Sidney Gerald Abel (February 22, 1918 – February 8, 2000) was a Canadian professional hockey player and later coach in the National Hockey League. His playing career spanned from the 1938–39 season until the 1953–54 season, playing for both the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks and was a member of three winning Stanley Cups in 1943, 1950, and 1952 with the Detroit Red Wings.
Abel's son Gerry also briefly played in the NHL, and his grandson Brent Johnson is currently a goaltender with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Playing career[]
Born in Melville, Saskatchewan, "Old Bootnose", as he was known, was the third member of the Red Wings' celebrated "Production line" along with Hockey Hall of Fame teammates Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. Abel won the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP in 1949. Abel was traded from the Red Wings to the Black Hawks in 1952–53, and served as a player-coach for the next two seasons. He returned to the Red Wings in 1957–58 and served as Detroit's coach through the 1969–70 season. Though his #12 was honored by the Wings, Abel wore 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19 and 20 throughout his career.[1]
Post-playing career[]
In the 1970s and 1980s, Abel worked as a colour commentator on Red Wings radio broadcasts.
Sid Abel was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969. In 1998, he was ranked number 85 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Abel's #12 banner hanging in Joe Louis Arena.
Awards and achievements[]
- 1948–49: Hart Memorial Trophy
Career statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1938–39 | Pittsburgh Hornets | IAHL | 41 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1938–39 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1939–40 | Indianapolis Capitals | IAHL | 21 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1939–40 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 21 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 21 | ||
| 1940–41 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 47 | 11 | 22 | 33 | 29 | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1941–42 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 48 | 18 | 31 | 49 | 45 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 8 | ||
| 1942–43* | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 49 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 33 | 10 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 4 | ||
| 1944–45 | Lachine Rapides | QPHL | 2 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1945–46 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1946–47 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 29 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1947–48 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 14 | 30 | 44 | 69 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 1948–49 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 28 | 26 | 54 | 49 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1949–50* | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 46 | 14 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1950–51 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 23 | 38 | 61 | 30 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1951–52* | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 62 | 17 | 36 | 53 | 32 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1952–53 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 39 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1953–54 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 612 | 189 | 283 | 472 | 376 | 94 | 28 | 30 | 58 | 79 | ||||
- *Name was engraved on the Stanley Cup.
Coaching statistics[]
Season Team Lge Type GP W L T OTL Pct Result 1952-53 Chicago Black Hawks NHL Head Coach 70 27 28 15 0 0.493 Lost in round 1 1953-54 Chicago Black Hawks NHL Head Coach 70 12 51 7 0 0.221 Out of Playoffs 1957-58 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 33 16 12 5 0 0.561 Lost in round 1 1958-59 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 25 37 8 0 0.414 Out of Playoffs 1959-60 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 26 29 15 0 0.479 Lost in round 1 1960-61 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 25 29 16 0 0.471 Lost in Finals 1961-62 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 23 33 14 0 0.429 Out of Playoffs 1962-63 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 32 25 13 0 0.550 Lost in Finals 1963-64 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 30 29 11 0 0.507 Lost in Finals 1964-65 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 40 23 7 0 0.621 Lost in round 1 1965-66 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 31 27 12 0 0.529 Lost in Finals 1966-67 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 70 27 39 4 0 0.414 Out of Playoffs 1967-68 Detroit Red Wings NHL Head Coach 74 27 35 12 0 0.446 Out of Playoffs 1971-72 St. Louis Blues NHL Head Coach 11 3 7 1 0 0.318 1975-76 Kansas City Scouts NHL Head Coach 3 0 3 0 0 0.000 Out of Playoffs
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See also[]
- List of famous ice hockey linemates
- List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
- Notable families in the NHL
- Production line (hockey)
- Captain (ice hockey)
References[]
- ↑ "Detroit Red Wings - History, 1935-36". http://redwings.nhl.com/team/app?service=page&page=NHLPage&bcid=his_stanleyCups-3536. Retrieved 2009-04-28. "Red Wings Facts, Wings who wore four different jersey numbers, Sid Abel - 4, 7, 9, 12, 14, 19, 20"
- Carroll, M. R. (2001). The Concise Encyclopedia of Hockey. Vancouver: Greystone Press.
- Diamond, Dan and Eric Zweig, eds (2003). Hockey's Glory Days: the 50s and 60s. Kansas City: Andrew McMeel.
- Fischler, Stan (2002). Detroit Red Wings: Greatest Moments and Players. Sports Publishing Co.
- Podnieks, Andrew (2003). Players:the ultimate A-Z guide of everyone who has ever played in the NHL. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 0385259999.
External links[]
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