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Dick Duff: First and Last

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dick duff rookie hockey card toronto maple leafsIn 2006, the Hockey Hall of Fame righted a wrong by finally inducted Dick Duff. It was a slow year at the Hall with just Duff and Patrick Roy entering. As with Roy, Duff was definitely deserving of the honour.

Dick played in the NHL from 1954-55 to 1971-72. His 1954-55 action consisted of just three games with the Toronto Maple Leafs while still playing junior in the OHA with the Toronto St. Michael’s Majors. Over his career, Duff played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Buffalo Sabres. He finished his career with 283 goals, 289 assists and 572 points over 1,030 regular season NHL games.

The Dick Duff rookie card appeared as number 18 in the 1955-56 Parkhurst set and is valued at $100. The pinnacle of the set is the Jacques Plante rookie card, valued at $800. The complete 1955-56 Parkhurst collection consists of 79 cards and is valued at $5000.


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The last card of Dick Duff appeared in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee set as card number 164. On the front, Duff is wearing the jersey of the Buffalo Sabres. He appeared in just eight games with Buffalo in 1971-72 before retiring from the game. The 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee hockey card is valued as a common.

Duff has his name engraved on the Stanley Cup six times, twice with Toronto and four times with the Canadiens. He was part of the 1961-62 and 1962-63 Stanley Cup champion teams in Toronto. The Maple Leafs won their third consecutive in 1963-64 but Dick was shipped off to the New York Rangers mid-season. He won the Cup with the Habs in 1964-65, 1965-66, 1967-68 and 1968-69. In that final Stanley Cup playoffs, Duff has 14 points in 14 games. Only Jean Beliveau had more on the team with 15 points.

Dick was also on the losing end of the Stanley Cup finals on three occasions. the Leafs fell to the mighty Montreal Canadiens in 1958-59 and 1959-60. Turning things around, as a member of the Canadiens in 1966-67, the Habs lost to the Maple Leafs in what would be the last time Toronto would capture the Cup.

Not a prolific scorer, Duff did finish among the top ten goal scorers in the National Hockey League on two occasions. In 1956-57, Dick’s 26 goals placed him ninth in the NHL. In 1958-59, he scored 29 goals to place eighth.

His final three years in the league were relegated to expansion clubs. Montreal shipped him off to Los Angeles during the 1969-70 season. Here, he was reunited with former Toronto teammate Eddie Shack. The two played together with the Maple Leafs from 1960-61 to 1963-64. The two were then packaged off to the Buffalo Sabres during the 1970-71 season.

Duff returned to Toronto for a very brief stint behind the bench in 1979-80. Dick acted as an interim head coach for just two games for the Maple Leafs. 1979-80 proved to be a circus act for the Leafs, with Harold Ballard causing the team to implode.

Dick Duff Stats

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1952-53 Toronto St. Michael’s OHA 16 3 2 5 2
1953-54 Toronto St. Michael’s OHA 59 35 40 75 120
1954-55 Toronto St. Michael’s OHA 47 33 20 53 113
1954-55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 0 0 2
1955-56 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 18 19 37 74
1956-57 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 26 14 40 50
1957-58 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 65 26 23 49 79
1958-59 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 29 24 53 73
1959-60 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 19 22 41 51
1960-61 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 67 16 17 33 54
1961-62 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 51 17 20 37 37
1962-63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 16 19 35 56
1963-64 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 52 7 10 17 59
1963-64 New York Rangers NHL 14 4 4 8 2
1964-65 New York Rangers NHL 29 3 9 12 20
1964-65 Montreal Canadiens NHL 40 9 7 16 16
1965-66 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 21 24 45 78
1966-67 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 12 11 23 23
1967-68 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 25 21 46 21
1968-69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 68 19 21 40 24
1969-70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 1 1 2 4
1969-70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 32 5 8 13 8
1970-71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 7 1 0 1 0
1970-71 Buffalo Sabres NHL 53 7 13 20 12
1971-72 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 2 2 4 0
NHL Totals 1030 283 289 572 743

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