Early in the next season the idea of more flights became impossible to bear and he retired from hockey.He eventually was enticed out of retirement by the Gump Worsley brought a little sunshine and a little laughter into the lives of everyone who knew him. Nicknamed after a popular comics character, Gump’s early years of professional hockey saw him p bounce around from league to league, team to team, winning award after award wherever he landed.

Some say Gump Worsley of Minnisota NorthStars in 1974. Let’s win one for the Gumper,” is well remembered by those who followed him onto the ice.

He went 13-29-8 in his first year and was named the Calder Trophy winner as he helped the Rangers out of the cellar. Nicknamed after a popular comics character, Gump’s early years of professional hockey saw him p bounce around from league to league, team to team, winning award after award wherever he landed. He led the Canadiens to four Stanley Cups in the next five years.

Gump Worsley finished his career with a 335-352-150 record in 861 games. “The next thing I know, here comes Gump’s stick aimed at my head like a helicopter blade. Andy Brown of the Penguins did not wear a mask the entire 1974 season. I only drink Seagram’s VO and ginger ale.”In the summer of 1963, the Canadiens rewarded his brilliant play in the New York net by trading for him, sending Finally, late in the in 1964-65 season, he became the team’s Number One backstop. He earned four trips to the NHL All-Star Game and was also named to the 1967-68 NHL All-Star First Team. After being pelted night after night with fourty to fifty shots, he was asked by the press “Which team in the league gives you the most trouble?”  “The New York Rangers,” he quipped. He led the NHL in games played and total minutes twice, in losses and goals against three times and once in goals against average. He was the rookie of the year and top goaltender in 1951 with the St. Paul Saints of the United States Hockey League. All rights reserved. Finally gaining recognition, Worsley joined the last placed New York Rangers in 1952 on a permanent basis.

You just gave me a perfect excuse to leave practice early” before stomping off to the locker room.One night, while on a trip to Los Angeles, the plane hit some bad air and dropped ten thousand feet before the pilot righted the ship.

However, he started wearing his mask that year. “My face is my mask,” he would say, refusing to don facial protection. “I whizzed one past his head one day in practice,” says Redmond. Get the best deals on gump worsley when you shop the largest online selection at eBay.com. Lorne “Gump” Worsley, born and raised in Montreal, was the last NHL goalie to play without a mask.

Always better when the chips were down, his playoff GAA over those five years was 1.91.Gump loved life and hated flying. Updated daily with news and features from over 130 writers worldwide. “My face is my mask,” he said. © The Hockey Writers 2018. Over 2 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix. Then he charges out of the net at me , grabs me by the sweater and says, “Thanks a lot kid.

a colorful character always appreciated by his teammates, goalie gump worsley backstopped the canadiens to four stanley cup championships in the 1960s, twice capturing the vezina trophy. When Phil Watson chided him in the newspapers about his conditioning and accused him of having a beer belly, Gump retorted: “I do NOT have a beer belly. Gump won the 1966 and 1968 Vezina Trophies as the league’s top goaltender, posting a 29-14-6 and a 19-9-8 record with a 1.98 GAA respectively. His urging at the beginning of every game, “Ok, Boys.

men behind the mask, from plante to price. The Gumper led the Montreal Canadiens to four Stanley Cup Championships (1965-1966, 1968-1969). Join over 18 000 Subscribers of our free bi-weekly Newsletter. He was the Western Hockey League’s Most Valuable Player in 1954 with a record of 39-24-7 as he helped his team to a first overall in the league. Lorne John “Gump” Worsley (May 14, 1929 - January 26, 2007) once referred to his ace as his mask and was the last goaltender in the history of the NHL to play without a mask. By 1974 pretty well all the mask-less goalies were gone. A beloved teammate, a fan favorite and a devoted family man, he was Founded in 2009, The Hockey Writers is a premier destination for news and information on everything hockey. He added a 2.88 Goals Against Average and posted 43 shutouts. After two years with the QJHL Verdun Cyclones, his early pro career was spent in the minors (EHL, USHL, WHL) where he succeeded three years in a row to be named to the First All-Star team and the league’s top goaltender.In 1952 he signed with the not-very-successful New York Rangers, playing 50 games with a 3.09 goals-against-average and winning the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie-of-the-year. MONTREAL -- Gump Worsley, the Hall of Fame goalie who didnt wear a mask until the final season of his 21-year NHL career, has died. june 4, 1963 was one of the best days of lorne worsley… The following season he came to camp somewhat out-of-shape and lost his job to In 1954 he returned to the Rangers where he toiled between the pipes for ten years.