Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award
Encyclopedia
The Charlie Conacher Humanitarian Award (or Charlie Conacher Memorial Trophy) was an award given to a National Hockey League
(NHL) player who made "outstanding contribution to humanitarian or community service projects". It was established in 1968 in the memory of Hockey Hall of Fame
player Charlie Conacher
, who died of throat cancer in 1967, and featured an annual benefit dinner that raised money for the Charlie Conacher Research Fund for Cancer. The award was not affiliated with the NHL, though it was given to one of the league's players.
Toronto Maple Leafs
captain George Armstrong was the first winner, named following the season. Co-winners were named on two occasions, as Jean Beliveau
and Bobby Orr
shared the awad in 1971, as did Jimmy Peters, Jr.
and Gary Bergman
in 1973. Calgary Flames
co-captain Lanny McDonald
was announced as the winner of the award at the 1983 Conacher Hockey Awards dinner, though he was actually the runner-up to Boston Bruins
defenceman Brad Park
. The mistake was cleared up a few days after the dinner.
Calgary's Jim Peplinski
was named the final recipient of the award in 1984, after which the trophy was retired and put on display at the newly constructed Charlie Conacher Research Centre for cancer at the Toronto General Hospital
. Former Chicago Blackhawks
star Stan Mikita
was given a special award at that final banquet in recognition of his work with the hearing impaired. The benefit dinners held in conjunction with the award raised over $2 million towards throat cancer research in the 17 years that they were held. Two years after the Conacher Award was retired, Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard
presented the NHL with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy
, also to be given to the league's top humanitarian. The new trophy was first awarded in 1988.
Season
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...
(NHL) player who made "outstanding contribution to humanitarian or community service projects". It was established in 1968 in the memory of 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...
player Charlie Conacher
Charlie Conacher
Charles William "The Big Bomber" Conacher, Sr. was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and New York Americans in the National Hockey League. An early power forward, Conacher was nicknamed "The Big Bomber," for his size, powerful...
, who died of throat cancer in 1967, and featured an annual benefit dinner that raised money for the Charlie Conacher Research Fund for Cancer. The award was not affiliated with the NHL, though it was given to one of the league's players.
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...
captain George Armstrong was the first winner, named following the season. Co-winners were named on two occasions, as Jean Beliveau
Jean Béliveau
Jean Arthur "Le Gros Bill" Béliveau, is a former professional ice hockey player who played parts of 20 seasons with the National Hockey League's Montreal Canadiens. As a player, he won the Stanley Cup 10 times, and as an executive he was part of another seven championship teams, the most Stanley...
and Bobby Orr
Bobby Orr
Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...
shared the awad in 1971, as did Jimmy Peters, Jr.
Jimmy Peters, Jr.
James Stephen Peters, Jr. is a retired Canadian ice hockey left wing who played 309 games in the National Hockey League....
and Gary Bergman
Gary Bergman
Gary Gunnar Bergman was a professional ice hockey defenceman playing in the NHL mostly for the Detroit Red Wings...
in 1973. Calgary Flames
Calgary Flames
The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the...
co-captain Lanny McDonald
Lanny McDonald
Lanny King McDonald is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League . He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year NHL career in which he scored 500 goals and over 1,000 points...
was announced as the winner of the award at the 1983 Conacher Hockey Awards dinner, though he was actually the runner-up to 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...
defenceman Brad Park
Brad Park
Douglas Bradford Park is a retired ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings...
. The mistake was cleared up a few days after the dinner.
Calgary's Jim Peplinski
Jim Peplinski
James Desmond Peplinski is a retired Canadian National Hockey League player.He played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboroughs of the OHL and was drafted in 1978 NHL Amateur Draft by the Atlanta Flames. Peplinski was one of five active NHL players who played on Canada's 1988 Olympic ice hockey...
was named the final recipient of the award in 1984, after which the trophy was retired and put on display at the newly constructed Charlie Conacher Research Centre for cancer at the Toronto General Hospital
Toronto General Hospital
The Toronto General Hospital , is a part of the University Health Network, and a major teaching hospital in downtown Toronto, Ontario. It is located in the Discovery District, directly north of the Hospital for Sick Children, across Gerrard Street West, and east of Princess Margaret Hospital and...
. Former Chicago Blackhawks
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...
star Stan Mikita
Stan Mikita
Stanislav "Stan" Mikita , is a Slovak-born Canadian retired professional ice hockey player, generally regarded as the best centre of the 1960s. In 1961, he won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks, with whom he played his entire career.-Early life:Mikita was born in Sokolče, Slovak Republic...
was given a special award at that final banquet in recognition of his work with the hearing impaired. The benefit dinners held in conjunction with the award raised over $2 million towards throat cancer research in the 17 years that they were held. Two years after the Conacher Award was retired, Maple Leafs owner Harold Ballard
Harold Ballard
Harold E. Ballard was an owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League as well as their home arena, Maple Leaf Gardens. A member of the Leafs organization from 1940 and a senior executive from 1957, he became part-owner of the team in 1961 and was majority owner from February...
presented the NHL with the King Clancy Memorial Trophy
King Clancy Memorial Trophy
The King Clancy Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and who has made a significant humanitarian contribution to his community. Since the award was established in 1988, no player has won it more than...
, also to be given to the league's top humanitarian. The new trophy was first awarded in 1988.
Winners
| Winner | Team | Player's humanitarian contribution | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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... |
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| 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... |
Work with the Big Brothers of Toronto. | ||
| Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
Co-winner | ||
| 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... |
Co-winner | ||
| 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,... |
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| Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
Co-winner | ||
| 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... |
Co-winner | ||
| New York Islanders New York Islanders The New York Islanders are a professional ice hockey team based in Uniondale, New York. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
Work with the physically and mentally handicapped. | ||
| 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... |
Charitable work on behalf of the mentally handicapped. | ||
| 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... |
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| Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League .-Founding and early success: 1970-71—1980-81:... |
Work with muscular dystrophy programs in the United States. | ||
| Washington Capitals Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup... |
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| St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
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| Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
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| St. Louis Blues St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The team is named after the famous W. C. Handy song "St. Louis Blues", and plays in the 19,150-seat Scottrade... |
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| 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... |
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| 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... |
Work with the Cerebral Palsy Association of Massachusetts. | ||
| Calgary Flames Calgary Flames The Calgary Flames are a professional ice hockey team based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is the third major-professional ice hockey team to represent the city of Calgary, following the... |
Work with the Calgary Special Olympics Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries.... and Big Brothers of Calgary |