That would be Jack Norris. Jack had a very short life at the top of the hockey world. But he was part of those two moments in my title.
Promoted to the Boston Bruins after Eddie Johnson suffered a hand injury in January of 1965, Norris was in the NHL at the tender young age of 23. He made his NHL debut against the very team that Johnson suffered the injury against, the Toronto Maple Leafs. And it was the day after.
So Norris lost the January 31st game, 4-2. However, he kept it close until Dave Keon broke a 2-2 tie with less than two minutes remaining. Bob Pulford scored with just thirteen seconds left to conclude the scoring. Welcome to the NHL, kid.
But from there, Jack did well. Although he posted a high GAA of 3.70, his record was 10-10-2 (Compared to Johnson's 11-32-4, 3.47). The Bruins, without Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito or even Gerry Cheevers at this point, weren't a good team. But on March 18th of that season, it was in a game against Detroit that Ted Lindsay scored his 379th and last goal.
The game was really nothing to write about. Gordie Howe and co. won by the lopsided score of 10-3, as Norris was bombarded with 57 shots on goal. Howe scored a goal and added three assists. Too bad he didn't get into a fight to complete the Gordie Howe Hattrick. Ted Lindsay applied the coup-de-grace at 13:38 of the third when he scored the Red Wings' ninth goal of the game. Norm Ullman got the only assist, his third of the game too, by the way.
The next season, Cheevers and another promising goaltender by the name of Bernie Parent joined Boston. Norris, as you can imagine, spent the whole year in the minors. The same was true in 1966/67. The big trade of Phil Esposito from Chicago to Boston was made that offseason, however, and Norris was one of the players obtained in the deal. This opened the door for Norris, as Glenn Hall was picked up by the St. Louis Blues in the expansion draft.
The Black Hawks (Now, Blackhawks) would used Dennis Dejordy and Dave Dryden throughout most of 1967/68. It was a tall order, of course, to replace Hall. Tony Esposito would not arrive until 1969/70. Dejordy and Dryden were about adequate, although Dennis looked good at times. Again, this opened the door for Norris. Jack came back to the NHL.
On March 10th of 1968, the Toronto Maple Leafs were in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on a Sunday afternoon game televised by CBS. CBS had been signed the previous year to do games in preparation for the expansion. This game is one of a very few by CBS that copies still exist. It was often back then that the master tapes would eventually get taped over.
Anyways, Chicago, in a battle with Toronto for the fourth (And final) playoff spot in the Eastern Division, also had a shot of catching up to Norris' old team, Boston, for third. However, Chicago had just dropped three straight games.
Norris played well. Toronto came at him with 13 shots on goal in the first period, but Jack stopped them all. Kenny Wharram's 23rd goal at 5:29 that period was all he needed. But for good measure, Ken put another one past Johnny Bower to make it a two goal cushion. Pit Martin added an empty-netter with less than two minutes to play. Bower came back in and Chicago got a fourth tally with just nine seconds left. Earlier, Norris had stopped Mike Walton on a penalty shot.
The 4-0 win by Chicago sent the Black Hawks into a three-game winning streak. The season ended ugly, however, as Chicago went back to their losing ways. They finished the season 0-5-1. When the Hawks faced the Leafs again on March 30th, it was Bower turning the tables on them, stopping all 34 shots, and recording a 3-0 shutout. He was 43 years old and still going strong.
Chicago still ended up making the playoffs, and even upset the New York Rangers in the first round. Norris got to play in just seven games that year, and three more the next. Jack bounced around after this season and saw his major league career end in the WHA in 1976.
The information used herein was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by The Hockey Summary Project. For more information about the Hockey Summary Project please visit:
http://hsp.flyershistory.com
or
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/hockey_summary_project/"
Berger, Howard. “Sad Ending To A Great Hockey Life.” Between The Posts, Between The Posts, 21 Oct. 2013, <betweentheposts.ca/2013/10/sad-ending-to-a-great-hockey-life/>. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Anson, Peter. Hockey Summary Project. Hockey Summary Project. <hsp.flyershistory.com/>.
CBS Sports Presents NHL On CBS. "1968 COLOR LEAFS VS HAWKS chicago TV broadcast Johnny Bower." Youtube, uploaded by Newton Minnow, Web, 15 Jan. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yORbvADnNsg. (Game is originally broadcast on CBS 10 Mar. 1968).
Hollander, Zander. The Hockey News Hockey Almanac 2000: The Complete Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visable Ink Press, Print. 2000.
Podnieks, Andrew. The Essential Blue And White Book. Vancouver, British Columbia: Greystone Books, Print. 2000.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
“THE GOALTENDER HOME PAGE.” The Goaltender Home Page, The Goaltender Home Page, <hockeygoalies.org/>. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Promoted to the Boston Bruins after Eddie Johnson suffered a hand injury in January of 1965, Norris was in the NHL at the tender young age of 23. He made his NHL debut against the very team that Johnson suffered the injury against, the Toronto Maple Leafs. And it was the day after.
