Robert Richard Irons (born November 19, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues during the 1968–69 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1967 to 1981, was mainly spent in the International Hockey League.

Playing career

He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He played for two minutes and 59 seconds of one game in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues during the 1968–69 season. This occurred only because the Blues' starting goaltender,

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 a ...

, was ejected from a game before his replacement, Jacques Plante, was prepared to enter. Irons tended the net until Plante was able to take over.Robbie Irons @ hockeygoalies.org
/ref> Irons shared with

Christian Soucy Christian Soucy (born September 14, 1970) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He appeared in one National Hockey League game with the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1993–94 NHL season. Biography Soucy was born in Gatineau, Que ...

the NHL record for the fewest career minutes by a goaltender. He was surpassed on December 31, 2016 when Jorge Alves played 7.6 seconds in his only NHL game. Irons played 11 seasons in the IHL with the Fort Wayne Komets, earning six selections to the All-Star team. His jersey number 30 is retired by the team.

Broadcasting career

After he retired as an active player, Irons went on to a long-time career as an analyst with the Komets' legendary play-by-play announcer, Bob Chase. Chase and Irons were a team that stayed together for 33 years before Chase's death in 2016.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links