Anthony Joseph Leswick (March 17, 1923 – July 1, 2001) 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 h ...
forward who played mostly for the
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
and
Detroit Red Wings of the
NHL
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 ...
. Nicknamed "Tough Tony" and "Mighty Mouse", he was known also as a little pest, in part due to his small stature, at just 5'7" tall and 160 lbs. Leswick is best known for scoring the series-winning goal in overtime of game seven of the
1954 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1954 Stanley Cup Finals was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the defending champion Montreal Canadiens, in their fourth straight Finals. It was the second Detroit–Montreal Finals series of the 1950s. The Wings won the series 4–3 to ...
.
Playing career
Minor league hockey
Leswick played his junior hockey with the
Saskatoon Dodgers and
Saskatoon Quakers
The Saskatoon Quakers were an ice hockey team that was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The team played in various senior ice hockey leagues, and later played in minor league professional hockey. The Quakers represented Canada in 1934 Worl ...
, and quickly gained attention. In 1942, Leswick jumped 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 developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...
(AHL) with the
Cleveland Barons The name Cleveland Barons has been used by three professional hockey teams and one junior team.
*Cleveland Barons (NHL), the National Hockey League team that played between 1976 and 1978
*Cleveland Barons (1937–1973), the original American Hockey ...
and scored 40 points in only 52 games. He moved onto the
Pacific Coast Hockey League
The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.
PCHL 1928–1931
The first ...
(PCHL) the following season to play for the
New Westminster Royals. Scoring 36 points in 19 games there, he followed up his great season by joining with
HMCS ''Chippawa'' of the
Royal Canadian Navy Reserve
The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; french: Marine royale canadienne, ''MRC'') is the naval force of Canada. The RCN is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of 2021, the RCN operates 12 frigates, four attack submar ...
, where he helped to win the 1944–45 Basil Baker trophy for inter-service hockey. The
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
had acquired him in June 1945, and based on this performance added him to their lineup for the remainder of the
1945–46 NHL season
The 1945–46 NHL season was the List of NHL seasons, 29th Season (sport), season of the National Hockey League. The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Boston Bruins for the team's sixth championship.
League business
Since Worl ...
.
Professional career
Leswick scored 15 goals in his shortened rookie season for the Rangers and quickly established himself as one of the few bright spots in New York. He enjoyed agitating opponents, including
Maurice Richard of 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 ...
, and
Gordie Howe
Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...
of the
Detroit Red Wings. Leswick recorded consecutive 20-goal seasons in
1946–47 and
1947–48, but the Rangers as a team struggled to succeed. After scoring 44 points in 1949–50, he was 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- ...
. During this time, he formed a successful combination with
Edgar Laprade
Edgar Louis "Beaver" Laprade (October 10, 1919 – April 28, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League. The son of Thomas and Edith Laprade, he was born in the New Ontari ...
and
Dunc Fisher
Duncan Robert Fisher (August 30, 1927 – September 22, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 275 games in the National Hockey League from 1947 to 1953 and again in 1958 to 1959. He played for the New York Rangers, Bos ...
.
Detroit was impressed by Leswick's when playing against Gordie Howe, and acquired him after the
1950–51 season in a blockbuster trade on June 8, with
Gaye Stewart
James Gaye Stewart (June 28, 1923 – November 18, 2010) was a professional ice hockey forward. He played nine seasons as a left winger in the National Hockey League.
Playing career
Born in Fort William, Ontario, Stewart was called from the min ...
going to New York. Leswick was added to a line with
Marty Pavelich
Martin Nicholas Pavelich (born November 6, 1927) is a Canadian former ice hockey left winger. He played ten seasons for the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League from 1947 until 1957. Pavelich is the last surviving member of the Red W ...
and
Glen Skov
Glen Frederick Skov (January 26, 1931 – September 10, 2013) was a professional ice hockey centre who played 12 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Chicago Black Hawks and Montreal Canadiens. Skov won three Sta ...
, and helped lead Detroit to
Stanley Cup championships in
1952
Events January–February
* January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses.
