Allan Robert Smith (November 10, 1945 – August 7, 2002) was a Canadian professional
ice hockey goaltender who played nearly 500 games in the
National Hockey League (NHL) and
World Hockey Association (WHA).
Minor-pro career
Smith began junior hockey in 1961 with the
Toronto Marlboros. In 1962 he began playing for the Lakeshore Bruins of the OHA before rejoining the Marlboros in the 1964–65 season.
Late in the
1965–66 NHL season
The 1965–66 NHL season was the 49th season of the National Hockey League. Six teams each played 70 games. The Montreal Canadiens won their second consecutive Stanley Cup as they defeated the Detroit Red Wings four games to two in the final ser ...
, Smith played two games with the
Toronto Maple Leafs, winning one of them and posting a 1.94 goals against average. In 1966 he was sent to the Maple Leaf farm team in
Victoria, British Columbia (also called the
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 ...
) where he started 56 games. He was moved to the
Western Hockey League's
Vancouver Canucks for the 1967 playoffs, where he played in 6 games, posting a 2.61 GAA and got one shutout. That year he also appeared in one game for the
San Francisco Seals in the WHL playoffs.
From 1967 to 1969 he played 85 games with the
Tulsa Oilers,
Rochester Americans, and
Baltimore Clippers
The Baltimore Clippers were a minor league professional ice hockey team from in Baltimore, Maryland, playing in the Baltimore Civic Center. The Clippers were members of the American Hockey League from 1962 to 1976, and then played one season in ...
minor league teams before joining the
Pittsburgh Penguins, being claimed from the Toronto organization in the Intra-League Draft on June 11, 1969.
Professional career
Smith started his NHL career with the
Toronto Maple Leafs. During the 1965-66 season, Smith had quit the Toronto Marlboros to work for a hospital supply firm.
[''67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire'', Damien Cox and Gord Stellick, , Publisher: John Wiley and Sons] Smith made his NHL debut for the Maple Leafs against the
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 ...
, when he relieved
Gary Smith after 2:15 of play. He backstopped the Leafs to a 3–2 victory and stalled
Bobby Hull at 47 goals.
Smith was one of five goalies who played for the Maple Leafs during the
1966–67 regular season.
He played one more game for the Maple Leafs on December 31, 1966, as part of a 5–1 losing effort against the Black Hawks. Smith was later called up as the back-up to
Terry Sawchuk for games four and five of
1967 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1967 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1966–67 season, and the culmination of the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs. A best-of-seven series, it was contested between the Montreal Canadiens and t ...
, due to an injury to
Johnny Bower. Smith qualified to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup, but Toronto left his name off, because he did not play in the playoffs.
Smith's other brief moment of glory for the Maple Leafs was participating in the
1968 NHL All-Star Game
The 21st National Hockey League All-Star Game was played in Maple Leaf Gardens on January 16, 1968, where the host Toronto Maple Leafs battled a team of all-stars from the remaining NHL teams. It was the last time that Maple Leaf Gardens would ho ...
. He played in relief for
Bruce Gamble
Bruce George Gamble (May 24, 1938 – December 29, 1982) was a professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1962 and 1972, with some stints in the minor leagues during that time.
Junior career
Gamble ...
and stopped 13 of 14 shots.
He was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the intraleague draft.
Smith also played for the
Pittsburgh Penguins,
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 ...
,
Buffalo Sabres,
Hartford Whalers and
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
. One of the most infamous moments of his career came on February 13, 1977, when he quit the Buffalo Sabres. Smith was to replace injured goalie
Gerry Desjardins
Gerard Ferdinand Desjardins (born July 22, 1944) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Chicago Blackhawks, New York Islanders, and Buffalo Sabres, and also played one ...
for a game against the
Minnesota North Stars, and Buffalo had also called up
Don Edwards. Less than an hour before gametime, Buffalo general manager
Punch Imlach
George "Punch" Imlach (March 15, 1918 – December 1, 1987) was a Canadian ice hockey coach and general manager best known for his association with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Buffalo Sabres. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and t ...
ordered Sabres coach
Floyd Smith
Floyd Robert Donald Smith (born May 16, 1935, in Perth, Ontario) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre and coach.
Biography
Smith grew up in Galt, Ontario, playing junior hockey with the Galt Black Hawks. He made his National Ho ...
to play Edwards instead.
After the national anthem, Smith stepped off the bench, saluted Buffalo owners
Seymour
Seymour may refer to:
Places Australia
*Seymour, Victoria, a township
*Electoral district of Seymour, a former electoral district in Victoria
*Rural City of Seymour, a former local government area in Victoria
*Seymour, Tasmania, a locality
...
and
Northrup Knox
Northrup Rand Knox (December 24, 1928 – July 23, 1998), was a Buffalo banker, sportsman, and community leader who, along with his brother Seymour, brought the National Hockey League to Buffalo, New York, as founders of the Buffalo Sabres. Kno ...
and headed for the dressing room.
