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Garry Unger: Ironman 2

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garry unger rookie card 1968-69 o-pee-chee detroit red wingsBehind Doug Jarvis and his 964 consecutive game streak, there is Garry Unger. Unger played 914 consecutive games between 1968 and 1979. He played every game for his teams each season from 1968-69 to 1978-79. In 1970-71, he even played one extra game after being traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the St. Louis Blues mid-season.

The Garry Unger rookie card can be found as card number 142 in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. Unger did not appear in the 1968-69 Topps set. In fact, Garry didn’t make his way onto a Topps card until 1970-71. His rookie card is valued at $30.

Garry Unger – Junior Hockey

After a season in the Ontario Hockey Association with the London Nationals, Unger played his first NHL hockey in 1967-68 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1966-67, he led the Nationals with 73 points in 48 regular season games. His 38 goals placed him in third behind Mickey Redmond of the Peterborough Petes and Derek Sanderson of the Niagara Falls Flyers.


Garry Unger Collection

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

 

opc 1972-73 button

 

opc 1973-74 button

 

opc 1974-75 button

 

1975-76 o-pee-chee button

 

 


Garry Unger – NHL Career

Garry played in the NHL from 1967-68 to 1982-83 with the Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Blues, Atlanta Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. He played a total of 1,105 regular season games, scoring 413 goals and assisting on 391 for 804 points. He also sat 1,075 minutes in the sin bin.


Perhaps best known for his ironman streak and his awesome hair, Unger goes under the radar as a goal scorer. In 1969-70 with the Detroit Red Wings, his 42 goals placed him second in the National Hockey League, just one goal behind Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins. He also had a 41 goal season in 1972-73 with the St. Louis Blues and finished tied for sixth in the league. For points, he topped out at 83 in 1975-76 with the Blues but was far from the NHL’s top ten.

After his NHL career was over, Unger headed over to England for three years (1985-86 to 1987-88). in 1986-87 with the Peterborough Pirates of the BHL Division 1, he scored 95 goals and assisted on 143 for 238 points in just 30 games.

When the Central Hockey League began operation for the 1992-93 season, Unger was behind the bench for the Tulsa Oilers. Tulsa won the league championship that year, beating the Oklahoma City Blazers in five games in the finals. Garry was named the recipient of the Commissioner’s Trophy as Coach of the Year. The following season, Tulsa went to the finals again, this time falling to the Doug Shedden coached Wichita Thunder in four games.

Garry Unger Career Stats

Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1966-67 Rochester Americans AHL 1 0 0 0 0
1966-67 London Nationals OHA 48 38 35 73 60
1966-67 Tulsa Oilers CPHL 2 2 0 2 2
1967-68 London Nationals OHA 2 4 1 5 2
1967-68 Tulsa Oilers CPHL 9 3 5 8 6
1967-68 Rochester Americans AHL 5 1 3 4 6
1967-68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 15 1 1 2 4
1967-68 Detroit Red Wings NHL 13 5 10 15 2
1968-69 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 24 20 44 33
1969-70 Detroit Red Wings NHL 76 42 24 66 67
1970-71 Detroit Red Wings NHL 51 13 14 27 63
1970-71 St. Louis Blues NHL 28 15 14 29 41
1971-72 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 36 34 70 104
1972-73 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 41 39 80 119
1973-74 St. Louis Blues NHL 78 33 35 68 96
1974-75 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 36 44 80 123
1975-76 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 39 44 83 95
1976-77 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 30 27 57 56
1977-78 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 32 20 52 66
1978-79 St. Louis Blues NHL 80 30 26 56 44
1979-80 Atlanta Flames NHL 79 17 16 33 39
1980-81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 58 10 10 20 40
1980-81 Edmonton Oilers NHL 13 0 0 0 6
1981-82 Edmonton Oilers NHL 46 7 13 20 69
1982-83 Edmonton Oilers NHL 16 2 0 2 8
1982-83 Moncton Alpines AHL 8 2 3 5 0
1985-86 Dundee Rockets BHL 35 86 48 134 64
1986-87 Peterborough Pirates BHL 30 95 143 238 58
1987-88 Peterborough Pirates BHL 32 37 44 81 116
NHL Totals 1105 413 391 804 1075

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