George Armstrong (ice hockey)

George Armstrong
Born	July 6, 1930 (1930-07-06) Skead, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	NHL Toronto Maple Leafs AHL Pittsburgh Hornets
NHL Draft	, 1949 Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1949–1971
Hall of Fame, 1975

George Edward "Chief" Armstrong (born July 6, 1930) is a retired professional Canadian ice hockey player.

Playing career

Armstrong played professionally from 1949 until 1971 (including the 1950–51 and 1951–52 seasons in the AHL). Nicknamed "The Chief" due to his Iroquois heritage, Armstrong played for the Toronto Maple Leafs for twenty-one seasons and served as the team's captain for eleven of them, the longest such tenure in Leafs' history. Thus, while Armstrong was never regarded as a true star, his steady leadership contributed to a huge string of success. Armstrong scored an empty net goal in game six of the 1967 Stanley Cup playoffs to clinch the Cup victory over the Montreal Canadians. The Leafs have not won the Cup since. He is currently a scout for the Leafs.

Individual honors

• Stanley Cup Champion (1962, 1963, 1964, 1967)
• 7-time NHL All-Star (1956, 1957, 1959, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968)
• Most games played in Leafs history (1187)
• Tied for sixth in goals scored as a Leaf with Frank Mahovlich (296)
• Fifth all-time in points as a Leaf, fourth amongst forwards (713)
• Fifteenth all-time in franchise PIM (721)
• Wore jersey No. 10

Coaching career

George Armstrong coached the Toronto Marlboros to a Memorial Cup championship in 1975, the same year he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

During the 1988–89 season, Armstrong served as head coach of the Leafs for forty-seven games.

Team	Year	Regular season							Post season
		G	W	L	T	OTL	Pts	Finish	Result
TOR	1988–89	47	17	26	4	-	(62)	5th in Norris	Did not qualify

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1947–48	Stratford Kroehlers	OHA		36	33	40	73	33		—	—	—	—	—
1949–50	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		2	0	0	0	0		—	—	—	—	—
1950–51	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		71	15	33	48	49		13	4	9	13	6
1951–52	Pittsburgh Hornets	AHL		50	30	29	59	62		—	—	—	—	—
1951–52	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		20	3	3	6	4		0	0	0	0	2
1952–53	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		52	14	11	25	54		—	—	—	—	—
1953–54	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		63	17	15	32	60		5	1	0	1	2
1954–55	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		66	10	18	28	80		4	1	0	1	4
1955–56	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		67	16	32	48	97		5	4	2	6	0
1956–57	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		54	18	26	44	37		—	—	—	—	—
1957–58	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		59	17	25	42	93		—	—	—	—	—
1958–59	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		59	20	16	36	37		12	0	4	4	10
1959–60	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	23	28	51	60		10	1	4	5	4
1960–61	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		47	14	19	33	21		5	1	1	2	0
1961–62	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	21	32	53	27		12	7	5	12	2
1962–63	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	19	24	43	27		10	3	6	9	4
1963–64	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		67	20	17	37	14		14	5	8	13	10
1964–65	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		59	15	22	37	14		6	1	0	1	4
1965–66	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	16	35	51	12		4	0	1	1	4
1966–67	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		70	9	24	33	26		9	2	1	3	6
1967–68	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		62	13	21	34	4		—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		53	11	16	27	10		4	0	0	0	0
1969–70	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		49	13	15	28	12		—	—	—	—	—
1970–71	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		59	7	18	25	6		6	0	2	2	0
NHL totals				1188	296	417	713	721		110	26	34	60	52

Other

Armstrong is also the uncle of Dale McCourt, the former first overall draft pick by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1977 NHL Amateur Draft.

He is of Iroquois origin.

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• George Armstrong's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• George Armstrong's biography at Legends of Hockey
• George Armstrong profile at Hockey-Reference.com

Preceded by Ted Kennedy	Toronto Maple Leafs captain 1958–69	Succeeded by Dave Keon
Preceded by John Brophy	Head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs 1988–89	Succeeded by Doug Carpenter