Murray Balfour was a huge part of the 1960-61 Chicago Blackhawks Stanley Cup championship. He was part of Chicago’s ‘Million Dollar Line’ with Bobby Hull and Bill Hay.
Murray was potentially part of the Boston Bruins rebuilding process, traded from Chicago for the 1964-65 season. Balfour played just 15 games for the Bruins. Lung Cancer took Balfour in May of 1965.
Junior and Minor Pro
Hockey Card Collection
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Murray Balfour – Junior and Minor Pro
Murray Balfour played his junior hockey with the Regina Pats from 1952-53 to 1955-56. In both of his final two seasons with Regina, the Pats reached the Memorial Cup finals. Both times, they fell to the Toronto Marlboros.
Murray got a third shot at a Memorial Cup championship in 1956-57 when he joined the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens for the Mem Cup run. The Canadiens reached the finals but fell to the Flin Flon Bombers. Balfour had played the regular season with Hull-Ottawa but in the QSHL.
Murray Balfour Collection
In 1957-58, Balfour joined the Montreal Royals of the QSHL. The team boasted the goaltending tandem of Charlie Hodge and Claude Pronovost. Murray put up great numbers with 48 points on 23 goals and 25 assists over 62 games. He finished fourth in the league with 107 penalty minutes. Balfour also appeared in three National Hockey League games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring a goal and assisting on another.
The following year, 1958-59, Balfour moved to the American Hockey League and the Rochester Americans. He totaled 37 points over 67 games while leading the AHL with 181 PIM, 28 more minutes that the second place player.
Murray would return to the minors in his final year, 1964-65. He appeared in 31 games with the Hershey Bears after being traded from Chicago to Boston.
Murray Balfour – NHL
Murray Balfour’s career took off after the Montreal Canadiens sold him to the Chicago Blackhawks in June, 1959. Over his career, he played in 306 regular season NHL games between 1956-57 and 1964-65, scoring 67 and assisting on 90 for 157 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Murray played 40 games and added 19 points.
Before moving to Chicago, Balfour played just two games with the Canadiens in 1956-57 and three more games the following year. With the Blackhawks, he was thrust into the limelight on a line with Bobby Hull and Bill Hay.
In 1960-61, it all came together for the Blackhawks and Balfour. The team reached the finals against the Detroit Red Wings and took the series in six games. Murray scored five and assisted on five over eleven playoff games. He broke his arm in game five of the final series and did not play in the clinching game.
On June 9, 1964, Balfour was traded to Boston with Mike Draper for Matt Ravlich and Jerry Toppazzini. He played just 15 games with the Bruins in 1964-65. Murray passed away in May, 1965 from lung cancer.
Murray Balfour – Rookie Card
The Murray Balfour rookie card appears as number 33 in the 1959-60 Topps set. He is shown with the Chicago Blackhawks and the card is valued as a common. The back of his rookie card states that he is not related to Earl Balfour.
It was pretty amazing that there would be two guys with the last name Balfour playing in the six team NHL at the same time. After all, Balfour is a little rarer that Smith. But then, there have been three unrelated players to see time in the NHL with the last name Tkaczuk (Walt, Daniel, Keith).
His final card is the 1964-65 Topps number 90. He is shown with the Boston Bruins after an off-season trade. Murray would play just 15 games with the Bruins in 1964-65, the last of his career.
Murray Balfour Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1956-57 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1956-57 | Ottawa Jr. Canadiens | QHL | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 15 |
| 1957-58 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1957-58 | Montreal Royals | QHL | 62 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 107 |
| 1958-59 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 67 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 181 |
| 1959-60 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 61 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 55 |
| 1960-61 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 123 |
| 1961-62 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 49 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 72 |
| 1962-63 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 65 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 75 |
| 1963-64 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 41 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 36 |
| 1964-65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 36 |
| 1964-65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 |
| NHL Totals | 306 | 67 | 90 | 157 | 393 |