Robert John Gracie (November 8, 1910 – August 3, 1963) 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 ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics *Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...

who played 10 seasons in the

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) for 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 ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

New York Americans The New York Americans, colloquially known as the Amerks, were a professional ice hockey team based in New York City from 1925 to 1942. They were the third expansion team in the history of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the second to play ...

Montreal Maroons The Montreal Maroons (officially the Montreal Professional Hockey Club) were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in the NHL from 1924 to 1938, winning the Stanley Cup in 1926 and 1935. They were the la ...

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 ...

and

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 ...

Playing career

Toronto Maple Leafs

The North Bay, Ontario native came out of the Toronto junior hockey ranks, eventually signing on as a free agent with Conn Smythe's Toronto Maple Leafs. Gracie made the jump from the OHA's

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

and appeared in eight games for the Leafs in the

1930–31 NHL season The 1930–31 NHL season was the 14th season of the National Hockey League. Ten teams played 44 games each. The Montreal Canadiens beat the Chicago Black Hawks three games to two in the best-of-five Stanley Cup Finals for their second consecutiv ...

registering four goals and two assists for six points. The following season Gracie appeared in all forty eight regular season games for the Maple Leafs and all seven post-season contests. Playing on a line with

Frank Finnigan Francis Arthur Clarence Finnigan (July 9, 1901 – December 25, 1991), nicknamed "The Shawville Express", was a Canadian ice hockey professional forward who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1923 to 1937. During this time, he play ...

and

Harold Darragh Harold Edward "Howl" Darragh (September 13, 1902 – April 28, 1993) was a Canadian ice hockey right winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Pirates, Philadelphia Quakers, Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple ...

he helped Toronto win a Stanley Cup in their first season at

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was initially constructed in 1931 as an arena to host ice hockey games, though it has sinc ...

, sweeping 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 ...

in the Stanley Cup Finals three games to none in the best-of-five series. Gracie would once again appear in all forty eight regular season games the following year with the Leafs, helping them back to the Stanley Cup Finals in 1932–33, where they faced off against New York once again, only to see the Rangers prevail in the final series three games to one.

Boston Bruins and New York Americans

Gracie's time with Toronto came to an end after being traded to the

Ottawa Senators The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a membe ...

for

Hec Kilrea Hector Joseph "Hurricane" Kilrea (June 11, 1907 — September 6, 1969) was a Canadian ice hockey forward (ice hockey), forward. He played for the Ottawa Senators (original), Ottawa Senators, Detroit Falcons (hockey), Detroit Falcons, Toronto Mapl ...

before the start of the 1933–34 season. Ottawa in turn, immediately dealt him the same day to the

for

Percy Galbraith Percival Walter "Perk" Galbraith (December 5, 1898 – June 19, 1961) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins and Ottawa Senators between 1926 and 1934. G ...

, Bud Cook and Teddy Saunders. Gracie played the first 24 games of the season for the Bruins before being traded again, this time to the New York Americans. He played the remaining 24 games for New York appearing in all 48 games of the regular season for the third consecutive year.

Montreal Maroons

After stints in Boston and New York, Gracie found himself back in Canada after his rights were sold to the Montreal Maroons. Maroons' general manager and coach

Tommy Gorman Thomas Patrick Gorman (June 9, 1886 – May 15, 1961), known as "T.P." or "Tommy", was a Canadian ice hockey executive, sports entrepreneur and athlete. Gorman was a founder of the National Hockey League (NHL), a winner of seven Stanley Cups as ...

put him on a line with newly acquired

Gus Marker Augustus Solberg Marker (August 1, 1905 – October 7, 1997) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who had played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Maroons, Toronto Maple Leafs and B ...

and sophomore left winger

Herb Cain Herbert James Cain (December 24, 1912 – February 23, 1982) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Maroons, Montreal Canadiens, and Boston Bruins between 1933 ...

, to form what would later be dubbed the "Green Line." Gracie won the second Stanley Cup of his career in his first season with the Maroons in 1934–35.

Montreal Canadiens and Chicago Black Hawks

Before the start of the

1938–39 NHL season The 1938–39 NHL season was the 22nd season of the National Hockey League (NHL). Seven teams each played 48 games. The Boston Bruins were the Stanley Cup winners as they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to one in the final series. Leagu ...

Gracie was sold to the Canadiens but would only play seven games that year for Montreal when the Chicago Black Hawks purchased his rights. He would split the remainder of the season with Chicago and the

Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team. *Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978 *Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...

of the IAHL.

Minor leagues

In 1944–45, while playing for the Pittsburgh Hornets, Gracie led the American Hockey League in scoring with 95 points, tying for the lead with teammate Bob Walton.

Awards and achievements

* 1931–32 - Stanley Cup Champion - Toronto Maple Leafs * 1934–35 - Stanley Cup Champion - Montreal Maroons * 1944–45 - AHL Scoring Leader (tied with teammate Bob Walton) - Pittsburgh Hornets

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gracie, Bob 1910 births 1963 deaths Boston Bruins players Buffalo Bisons (AHL) players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Chicago Blackhawks players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey people from North Bay, Ontario Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Maroons players New York Americans players Pittsburgh Hornets players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players Washington Lions players