Edward Charles John "Eddie" Litzenberger (July 15, 1932 – November 1, 2010) was a Canadian

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 ...

right winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

from

Neudorf, Saskatchewan Neudorf ( 2016 population: ) is a village in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan within the Rural Municipality of McLeod No. 185 and Census Division No. 5. It is on Highway 22 east of Lemberg, and Abernethy, and west of Killaly. The commun ...

. Litzenberger was "donated" to 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 ...

by 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 ...

in his first year 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). At the time the Black Hawks were struggling to survive as a franchise, and the league governors decided to help the team remain viable.''Who's Who in Hockey'',

Stan Fischler Stan Fischler (born March 31, 1932) is a historian of hockey and the New York City Subway, as well as a broadcaster, author, and professor. During his career, Fischler was best known for covering the New York Islanders, New Jersey Devils and New ...

and Shirley Fischler, Andrews McMeel Publishing, 2003, pg. 249.

Playing career

Litzenberger began his hockey career with the

Regina Pats Regina (Latin for "queen") may refer to: Places Canada * Regina, Saskatchewan, the capital city of the province ** Regina (electoral district) ** Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Regina France * Régina, French Guiana, a commune United States * ...

in the Western Canada Junior Hockey League. In 1950–51, he led the league in scoring with 44 goals in 40 games and led the playoffs in scoring with 14 goals in 12 games. In 1952–53, he made his debut with the

, playing two games with the Canadiens while splitting his time with the

Montreal Royals The Montreal Royals were a minor league professional baseball team in Montreal, Quebec, during 1897–1917 and 1928–1960. A member of the International League, the Royals were the top farm club (Class AAA) of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939; pi ...

. He won the Rookie of the Year Award in the

Quebec Senior Hockey League The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

, and was chosen for the Second All-Star Team. Ed Litzenberger Chex

After playing 29 games with the Canadiens, Litzenberger was traded to the

in 1954–55. He posted 40 points in 44 games with the Black Hawks and was awarded the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...

. He also played in the

NHL All-Star Game The National Hockey League All-Star Game (french: Match des Étoiles de la Ligue Nationale de Hockey, links=no) is an exhibition ice hockey game that is traditionally held during the regular season of the National Hockey League (NHL), with many o ...

that year. After posting three consecutive 30-goal seasons and being named to the

NHL Second All-Star Team The National Hockey League All-Star teams were first named at the end of the 1930–31 NHL season, to honor the best performers over the season at each position. Representatives of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association vote for the all- ...

in 1956–57, he was named

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957–58. He led a Black Hawks team that included future

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

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 ...

, Stan Mikita,

Pierre Pilote Joseph Albert Pierre Paul Pilote (December 11, 1931 – September 9, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and perennial All-Star, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), for which he served ...

and

Glenn Hall Glenn Henry Hall (born October 3, 1931) (aka Gunner Hall) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his National Hockey League career with the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks, and St. Louis Blues, Hall seldom missed ...

to a

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 in 1960–61, Chicago's first Stanley Cup since 1937–38. Litzenberger was traded to 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 ...

after the Black Hawks had won the Stanley Cup, and traded again midway through the season to 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 ...

. He helped the Leafs win three consecutive Stanley Cups from 1962 to 1964. After that, he was sent down to 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 Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...

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, a ...

and won the

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 curr ...

for two consecutive seasons with the Americans before retiring. Litz was unique for having won four consecutive

s while playing for two different teams. He helped instill a winning attitude as a member of the Black Hawks after having been traded from a first-place to a last-place team after noting a defeatist attitude among the players. Some of his teammates were satisfied with a tie. He reminded them that a tie was not a win and not worth celebrating. He is also the only player in North American hockey history to win six straight pro hockey championships by winning the Stanley Cup in 1961, 1962, 1963 and 1964, and the Calder Cup in 1965 and 1966. He spent his final years living in Ontario.

Achievements

QSHL The Quebec Senior Hockey League (QSHL) was an ice hockey league that operated from 1941 to 1959 , based in Quebec, Canada. The league played senior ice hockey under the jurisdiction of the Quebec Amateur Hockey Association until 1953, when it became ...

Top Rookie of the Year Award winner in 1953. *Selected to the QSHL Second All-Star Team in 1953. *Selected to the QHL Second All-Star Team in 1954. *

winner in

1955 Events January * January 3 – José Ramón Guizado becomes president of Panama. * January 17 – , the first nuclear-powered submarine, puts to sea for the first time, from Groton, Connecticut. * January 18– 20 – Battle of Yijian ...

. *Played in

, 1957, 1958,

1959 Events January * January 1 - Cuba: Fulgencio Batista flees Havana when the forces of Fidel Castro advance. * January 2 - Lunar probe Luna 1 was the first man-made object to attain escape velocity from Earth. It reached the vicinity of E ...

, 1962, and 1963

s. *Selected to the

in 1957. *

champion in

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 ...

(

). *Stanley Cup champion in 1962, 1963 and 1964 (

). *

champion in

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...

, and 1966 (

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Death

Litzenberger, died on November 1, 2010, age 78.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Litzenberger, Ed 1932 births 2010 deaths Calder Trophy winners Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey forwards Chicago Blackhawks captains Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan Montreal Canadiens players People from Neudorf, Saskatchewan Regina Pats players Saskatchewan Huskies ice hockey players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players