So Norris lost the January 31st game, 4-2. However, he kept it close until Dave Keon broke a 2-2 tie with less than two minutes remaining. Bob Pulford scored with just thirteen seconds left to conclude the scoring. Welcome to the NHL, kid.
But from there, Jack did well. Although he posted a high GAA of 3.70, his record was 10-10-2 (Compared to Johnson's 11-32-4, 3.47). The Bruins, without Bobby Orr, Phil Esposito or even Gerry Cheevers at this point, weren't a good team. But on March 18th of that season, it was in a game against Detroit that Ted Lindsay scored his 379th and last goal.
The game was really nothing to write about. Gordie Howe and co. won by the lopsided score of 10-3, as Norris was bombarded with 57 shots on goal. Howe scored a goal and added three assists. Too bad he didn't get into a fight to complete the Gordie Howe Hattrick. Ted Lindsay applied the coup-de-grace at 13:38 of the third when he scored the Red Wings' ninth goal of the game. Norm Ullman got the only assist, his third of the game too, by the way.
The next season, Cheevers and another promising goaltender by the name of Bernie Parent joined Boston. Norris, as you can imagine, spent the whole year in the minors. The same was true in 1966/67. The big trade of Phil Esposito from Chicago to Boston was made that offseason, however, and Norris was one of the players obtained in the deal. This opened the door for Norris, as Glenn Hall was picked up by the St. Louis Blues in the expansion draft.
The Black Hawks (Now, Blackhawks) would used Dennis Dejordy and Dave Dryden throughout most of 1967/68. It was a tall order, of course, to replace Hall. Tony Esposito would not arrive until 1969/70. Dejordy and Dryden were about adequate, although Dennis looked good at times. Again, this opened the door for Norris. Jack came back to the NHL.
On March 10th of 1968, the Toronto Maple Leafs were in Chicago to take on the Blackhawks on a Sunday afternoon game televised by CBS. CBS had been signed the previous year to do games in preparation for the expansion. This game is one of a very few by CBS that copies still exist. It was often back then that the master tapes would eventually get taped over.
Anyways, Chicago, in a battle with Toronto for the fourth (And final) playoff spot in the Eastern Division, also had a shot of catching up to Norris' old team, Boston, for third. However, Chicago had just dropped three straight games.
Norris played well. Toronto came at him with 13 shots on goal in the first period, but Jack stopped them all. Kenny Wharram's 23rd goal at 5:29 that period was all he needed. But for good measure, Ken put another one past Johnny Bower to make it a two goal cushion. Pit Martin added an empty-netter with less than two minutes to play. Bower came back in and Chicago got a fourth tally with just nine seconds left. Earlier, Norris had stopped Mike Walton on a penalty shot.
The 4-0 win by Chicago sent the Black Hawks into a three-game winning streak. The season ended ugly, however, as Chicago went back to their losing ways. They finished the season 0-5-1. When the Hawks faced the Leafs again on March 30th, it was Bower turning the tables on them, stopping all 34 shots, and recording a 3-0 shutout. He was 43 years old and still going strong.
Chicago still ended up making the playoffs, and even upset the New York Rangers in the first round. Norris got to play in just seven games that year, and three more the next. Jack bounced around after this season and saw his major league career end in the WHA in 1976.
The information used herein was obtained free of charge from and is copyrighted by The Hockey Summary Project. For more information about the Hockey Summary Project please visit:
http://hsp.flyershistory.com
or
http://sports.groups.yahoo.com/group/hockey_summary_project/"
References
Berger, Howard. “Sad Ending To A Great Hockey Life.” Between The Posts, Between The Posts, 21 Oct. 2013, <betweentheposts.ca/2013/10/sad-ending-to-a-great-hockey-life/>. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Anson, Peter. Hockey Summary Project. Hockey Summary Project. <hsp.flyershistory.com/>.
CBS Sports Presents NHL On CBS. "1968 COLOR LEAFS VS HAWKS chicago TV broadcast Johnny Bower." Youtube, uploaded by Newton Minnow, Web, 15 Jan. 2017, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yORbvADnNsg. (Game is originally broadcast on CBS 10 Mar. 1968).
"Hockey Fights, Stats, Reviews And Trading."
Hockey Fights, Stats, Reviews And Trading. N.p., n.d. <http://www.dropyourgloves.com/Top.aspx>. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
Hollander, Zander. The Hockey News Hockey Almanac 2000: The Complete Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visable Ink Press, Print. 2000.
Podnieks, Andrew. The Essential Blue And White Book. Vancouver, British Columbia: Greystone Books, Print. 2000.
Sports Reference LLC. Hockey-Reference.com - Hockey Statistics and History. http://www.hockey-reference.com/. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
“THE GOALTENDER HOME PAGE.” The Goaltender Home Page, The Goaltender Home Page, <hockeygoalies.org/>. Web. 03 Dec. 2015.
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