Tim Horton Hockey Player, how he went from a hockey star to a doughnut czar.
Miles Gilbert Horton (January 12, 1930-February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 24 seasons in the NHL. He played for four different National Hockey League teams. He began his NHL career with the Toronto Maple Leafs and later moved on to play for the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins, and the Buffalo Sabres. In addition to being named one of the 100 Greatest NHL Players in history, he is also known as the highly successful Tim Hortons Doughnut chain founder. Tim Horton died in a single-vehicle car crash when he lost control of his car while under the influence of alcohol in 1974; he was 44 years of age.
Professional Career (NHL)
Horton played his first game in the NHL on March 26, 1950, playing defense for the Toronto Maple Leafs. From 1949-50 to 1951-1952, Horton played mostly for the Maples Leaf’s affiliate Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League (AHL), except for a brief four-game call-up during the 1951-52 season. Horton became a mainstay on the Toronto Maple Leafs blue-line during the 1952-53 season; he would remain there until being traded to the New York Rangers On March 3, 1970, for (Denis Dupere) during the 1969-70 season.
While with the Maple Leafs, Horton was known for his calm demeanor and incredible strength. He helped the Leafs to four Stanley Cup championships (1962, 63, 64, and 1967). He skated in seven NHL All-Star Games. He was named an NHL First Team All-Star in (1964, 1968, and 1969). He was chosen to the NHL Second Team in (1954, 1963, and 1967).
Horton held the Maple Leaf and NHL iron man streak for appearing in 486 consecutive regular-season games from February 11, 1961, to February 4, 1968. The Maple Leaf record still stands, while the NHL iron man record for a defenceman wasn’t broken until Karlis Skrastins of the Colorado Avalanche broke it on February 8, 2007. Skrastins’ streak came to an end at 495 games when he missed a February 25, 2007 game against the Anaheim Ducks with a knee injury.
Legendary Chicago Blackhawks left winger and Hall of Famer Bobby Hull once commented, “There were defencemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. But you respected Tim Horton because he didn’t need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check.”
During the 1962 Stanley Cup playoffs, Horton scored three goals and 13 assists in 12 playoff games, setting a new team record for a defenseman’s playoff points. The record was tied in 1978 by Ian Turnbull (13 games) and later broken by Dave Ellet in 1994 when he recorded 18 points in 18 games.
Nearing the end of his career, with age and injuries beginning to take a toll on the Maple Leaf defenseman, Horton was traded to the New York Rangers; he would play the last fifteen games of the 1969-70 season with the Blueshirts and all of the next season with them until being signed in 1971 by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intra-league draft for the sum of $100,000 the most lucrative contract the Penguins organization had inked at the time.
With his best years now behind him, at the age of 42, former Leaf’s general manager Punch Imlach of the Buffalo Sabres acquired Horton in the 1972 Intra-league draft. Horton played two seasons in Buffalo before his life tragically ended in a car accident in 1974. He was 44 years old.
Tim Horton is the only NHL hockey player to have his jersey retired by two NHL teams. His number 7 was retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs on October 15, 2016. The Buffalo Sabres retired Tim Hortons number 2 on January 5th, 1996; he was the fourth Sabre to have his number retired. The Sabres retired two more numbers during the 2005-06 season. Right-winger Danny Gare (#18) was honored on November 22nd, 2005, while Pat LaFontaine’s #16 was hoisted to the rafters on March 3rd, 2006.
Vic Hadfield stated, “I couldn’t have had a better friend, on or off the ice.” Similar feelings were expressed by George Armstrong at the time of Horton’s death, “No finer person, teammate or hockey player ever lived.” Former defense partner Allan Stanley added, “He was the finest man I knew on or off the ice. He was a great leader without a mean streak in him. Playing with him was a wonderful experience.“
“He was hurting too bad to play a regular shift in the third period,” recalled Sabre coach Punch Imlach. “We faded without him and lost the game to the Leafs. After the game, he and I took a little walk up Church Street and had what was our last talk. He was down in the dumps because he didn’t like to miss a shift and he felt he had cost us the game. I got on the bus with the team. Tim drove the cursed car back to Buffalo. He didn’t make it.“
It was May 17, 1964, when Horton and business partner Ron Joyce opened the doors to the Tim Horton Doughnut Shop on Ottawa Street in Hamilton, Ontario.
Tim Horton Hockey Player Career Statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1946–47 | Copper Cliff Jr. Redmen | NOHA | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1947–48 | St. Michael’s Majors | OHA-Jr. | 32 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 137 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1948–49 | St. Michael’s Majors | OHA-Jr. | 32 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1949–50 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1949–50 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 60 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1950–51 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 68 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 129 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 16 |
| 1951–52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1951–52 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 64 | 12 | 19 | 31 | 146 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 1952–53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1953–54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 94 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1954–55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1955–56 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 35 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 36 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| 1956–57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1957–58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 53 | 6 | 20 | 26 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1958–59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 76 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
| 1959–60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 3 | 29 | 32 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 1960–61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 57 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 75 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1961–62* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 10 | 28 | 38 | 88 | 12 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 16 |
| 1962–63* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 69 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 |
| 1963–64* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 9 | 20 | 29 | 71 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 20 |
| 1964–65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 12 | 16 | 28 | 95 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 |
| 1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 76 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 |
| 1966–67* | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 70 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 25 |
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 4 | 23 | 27 | 82 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 11 | 29 | 40 | 107 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
| 1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 59 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 15 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 28 |
| 1970–71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 57 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 14 |
| 1971–72 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 44 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 40 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 1972–73 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 69 | 1 | 16 | 17 | 56 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1973–74 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 55 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 1446 | 115 | 403 | 518 | 1611 | 126 | 11 | 39 | 50 | 183 |
Awards and achievements
- Named to NHL First All-Star Team in 1964, 1968, and 1969
- Named to NHL Second All-Star Team in 1954, 1963, and 1967
- 1961–62 – Stanley Cup champion
- 1962–63 – Stanley Cup champion
- 1963–64 – Stanley Cup champion
- 1966–67 – Stanley Cup champion
- 1977 – inducted (posthumously) into the Hockey Hall of Fame
- 1982 – inducted (posthumously) into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame
- 1996 – number 2 jersey retired by the Buffalo Sabres
- 1998 – ranked number 43 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
- 2004 – ranked number 59 in The Greatest Canadian list by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
- 2015 – recipient of the Bruce Prentice Legacy Award by the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame[29]
- 2016 – number 7 jersey retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs[30]
- In January 2017, Horton was part of the first group of players to be named one of the “100 Greatest NHL Players in history” by the league.[4]
