FeaturedThis Day In Hockey History

This Day in Hockey History – August 26

Today in hockey history, hockey history becomes more of a tangible thing than ever before! Also, three Hall of Fame classes were inducted, and a very talented goal scorer retires.

hockey history

August 26, 1961 – The epitome of hockey history was created on this day: The Hockey Hall of Fame officially opened in Toronto! The physical building, at least, as the Hall of Fame originated in 1943, but didn’t have a serious physical presence or permanent location. Today, there are 370 hockey people in the Hall: 255 players, 100 builders (GMs, owners, coaches, commentators, etc.), and 15 referees. The Hall celebrated its opening by inducting nine new members, including a few notable names: Maurice Richard, Syl Apps, Charlie Conacher, Hap Day, George Hainsworth, Joe Hall, Percy LeSueur, Milt Schmidt, and Oliver Seibert.

August 26, 1971 – On the Hall’s 10th anniversary, the Hall of Fame inducted its newest members: Harvey “Busher” Jackson, Gordon Roberts, Terry Sawchuk and Ralph “Cooney” Weiland, along with builder Arthur Wirtz.

August 26, 1976 – Five years later, five more people were inducted into the Hal: Johnny Bower (still one of the greatest hockey names ever), Bill Quackenbush (not as great of a hockey name), and builders William Wirtz, Jack Gibson and Philip Ross.

August 26, 1998 – Mike Gartner retired from the NHL after 19 seasons as the fifth-highest goal scorer in league history with 708. He also tallied 627 assists, good for 1,335 career points, 18th-best at the time of his retirement. He did so in an impressive 1,432 games, making him good for a goal every other game (averaging about 40 goals in an 82-game season). He scored 43 playoff goals in 122 games. Despite his impressive numbers and goal-scoring prowess, he never won a Cup (he was traded by the Rangers in the 1993-94 season at the deadline before they won the Cup).

Source: Hockey Hall of Fame

Scott Finger
Scott is the former managing editor at Hooked on Hockey Magazine. He loves hockey, writing, and writing about hockey. He graduated from Roger Williams University in 2011 with a useless degree in Media Communications (concentrating in Journalism). Being a New York Rangers fan (and NY Giants and Mets fan) living in Boston is very uncomfortable for him, and it'll be awkward trying to celebrate a Rangers Cup win in the streets when they inevitably win sometime in the next 100 years. He also likes long walks on the beach.
Back to top button