Lou Fontinato

Louis Joseph "Leapin' Louie" Fontinato (January 20, 1932 – July 3, 2016) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1954 to 1961 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1961 to 1963.[1]

Lou Fontinato
Born (1932-01-20)January 20, 1932
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Died July 3, 2016(2016-07-03) (aged 84)
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1954–1963

NHL career

Lou Fontinato was a rugged defender and the most feared enforcer of his time. He started his career with New York during the 1954-55 season. The following year, he led the NHL in penalty minutes. Fontinato became the first player in league history to record over 200 minutes in penalties in a season.[2] He also led the league in that category in 1957-58 and 1961–62 (with Montreal). With the Rangers, Fontinato and Gordie Howe had a running feud that culminated in a fight at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 1959, in which Howe broke the nose and dislocated the jaw of "Leapin' Lou".[3] Fontinato was eventually traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Hall-of-Fame great Doug Harvey at the tail-end of his career. Fontinato's career came to an abrupt and violent end in 1963 at the Montreal Forum when he missed a check on left-winger Vic Hadfield of the Rangers behind the Montreal net, slammed head first into the boards, and became paralyzed for a month.[4]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1949–50 Guelph Biltmores OHA-B ————— —————
1950–51 Guelph Biltmores OHA 453111493 50000
1951–52 Guelph Biltmores OHA 48625310 —————
1951–52 Guelph Biltmores M-Cup ————— 1213450
1952–53 Vancouver Canucks WHL 6531821169 913412
1953–54 Vancouver Canucks WHL 6341418147 601125
1954–55 Saskatoon Quakers WHL 35461055 —————
1954–55 New York Rangers NHL 2822460 —————
1955–56 New York Rangers NHL 7031518202 40006
1956–57 New York Rangers NHL 7031215139 50007
1957–58 New York Rangers NHL 703811152 60116
1958–59 New York Rangers NHL 647613149 —————
1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 6421113137 —————
1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 53235100 —————
1961–62 Montreal Canadiens NHL 5421315167 601123
1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 632810141 —————
NHL totals 53626781041247 2102242

Personal life

Fontinato later ran a cattle operation near Eden Mills, Ontario. He died in Guelph, Ontario on July 3, 2016.[5][6] Fontinato's great nephew, Greg McKegg, is also a professional ice hockey player.

Legacy

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Fontinato at No. 95 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[7]

Gilles Groulx's 1964 National Film Board, 30-minute documentary film Un Jeu Si Simple includes footage of Lou Fontinato including his career-ending neck injury vs. NY Rangers on March 9, 1963.

In an email interview with Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe says a fight with Lou Fontinato was the most memorable of his career. [8]

References
  1. "Lou Fontinato's player profile". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved 2010-05-12.
  2. http://www.hockeydb.com/
  3. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2013-04-01.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link).
  4. http://www.legendsofhockey.net.
  5. Forbed, Andrew (July 6, 2016). "Former NHL Defenceman Lou Fontinato Passes Away". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  6. Saxon, Tony (July 5, 2016). "Guelph mourns loss of 'Leapin' Louie from The Ward". guelphtoday.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  7. Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved 2020-02-03.
  8. Gretzky - Howe interview - BarDown


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