 229 games in the National Hockey League....

. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...

 in 1961 and, later, to Canada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975. In 1998, he was ranked number 36 on The Hockey News
The Hockey News
The Hockey News, commonly abbreviated to THN, is a North American ice hockey magazine published by Transcontinental. The Hockey News was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Bill Côté, and has since been the most recognized hockey publication in North America...

 list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Conacher died in 1967 of throat cancer, and was buried in the Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto
Mount Pleasant Cemetery is a cemetery located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.In the early 19th century, the only authorized cemeteries within the city of Toronto were limited to the members of either the Roman Catholic Church or the Church of England...

.

The Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award
Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award
The Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award was an award given to a National Hockey League player who made "outstanding contribution to humanitarian or community service projects"...

 was an award named after Conacher. It was given out to the NHL player who best exhibited outstanding humanitarian and public services contributions, and was awarded from 1968 to 1984.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...

Team League GP G
Goal (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to...

A
Assist (ice hockey)
In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal...

Pts
Point (ice hockey)
Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one...

PIM
Penalty (ice hockey)
A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,...

GP G A Pts PIM
1929–30 Toronto Maple Leafs
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...

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...

38 20 9 29 48
1930–31 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 37 31 12 43 78 2 0 1 1 0
1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 34 14 48 66 7 6 2 8 6
1932–33 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 14 19 33 64 9 1 1 2 10
1933–34 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 32 20 52 38 5 3 2 5 0
1934–35 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 47 36 21 57 24 7 1 4 5 6
1935–36 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 44 23 15 38 74 9 3 2 5 12
1936–37 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 15 3 5 8 13 2 0 0 0 5
1937–38
1937–38 NHL season
-European tour:After the Stanley Cup final finished, the Detroit Red Wings and the Montreal Canadiens played a nine-game exhibition series in Europe, becoming the first NHL teams to play outside North America. Six games were played in England, three in France...

Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 19 7 9 16 6
1938–39 Detroit Red Wings
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League , and are one of the Original Six teams of the NHL, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, New York...

NHL 40 8 15 23 39 5 2 5 7 2
1939–40 New York Americans
New York Americans
The New York Americans were a professional ice hockey team based in New York, New York from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League and the second to play in the United States. The team never won the Stanley Cup, but reached the semifinals...

NHL 47 10 18 28 41 3 1 1 2 8
1940–41 New York Americans NHL 46 7 16 23 32
NHL totals 459 225 173 398 523 49 17 18 35 49

See also


External links

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