Bronco Joseph Horvath (March 12, 1930 – December 17, 2019) 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 h ...
player who played 434 games 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) between 1955 and 1968.
Early life
Horvath was born to an ethnic Hungarian family that emigrated from
Transcarpathia
Transcarpathia may refer to:
Place
* relative term, designating any region beyond the Carpathians (lat. ''trans-'' / beyond, over), depending on a point of observation
* Romanian Transcarpathia, designation for Romanian regions on the inner or ...
after the end of World War I, when it became part of Czechoslovakia.
Career
Horvath was signed by the
Detroit Red Wings as an amateur. On August 18, 1955, the Red Wings traded Horvath and
Dave Creighton
David Theodore Creighton (June 24, 1930 – August 18, 2017) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. Creighton started his National Hockey League career with the Boston Bruins in 1948. He would also play with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black H ...
to the New York Rangers in exchange for
Aggie Kukulowicz
Adolph Frank "Aggie" Kukulowicz (April 2, 1933 – September 26, 2008) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and Russian-language interpreter. He played four games in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, then played 12 ...
and
Billy Dea.
Horvath is perhaps best remembered for his time playing on the famous "Uke Line" with the
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 ...
, with fellow
Ukrainian-Canadians Johnny Bucyk
John Paul Bucyk (born May 12, 1935) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. Having played most of his career with the Boston Bruins, he has been associated in one capacity or another with the ...
and
Vic Stasiuk
Victor John Stasiuk (born May 23, 1929) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and a former NHL head coach.
Biography
Stasiuk played junior hockey in his native Lethbridge, Alberta before signing with the Chicago Black Hawks. He ...
. Horvath missed out on the
Art Ross Trophy
The Art Ross Trophy is awarded to the National Hockey League (NHL) player who leads the league in points at the end of the regular season. It was presented to the league by former player, General Manager, and head coach Art Ross. The trophy has ...
in
1959–60 by a single point to
Bobby Hull
Robert Marvin Hull OC (born January 3, 1939) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time. His blonde hair, skating speed, end-to-end rushes, and ability to shoot the puck at very high veloc ...
, however he tied with Hull for the
goal-scoring lead, with 39. He played for five of the
Original Six
The Original Six () are the teams that comprised the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1942 and 1967. The six teams are the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Detroit Red Wings, Montreal Canadiens, New York Rangers, and Toronto Maple Leaf ...
teams in the NHL (only missing Detroit), He did apprentice with the Edmonton Flyers, Detroit's WHL farm team, along with John Bucyk & Vic Stasiuk, his future Uke Linemates. He was demoted to the minors in 1963.
He played most of the next six seasons with the
Rochester Americans
The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...
of the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL). He was on three AHL
Calder Cup
The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars.
The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its cur ...
championships for Rochester in 1964–65, 1965–66 and 1967–68. and was among the league's scoring leaders for several seasons.
With the increased demand for players with the NHL expansion in 1967, Horvath found himself back in the league with the
Minnesota North Stars
The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...
. At mid-season of that year he returned to the Rochester Americans and helped lead them to the championship. He would finish his career with Rochester and ultimately retired from playing in 1970. Horvath is a charter member of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.
The following year, he became coach of the
London Knights
The London Knights are a junior ice hockey team from London, Ontario, Canada, playing in the Ontario Hockey League, one of the leagues of the Canadian Hockey League. The Knights started out in 1965 as the London Nationals but changed to their cu ...
of the OHL, from 1971–72. He moved to
South Yarmouth, Massachusetts
South Yarmouth is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Yarmouth in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 11,092 at the 2010 census, the most of the three CDPs in Yarmouth. It i ...
, when he was named coach of the
Cape Cod Cubs, an expansion team in the
Eastern 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 ...
, in 1972. He coached the Cubs to a regular-season divisional championship and a sweep of their first-round playoff series with the
Long Island Ducks before a powerful
Syracuse Blazers
The Syracuse Blazers were a minor league professional ice hockey team that played in the Onondaga County War Memorial and State Fair Coliseum in Syracuse, New York. The team played in the Eastern Hockey League from 1967 to 1973 and the North ...
team ended Cape Cod's league championship hopes. Horvath returned as coach for the 1973–74 season with the Cubs, who were charter members of the new
North American Hockey League, but was fired after the team got off to a slow start. His last coaching job was a brief stint at
Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. He resided on Cape Cod, where he enjoyed an occasional round of golf.
Horvath was inducted in the
AHL Hall of Fame The AHL Hall of Fame is an online ice hockey museum dedicated to honoring members of the American Hockey League. Each year, a new class of inductees is enshrined during the AHL's All-Star Classic.
On January 5, 2006, the league announced that Joh ...
in 2015. He died on December 17, 2019 in Hyannis, Massachusetts.
[ ]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Horvath, Bronco
Boston Bruins players
Chicago Blackhawks players
Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players
Galt Black Hawks players
Canadian people of Hungarian descent
London Knights coaches
Minnesota North Stars players
Montreal Canadiens players
New York Rangers players
North American Hockey League (1973–1977) coaches
Rochester Americans players
Stanley Cup champions
Syracuse Warriors players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
People from Port Colborne
Canadian people of Ukrainian descent
1930 births
2019 deaths
Canadian ice hockey centres
Canadian ice hockey coaches