The 1955–56

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

season was the team's 30th

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

in the

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, and the club was coming off their second straight last place finish in 1954–55, when they had a record of 13–40–17, earning 43 points. The struggling franchise had finished in the NHL cellar for seven times in the past nine seasons. The Black Hawks would not bring back head coach

Frank Eddolls Frank Herbert Eddolls (July 5, 1921 – August 13, 1961) was a defenceman in the National Hockey League who played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers, and coached the Chicago Black Hawks in 1954–55. He won the Stanley Cup with Mont ...

, as they hired

Dick Irvin James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and th ...

, who had previously coached the Black Hawks in 1928–29 and 1930–31. After leaving Chicago in 1931, Irvin would coach the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

from 1931–40, winning the 1932

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, then he went on to coach the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

from 1940–55, winning three

Stanley Cups The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

with the team in 1944, 1946 and 1953. Also, in the off-season, the Hawks acquired Johnny Wilson and

Glen Skov Glen Frederick Skov (January 26, 1931 – September 10, 2013) was a professional ice hockey centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens. Skov won three Sta ...

from the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. The team would get off to their best start in a few seasons, as they played .500 hockey in their opening 10 games, as Chicago had a record of 4–4–2. The team would hover around the .500 mark through the first 23 games before falling into a slump, in which they would go 11–30–6 in their remaining 47 games to finish the season in last place for the eighth time in ten seasons. Despite the last place finish, Chicago improved their win total to 19 games and their point total to 50, which represented their highest totals since the 1952–53 season. Offensively, Chicago was led by Red Sullivan, who had a team high 40 points, as he scored 14 goals and added 26 assists. Newly acquired Johnny Wilson scored a team high 24 goals, becoming the first Black Hawk since 1953 to score over 20 goals, while

Ed Litzenberger Edward Charles John "Eddie" Litzenberger (July 15, 1932 – November 1, 2010) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger from Neudorf, Saskatchewan. Litzenberger was "donated" to the Chicago Black Hawks by the Montreal Canadiens in his first year in ...

had a club best 29 assists, en route to a 39-point season.

Allan Stanley Allan Herbert Stanley (March 1, 1926 – October 18, 2013) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the New York Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins, Philadelphia Flyers and Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hocke ...

led the defense with 14 assists and 18 points, while fellow blueliner

Jack McIntyre John Archibald "Jack" McIntyre (September 8, 1930 in Brussels, Ontario – March 15, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player. He played in the National Hockey League between 1950 and 1960. Playing career McIntyre played 499 National Hockey League ...

scored a defense leading 10 goals, while adding 5 assists for 15 points. Team captain Gus Mortson also had 15 points from the blueline, along with 87 penalty minutes.

Lee Fogolin Sr. Lidio John Fogolin Sr. (February 27, 1927 — November 29, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1948 and 1956. Playing career Fogolin st ...

led the team in that category though, accumulating 88 penalty minutes. In goal, Al Rollins played the majority of games, leading the team in wins at 17, and GAA at 2.95. He also earned 3 shutouts.

Season standings

Record vs. opponents

Game log

Regular season

Season stats

Scoring leaders

Goaltending

References

Sources

Hockey-Reference
* National Hockey League Guide & Record Book 2007 {{DEFAULTSORT:1955-56 Chicago Black Hawks season Chicago Blackhawks seasons

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...