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Bob Pulford: The Only Kings Coach to Win the Jack Adams Award

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bob pulford toronto maple leafs 1957-58 parkhurst rookie hockey cardBob Pulford is one of those under-rated players in the history of the National Hockey League. Pulford is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame but probably isn’t well-known outside of Toronto and Chicago. Even his Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 1991 sets off to the side, in the shadow of the double New York Islanders, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy.

The Bob Pulford Rookie Card

The Bob Pulford rookie card appears as number 29 (Toronto #4) in the 1957-58 Parkhurst set. The card is valued at $150, well behind the Henri Richard rookie card that highlights the set. The Richard hockey card is valued at $600. The complete collection of 50 hockey cards is valued at $3,500.


Bob Pulford Collection

1958-59 parkhurst button

1959-60 parkhurst button

parkhurst 1960-61 button

1961-62 parkhurst button

parkhurst 1963-64 button

 

1964-65 topps button

1965-66 topps button

1966-67 topps button

 

topps 1967-68 button

 

opc 1968-69 button

 

opc 1969-70 button

1970-71 o-pee-chee button

dads cookies 1970-71 button

1971-72 o-pee-chee button

 


Bob Pulford – The Player

Before his National Hockey League days, Pulford played three years of junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros between 1953-54 and 1955-56. In the final two years, Pulford helped the Marlboros to consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In each year, Toronto’s opponent was the Regina Pats.


Bob played in the NHL from 1956-57 to 1971-72. He was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1956-57 to 1969-70. Pulford then spent the final two years of his career with the Los Angeles Kings. He was team captain in Los Angeles in his final year, 1971-72.

Over his NHL career, Pulford played 1,079 regular season games, scoring 281 goals and assisting on 362 for 643 points. In the playoffs, he played an additional 89 games, scoring 25 and assisting on 26 for 51 points. Bob was a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams with the Maple Leafs (1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1966-67).

As mentioned, Pulford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, alongside Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Clint Smith.

Bob Pulford – The Coach and Executive

After retiring from the Los Angeles Kings as a player, following the 1971-72 season, Pulford immediately jumped behind the bench and took over the reigns as head coach of the club. He coached Los Angeles from 1972-73 to 1976-77. After the 1973-74 season, when the Kings won 33 of 78 and finished with an even .500 record, Bob was awarded the Jack Adams Award the following season. He remains one of the top Los Angeles Kings coaches in the team’s history.

In 1974-75, Pulford orchestrated the greatest regular season Kings team in their history, to date. Los Angeles finished with 42 wins and 105 points over the 80 games schedule. The team finished second in the Norris Division, behind the Montreal Canadiens. The Kings finished fourth overall behind the Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, a trio of teams that finished with 113 points each. The 105 points remain the most for the Kings over a single regular season.

Pulford was awarded the second ever Jack Adams Award by producing those results with a rag-tag bunch that starred Bob Nevin, Mike Murphy, Dan Maloney, Butch Goring and Juha Widing. Of course, Rogie Vachon, a goalie still denied entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame, was the major factor in the team’s success. Marcel Dionne was still with the Detroit Red Wings and wouldn’t arrive in Los Angeles until the following season.

Despite their regular season success, the Kings fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the preliminary round, two games to one. The series was close with the first two games going to overtime and the third game won by just a single goal. Yet, Toronto finished third in the four team Adams Division, a game below .500 with 78 points. It was a monumental upset.

Following the 1976-77 season, Pulford moved east to Illinois and the Chicago Black Hawks. He would spend the next 30 years with the Blackhawks in one capacity or another. His titles included Head Coach, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. 2006-07 was his last year with the club.

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1953-54 Toronto Marlboros OHA 17 5 9 14 12
1954-55 Toronto Marlboros OHA 47 24 22 46 43
1955-56 Toronto Marlboros OHA 48 30 25 55 87
1956-57 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 11 11 22 32
1957-58 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 14 17 31 48
1958-59 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 23 14 37 53
1959-60 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 24 28 52 81
1960-61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 11 18 29 41
1961-62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 18 21 39 98
1962-63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 19 25 44 49
1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 18 30 48 73
1964-65 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 19 20 39 46
1965-66 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 28 28 56 51
1966-67 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 17 28 45 28
1967-68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 20 30 50 40
1968-69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 72 11 23 34 20
1969-70 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 74 18 19 37 31
1970-71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 59 17 26 43 53
1971-72 Los Angeles Kings NHL 73 13 24 37 48
NHL Totals 1079 281 362 643 792

 

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