Smith later played in the
World Hockey Association (WHA) with the
New England Whalers where he was the WHA's top goaltender in 1978.
A third team WHA All-Star for two consecutive years, many people in hockey felt Smith was robbed when snubbed by Team Canada for the
1974 Summit Series
The 1974 Summit Series was the second of two competitions between Soviet and Canadian professional ice hockey players, following the same format as the 1972 Summit Series, with four games across Canada and four in Moscow. The Soviet team won the ...
between WHA All-Stars and the Soviet Union national team. Overall, his career spanned from
1966
Events January
* January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko.
* January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
to
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
.
Transaction history
Smith was claimed from Toronto by Pittsburghs in National Hockey League intraleague draft, June 11, 1969, then from Pittsburgh by 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 ...
in the intraleague draft, June 8, 1971. He was subsequently selected by New England Whalers in 1972 World Hockey Association General Player Draft, February 12, 1972.
Smith was traded by the Red Wings to Buffalo for future considerations, March 10, 1975, then signed as free agent by New England August 15, 1977. His National Hockey League rights were retained by Whalers prior to the expansion draft, June 9, 1979. Finally he was traded by Whalers to the
Colorado Rockies
The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The team plays its home baseball games at Coors Fie ...
for cash, September 4, 1980.
[Al Smith (1965-81)](_blank)
/ref>
Post-career
In 1981, Smith played 37 games for the Colorado Rockies and retired. He became a car salesman in Vancouver, and later headed to the British Columbia interior to pick fruit. Before returning to Toronto, Smith also was a salesman for Reuters.
Smith kept in touch with former WHA teammate Larry Pleau
Lawrence Winslow Pleau (born January 29, 1947) is an American former ice hockey player who is currently the senior advisor to the general manager for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He formerly served as senior vice presid ...
. When Pleau coached the Hartford Whalers in the NHL, he would leave Smith tickets at Maple Leaf Gardens.[The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.215, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, ]
Once he returned to Toronto, Smith engaged in his love of writing. Subjects would include sports, such as in his 1997 novel ''The Parade has Passed'', featuring a WHA forward who hitchhikes to the funeral of his former coach, who had died in a brawl. Smith later wrote the play ''Confessions to Anne Sexton'' and the beginnings of a novel entitled, ''The Tragedy of Lake Tuscarora''. To make ends meet, Smith became a taxi driver for Beck Taxi. It was not uncommon for Smith to pick up old friends and former teammates.
In 1998, Smith used the $34,000 of pension benefits he'd received as part of the NHL's settlement with former players to produce ''Confessions to Anne Sexton'' at the Alumnae Theatre on Berkeley Street in downtown Toronto. The play was about a former goalie who goes to New York City to attend an Impressionist
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...
art exhibit.[The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.214, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, ] On opening night, seventeen people attended the performance, the biggest house of the show's three-week run.
In the last few months of his life, Smith socialized with Jim Keon, the brother of Smith's former teammate Dave Keon. Before his death, Smith was still working on ''The Tragedy of Lake Tuscarora''. Smith's son Adam said that his father was not a talented writer, and after reading the manuscript told his father on his deathbed that there were fourteen pages that were perfect and Smith was happy.[The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association, p.216, McLelland and Stewart, Toronto, ON, ]
He died in 2002 as a result of pancreatic cancer.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards and honours
Accolades:
* Played in National Hockey League All-Star Game, 1968
The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide.
Events January–February
* January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia.
* Januar ...
* Played in World Hockey Association All-Star Game, 1972–73
* Named to World Hockey Association All-Star Third Team, 1972–73
* Played in World Hockey Association All-Star Game, 1973–74
* Named to World Hockey Association All-Star Third Team, 1973–74
* Played in World Hockey Association All-Star Game, 1974–75
* Won the Ben Hatskin Trophy (Top WHA Goaltender), 1977–78
* Named to World Hockey Association All-Star First Team, 1977–78
* Inaugural member of the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame, 2010
See also
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Al
1945 births
2002 deaths
Baltimore Clippers players
Buffalo Sabres players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Colorado Rockies (NHL) players
Detroit Red Wings players
Hartford Whalers players
Ice hockey people from Ontario
National Hockey League All-Stars
New England Whalers players
Pittsburgh Penguins players
Rochester Americans players
Sportspeople from Toronto
Springfield Indians players
Stanley Cup champions
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players