Calvin Pearly "Ginger, Red, Torchy" Gardner (October 30, 1924 – October 10, 2001) was a Canadian professional

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 ...

player 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 ...

. In 1943, after playing professional hockey for three years and winning the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League, a consortium of three major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tournament played between t ...

, he joined the

Canadian military } The Canadian Armed Forces (CAF; french: Forces armées canadiennes, ''FAC'') are the unified military forces of Canada, including sea, land, and air elements referred to as the Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Army, and Royal Canadian Air Force ...

and took part in

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 opposin ...

. At the conclusion of the war, he once again began playing professional hockey, joining 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 ...

affiliate, the

New York Rovers The New York Rovers were a senior ice hockey team that was established in 1935. They played in the Eastern Hockey League as a farm team of the New York Rangers. The Rovers played alongside the Rangers in Madison Square Garden. They played in the Eas ...

. With the Rovers, Gardner would centre a line with fellow Manitobans Church Russell and Rene Trudell. The trio were dominate, with all three players being called up to the Rangers and making their debut on February 10, 1946. From their debut, the trio remained intact as a line until December 1947, with the unit being nicknamed "Whiz Kids" and the "rover-boy line." Following the 1948 season, the Rangers traded Gardner 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 ...

, with whom he won two

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 ...

championships. He died in 2001. His two sons

Paul Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) *Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chris ...

and

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

were also professional ice hockey players. While playing for the

Springfield Indians 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 ...

of the AHL in the 1957–58 season, Gardner served as an assistant coach. Gardner also served as a player-head coach while with the

Kingston Frontenacs The Kingston Frontenacs are a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League, based in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The Frontenacs play home games at Leon's Centre, which opened in 2008. Team history predates the OHA, back to 1945, to a te ...

of the EPHL in 1959-60.

NHL Transactions

*1945: Signed as a free agent with the

( EHL). *April 26, 1948: Traded to the

(along with Bill Juzda, Rene Trudel and the rights to

Frank Mathers Frank Sydney Mathers (March 29, 1924 – February 9, 2005) was a professional ice hockey player during the 1940s and 1950s. He competed with the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and the American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets and ...

) for

Wally Stanowski Walter Peter Stanowski (April 28, 1919 – June 28, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Stanowski started his National Hockey League career with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1939. In 1941, he was a member ...

and Elwyn Morris. *September 11, 1952: Traded 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 ...

(along with

Ray Hannigan Raymond James Hannigan (July 14, 1927 — July 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He played 3 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League during the 1948–49 season. The rest of his career, which ...

Gus Mortson James Angus Gerald "Old Hardrock" Mortson (January 24, 1925 – August 8, 2015) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Black Hawks, and Detroit Red Wings, winning ...

and

Al Rollins Elwin Ira Rollins (October 9, 1926 – July 27, 1996) was a professional Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career Before joining the NHL, Rollins played ...

) for Harry Lumley. *June 26, 1953: Traded to the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

in exchange for cash. Sources: Legends of Hockey NHLTradeTracker.com

Awards and achievements

Championship (1943) * EHL First All-Star Team (1946) * EHL Scoring Champion (1946) *Played in

All-Star game (1948 & 1949) *

Championships (1949 & 1951) * AHL Second All-Star Team (1958) *Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named an ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Cal 1924 births 2001 deaths Boston Bruins players Boston Bruins announcers Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian military personnel of World War II Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players Memorial Cup winners National Hockey League All-Stars New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Providence Reds players St. Boniface Canadiens players Sportspeople from Winnipeg Springfield Indians Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Winnipeg Esquires players Winnipeg Rangers players