Clifford Joseph "Fido" Purpur (September 26, 1914 – February 21, 2001) was an American

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 five 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 ...

for the

St. Louis Eagles The St. Louis Eagles were a professional ice hockey team that played in the National Hockey League (NHL). Based in St. Louis, the Eagles played for only one year, the 1934–35 NHL season. The team was founded in 1883 as the Ottawa Senators, a s ...

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 ...

, and Detroit Red Wings between 1934 and 1945. He also played several years of minor hockey, primarily with the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey Association. After retiring he became a

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 led the

University of North Dakota The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of N ...

from 1949 to 1956.

Career

Purpur played for the

Minneapolis Millers The Minneapolis Millers were an American professional minor league baseball team that played in Minneapolis, Minnesota, through 1960. In the 19th century a different Minneapolis Millers were part of the Western League. The team played first in ...

winning a CHL championship in 1934 and went on to play 25 games for the

the following season becoming the first person born in North Dakota to play in the

. After the Eagles folded the players were disbanded to other NHL teams and Purpur was selected by

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. If the NHL ever resold the franchise, proceeds were to go to the Ottawa Hockey Association. Rather than join the Leafs Purpur remained in

Missouri Missouri is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee): Iowa to the north, Illinois, Kentucky and Tennessee to the east, Arkansas t ...

and signed on with the AHA's St. Louis Flyers. Purpur played the next six seasons with the Flyers, winning 38 regular season titles and 4 league championships while being one of the top scorers for the team. In 1941 Purpur left St. Louis and joined the

Kansas City Americans Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

but received a brief call-up for his second stint in the NHL for the

. In 78 games Purpur recorded no points and he was returned to Kansas City for the remainder of the year. Due to America's entry into

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 opposing ...

several NHL rosters were depleted of talent and the league scrambled to find replacements. Chicago brought Purpur back and this time he was able to play a full 50-game season, posting 13 goals and 16 assists but Chicago missed out on the playoffs by 1 point when the lost the final two games of the year. Purpur was finally able to make his playoff debut for the Black hawks the next year and, while his team made the

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, they were swept out 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 ...

. Purpur split his time in 1944-45 between Chicago and Indianapolis of the newly-formed AHL but after the Capitals bowed out in the first round of the playoffs Purpur made his final appearance in the NHL by appearing in seven playoff games for the Detroit Red Wings. with the war over in 1945 Purpur returned to the minors and finished his playing career in 1947.

Coaching career

A few years after retiring Purpur returned to North Dakota to take over the program at UND. Purpur would spend seven seasons with the Fighting Sioux and shepherded the team through the early years of conference play. His best season came in 1952–53 with a 15-5 record and a third-place finish in the MCHL. He was inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

in 1974 and was awarded North Dakota's highest honor, the

Roughrider Award The Theodore Roosevelt Rough Rider Award is an award presented by the Governor of North Dakota, governor of the state of North Dakota. It is bestowed upon prominent North Dakotans. Recipients ''Note: date in parentheses indicates date of award'' ...

in 1981. During his coaching career, Purpur coached his younger brother

Ken Ken or KEN may refer to: Entertainment * ''Ken'' (album), a 2017 album by Canadian indie rock band Destroyer. * ''Ken'' (film), 1964 Japanese film. * ''Ken'' (magazine), a large-format political magazine. * Ken Masters, a main character in ...

. In 1988, he received the

Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award The Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award is an annual award presented by the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Committee to honor "one of the all-time great contributors to the game of college hockey." In 1981, the Hobey Baker Memorial Award Comm ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Purpur, Fido 1914 births 2001 deaths Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings players Ice hockey people from North Dakota Sportspeople from Grand Forks, North Dakota St. Louis Eagles players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees North Dakota Fighting Hawks men's ice hockey coaches American men's ice hockey right wingers