* February 6
** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
,
1954, and
1955. He is best remembered for his winning goal in game seven of the 1954 Stanley Cup finals against the Montreal Canadiens. Leswick recalled in an interview with Chuck O'Donnell,
"It was early in overtime, I don't know, maybe four or five minutes in. We were trying to change our forwards. I had the puck around centre ice or so and I just wanted to do the smart thing and throw it in. If I get caught with the puck and the Canadiens steal it, we may get caught and they may get an odd-man break. Just like that, the game could be over.
So, I'm just thinking of lifting the puck down deep in their end, just making the safe play. So I flipped it in nice and high and turned to get off the ice. The next thing I know, everyone's celebrating. It had gone in. I said, "You've got to be kidding. It went in? Get out of here!""
Defenceman
Doug Harvey went back to glove the puck, but instead deflected it past goaltender
Gerry McNeil and into the net for the game-winning goal.
Following his third Stanley Cup victory in 1955, Leswick was traded to the
Chicago Black Hawks
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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along with Glen Skov,
Johnny Wilson and
Benny Woit for
Jerry Toppazzini
Jerry "Topper" Toppazzini (July 29, 1931 — April 21, 2012) was a Canadian ice hockey forward who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Boston Bruins, between 1952 and 1964. A skilled defensive specialist and ...
,
John McCormack,
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 ...
and
Gord Hollingworth, on May 27. He scored 11 goals and 11 assists in the
1955–56 season for Chicago before jumping to the
Edmonton Flyers of the
Western Hockey League
The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...
, for whom he scored 53 points in the 1956–57 season and he was named to another All-Star team. After a brief 22 games for Detroit in
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
, Leswick returned to the Edmonton Flyers until the close of the 1959 season. He play nine games the following season for the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...
of the WHL before retiring from playing.
Coaching
Leswick tried his hand at coaching starting in 1958, as a midseason replacement for the Edmonton Flyers in 1957–58 and continued until midseason of 1958–59. He felt he was more of a help to the team on the ice. He later coached
Indianapolis Capitals/Cincinnati Wings of the
Central Hockey League
The Central Hockey League (CHL) was a North American mid-level minor professional ice hockey league which operated from 1992 until 2014. It was founded by Ray Miron and Bill Levins and later sold to Global Entertainment Corporation, which opera ...
in the 1963–64 season. The team finished last in the league with a 12–53–7 record and Leswick subsequently retired from hockey.
Awards and achievements
*Played in NHL All-Star Game (1947, 1948, 1949, 1950, 1952, 1954)
*NHL Second All-Star Team (1950)
*Stanley Cup Champions (1952, 1954, 1955)
*WHL Prairie Division Second All-Star Team (1957)
* In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', was ranked No. 58 all-time of the
901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first
82 seasons
Trivia
*His brothers
Pete
Pete or Petes or ''variation'', may refer to:
People
* Pete (given name)
* Pete (nickname)
* Pete (surname)
Fictional characters
* Pete (Disney), a cartoon character in the ''Mickey Mouse'' universe
* Pete the Pup (a.k.a. 'Petey'), a character ...
and
Jack
Jack may refer to:
Places
* Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community
* Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA
People and fictional characters
* Jack (given name), a male given name, ...
also played in the
NHL
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 ...
. Jack won the
Stanley Cup with
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
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in
1934
Events
January–February
* January 1 – The International Telecommunication Union, a specialist agency of the League of Nations, is established.
* January 15 – The 8.0 Nepal–Bihar earthquake strikes Nepal and Bihar with a maxi ...
.
*His nephew is former Major League Baseball player
Lenny Dykstra
Leonard Kyle Dykstra (; born February 10, 1963), is an American former professional baseball center fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Mets (1985–1989) and Philadelphia Phillies (1989–1996). Dykstra was a thre ...
.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leswick, Tony
1923 births
2001 deaths
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
Chicago Blackhawks players
Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players
Detroit Red Wings players
Edmonton Flyers (WHL) players
Sportspeople from Humboldt, Saskatchewan
New York Rangers players
Stanley Cup champions
Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players
Ice hockey people from Saskatchewan
Canadian expatriates in the United States