Alfred George Pike (September 15, 1917 – March 1, 2009) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who spent six

National Hockey League 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 ...

(NHL) seasons with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

between 1939 and 1947. Born in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

, he was a product of the hockey school there that was operated by Lester Patrick, the Rangers'

coach Coach may refer to: Guidance/instruction * Coach (sport), a director of athletes' training and activities * Coaching, the practice of guiding an individual through a process ** Acting coach, a teacher who trains performers Transportation * Co ...

and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. A licensed mortician in the offseason, Pike's

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

was " The Embalmer". He also served as coach at various levels of the sport.

Playing career

He played two years of junior hockey with the Winnipeg Monarchs of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirteen teams all based ...

(MJHL). In 1936–37, his second campaign with the team, he centered the top

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People * Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Sm ...

line as the Monarchs captured both the league title and Memorial Cup. After immediately signing a contract with Patrick's franchise in 1937, he spent two years with the New York Rovers, the Rangers' minor league affiliate in the

Eastern Amateur Hockey League The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league. Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953) The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart, ...

that shared Madison Square Garden III with the parent club.Klein, Jeff Z
"Alf Pike, Member of Rangers’ 1940 Stanley Cup Team, Dies at 91"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Accessed March 11, 2009. He was the team captain when the Rovers won the EAHL crown in 1938–39. He also made two appearances with the

Philadelphia Ramblers The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for six seasons during the infancy of the American Hockey League from 1935 to 1941. History T ...

of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) that same season. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience and expertise, a rookie is usually inexperienced ...

with the Rangers in 1939–40, he was the center on the third forward line with

Dutch Hiller Wilbert Carl "Dutch, Wib" Hiller (May 11, 1915 – November 12, 2005) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played nine seasons in the National Hockey League from 1938 to 1946 with the New York Rangers, Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins ...

and

Clint Smith Clinton James "Snuffy" Smith (December 12, 1913 – May 19, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and head coach best known for his time spent in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a player with the New York Rangers and the Chic ...

. Pike contributed two key goals in the

1940 Stanley Cup Finals The 1940 Stanley Cup Finals was a best-of-seven series between the New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. New York would win the series 4–2 to win their third Stanley Cup. The Rangers would not win another for 54 years, a circumstance t ...

. He scored the winner in overtime of Game 1, and tallied again midway through the third period of Game 6 to tie the match at 2–2 and eventually extend it beyond regulation.

Bryan Hextall Bryan Aldwyn Hextall (July 31, 1913 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal ...

's goal in the extra period clinched the

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 ...

Championship for the Rangers. His most productive season was in 1941–42 with 27 points (8 goals, 19

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

s). He was converted into a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

the following year. His hockey career was put on hold between 1943 and 1945 when he was stationed with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; french: Aviation royale canadienne, ARC) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environm ...

in his hometown during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He played two more seasons with the Rangers, the final one as a left winger in 1946–47, becoming one of the very few individuals in professional hockey history to play three different positions. His final NHL totals were 119 points (42 goals, 77 assists) in 234 games. He appeared in a handful of matches with the Winnipeg Nationals in 1948 and 1949 before ending his playing career.

Coaching career

Pike's first coaching job began in 1949–50 with the

Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters The Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters were a Canadian junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) from 1940 to 1942, and 1947 to 1960. The team was often known as the "Biltmores" and sponsored by the Guelph Biltmore Hat Company, and ...

, the Rangers'

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA) Junior A farm club. The highlight of his five years with Guelph was in 1952 when the team, which featured Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell, won both the league championship and Memorial Cup. His next stop was the

Winnipeg Warriors The Winnipeg Warriors were a junior ice hockey team that played in the Western Hockey League. They were founded as an expansion team in 1980, but suffered from attendance problems competing with the Winnipeg Jets of the National Hockey League and ...

from 1954 to 1959, collecting a

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL) title and

Edinburgh Trophy The Edinburgh Trophy was a trophy given to the winners of a series played between the champions of the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Hockey League professional ice hockey leagues. It was contested in the years 1954 to 1957. Donation The trop ...

national minor professional championship in 1956. He returned to the Rangers as its coach eighteen games into the

1959–60 NHL season The 1959–60 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 43rd Season (sport), season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens were the List of Stanley Cup champions, Stanley Cup winners as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs four games ...

. His personality was a direct contrast from that of the man he replaced, the temperamental

Phil Watson Joseph Philippe Henri Watson (April 24, 1914 — February 1, 1991) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League. He played for the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers between 1936 and 1948, and coached ...

(

Muzz Patrick Frederick Murray "Muzz" Patrick (June 28, 1915 – July 27, 1998) was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1938 to 1941, and then from 1945 to 1946. He was ...

served as the interim for two matches). After compiling a 36–66–21 record in two years without a postseason appearance, Pike was replaced by Doug Harvey in 1961. Before his retirement in 1970, he returned to the WHL to coach three different franchises: the Calgary Stampeders (1961–62 to 1962–63), Los Angeles Blades (1963–64 to 1964–65) and Phoenix Roadrunners (1967–68 to 1969–70). Pike died at age 91 on March 1, 2009, in Calgary, Alberta.Staff
"Alf Pike, member of 1940 Rangers, dies at 91"
,

, March 6, 2009. Accessed March 9, 2009.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

NHL coaching record

Awards and achievements

* 1937 Turnbull Cup Championship (MJHL) – Winnipeg Monarchs (player) * 1937 Memorial Cup Championship – Winnipeg Monarchs (player) * 1939 Eastern Amateur Hockey League Champions – New York Rovers (player) * 1940 Stanley Cup Championship – New York Rangers (player) * 1952 J. Ross Robertson Cup Championship (OHA) – Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (coach) * 1952 Memorial Cup Championship – Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (coach) * 1956

Lester Patrick Cup The Lester Patrick Cup was the championship trophy of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Hockey League (WHL) from 1949 to 1974. Originally known as the Phil Henderson Cup and then in 1952 it was renamed to the President's Cup. The t ...

Championship (WHL) –

(coach) * 1956

Championship – Winnipeg Warriors (coach) * Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame * In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', was ranked No. 69 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons

References

External links

*
Alfred Pike's Day with the Stanley CupObituary
in the

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Alf 1917 births 2009 deaths Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian military personnel of World War II New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Ice hockey people from Winnipeg Stanley Cup champions Winnipeg Monarchs players