Gordon Elwood Tottle (October 14, 1925March 9, 1987) was an American professional ice hockey player. As a defenseman, he played 456 games in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Indians. In 18 seasons of professional hockey, he was a first-team all-star in both the American Hockey League, and the Eastern Hockey League, and played for the United States men's national ice hockey team in the

1962 Ice Hockey World Championships The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from March 8 to March 18, 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted ...

Early life

Gordon Elwood Tottle was born in Detroit, Michigan, on October 14, 1925. He grew up in Woodstock, Ontario, Canada.

Playing career

Tottle began his professional hockey career with the Dallas Texans, and the

Fort Worth Rangers The Fort Worth Rangers were a minor professional ice hockey franchise based in Fort Worth, Texas. They played in the American Hockey Association (AHA) during the 1941-42 season and in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 1945-46 to 1948 ...

, in the United States Hockey League. He signed with the Springfield Indians, and wore uniform #5 for ten seasons. During the three seasons which the Indians played as the

Syracuse Warriors The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existen ...

, he led the team with 187 penalty minutes. He was named a first-team all-star in the

1954–55 AHL season The 1954–55 AHL season was the 19th season of the American Hockey League. Six teams played 64 games each in the schedule. The "Carl Liscombe Trophy" for the league's top scorer is renamed to the John B. Sollenberger Trophy. The All-Star game i ...

, scoring six goals, and 31 points, his highest totals in the American Hockey League (AHL). After his ten seasons with the Indians/Warriors, he had played the eighth most games (433), in Springfield AHL history, and was inducted into Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame. Tottle then played one season in the Western Hockey League, followed by four seasons with Charlotte in the Eastern Hockey League. In his first two seasons with the Charlotte Clippers, he was named a first-team all-star in 1958–59, and 1959–60. In his third season in Charlotte, the team was renamed to the Charlotte Checkers, and Tottle was named its player-coach. He led the team to 25 wins in 64 games, but missed the playoffs. During his fourth season in Charlotte, Tottle played for the United States men's national ice hockey team in the

. He later returned to his home state of Michigan, to play a final season with the Port Huron Flags in the International Hockey League in 1962–63.

Personal life

Tottle was married to Ann, and had two daughters and a stepson. He was the owner and operator of Gordie's Amoco in Harrisburg, North Carolina. He was a member of the Oak Branch Masonic Lodge No. 261 in Innerkip, Ontario, a member of the Scottish Rite and the Carolina Consistory, and a member of the Commonwealth Baptist Church. He died from cancer on March 9, 1987, at his home in Harrisburg, and was interred in Sunset Memory Gardens.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs statistics.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tottle, Gordon 1925 births 1987 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American businesspeople American Freemasons American men's ice hockey defensemen Businesspeople from North Carolina Calgary Stampeders (WHL) players Charlotte Checkers (EHL) players Charlotte Clippers players Dallas Texans (USHL) players Deaths from cancer in North Carolina Eastern Hockey League coaches Fort Worth Rangers players Ice hockey coaches from Michigan Ice hockey people from Detroit Ice hockey player-coaches People from Harrisburg, North Carolina People from Woodstock, Ontario Port Huron Flags (IHL) players Seattle Totems (WHL) players Sportspeople from Detroit Sportspeople from Oxford County, Ontario Springfield Indians players Syracuse Warriors players