Murray Balfour
Murray Gordon Louis Balfour (August 24, 1936 — May 30, 1965) was a Canadian ice hockey right wing in the National Hockey League from 1956 to 1965, with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, and Boston Bruins. Balfour won the Stanley Cup in 1961 with Chicago. His career ended due to lung cancer, which led to his death in 1965.
| Murray Balfour | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
August 24, 1936 Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Died |
May 30, 1965 (aged 28) Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Montreal Canadiens Boston Bruins Chicago Black Hawks | ||
| Playing career | 1957–1965 | ||
Playing career
Balfour was a member of the renowned "Million Dollar Line" alongside Bobby Hull and Bill Hay of the Chicago Black Hawks. In game three of the first round of the 1960–61 Stanley Cup playoffs, he scored the game winner in triple overtime against the defending champion Canadiens. In the fifth game, Balfour crashed into the Detroit Red Wings net and broke his arm. The Hawks went on to win the Stanley Cup in six games with Balfour watching the final game from the hospital. He recorded 67 goals and 90 assists for a total of 157 points over his career, having played in 306 games.
Personal life
In April 1965 a tumor was found in his lung cutting his career short and leading to his death at the age of 28.
The City of Regina named a hockey arena [1] in Murray Balfour's honour.
Balfour's parents were Gordon and Margaret Balfour of Regina.
- Hockey
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1952–53 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 31 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 38 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 10 | ||
| 1952–53 | Regina Pats | Al-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | ||
| 1953–54 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 35 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 99 | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 45 | ||
| 1954–55 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 38 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 156 | 12 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 30 | ||
| 1954–55 | Regina Pats | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1955–56 | Regina Pats | WJHL | 34 | 24 | 18 | 42 | 104 | 10 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 20 | ||
| 1955–56 | Regina Pats | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 19 | 15 | 4 | 19 | 65 | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | OHA Sr | 19 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | QHL | 18 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 15 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 35 | ||
| 1957–58 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Montreal Royals | QHL | 62 | 23 | 25 | 48 | 107 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 20 | ||
| 1958–59 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 67 | 14 | 23 | 37 | 181 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 61 | 18 | 12 | 30 | 55 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1960–61 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 70 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 123 | 11 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | ||
| 1961–62 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 49 | 15 | 15 | 30 | 72 | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 15 | ||
| 1962–63 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 65 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 1963–64 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 41 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 36 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 31 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 306 | 67 | 90 | 157 | 393 | 40 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 45 | ||||
References
- "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-04-23. Retrieved 2010-05-31.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
External links
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
- Picture of Murray Balfour's Name on the 1961 Stanley Cup Plaque
- Murray Balfour at Find a Grave