Tim Horton

"Miles Gilbert Horton, better known as “Tim” Horton thanks to a nickname his mother gave him before giving birth, was born on Jan. 12, 1930, in Cochrane, Ontario, a mining region in the north of the province. Horton stood out from the crows in a lot of ways, including from the first time he laced up the skates. He enjoyed a successful junior career and was named the top defenseman in the Ontario Hockey Association in 1949 for his performance with the St. Michael’s Majors.
He’s known for more than just hockey, though – you might know him as the most recognizable name in coffee and donuts in all of Canada, too. As a 24-year veteran of the NHL and a successful businessman, he made an impact in more ways than one, and the legacy he left behind has made him remembered by millions.
The Man They Called “Superman”
Horton was widely considered one of the strongest, toughest players in the NHL, whether you were playing with or against him. This earned him the nickname “Superman,” coined by legendary Toronto Maple Leafs goaltender and a longtime teammate of his, Johnny Bower. Bower believed Horton could lift a 40-gallon oil drum over his head, without actually ever seeing him complete this feat. Fellow Leafs legend and teammate Dave Keon once recalled Horton throwing railroad ties around “like they were toothpicks.” Perhaps more unbelievable than that was Leafs defenseman Bob Baun’s recounting of an instance when he saw Horton lift barrels of cement and barricade an intersection in Quebec.
Aside from the off-ice tales and stories, Horton also earned praise for his strength on the ice. In fact, Gordie Howe – “Mr. Hockey” himself – called Horton “the strongest player in hockey.” That’s quite the compliment from Howe. He also earned compliments from another dynamic and legendary forward, Bobby Hull, who also praised his strength.
What’s fascinating is that Horton’s eyesight was reportedly so poor that, off the ice, he had to wear thick-framed glasses in his regular life, much like Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent. That earned him that nickname, too, truly fitting for what he did on the ice and how he acted off it.
Horton: One of the 100 Greatest NHL Players
In 2017, the NHL celebrated its 100th anniversary of existence and commemorated its anniversary with a list of the 100 Greatest NHL Players. Among those 100 players named to this esteemed list by a panel of hockey executives, members of the media, and NHL alumni, was none other than Horton.
Horton played 1446 games over 24 NHL seasons, scoring 115 goals, 403 assists, and 518 points. His 518 points rank 64th all-time among NHL defensemen, placing him comfortably among the greatest defensemen to ever play the game.
After spending three seasons in the American Hockey League (AHL), Horton played his first full season with the Maple Leafs in the 1952-53 season. He quickly became an offensive threat from the backend, boasting a lethal shot and scoring ability that was uncommon for defensemen at that point in time. “I remember his coming in and you’d start to take it waist-high and it comes up a little higher, a little higher and finally at the end, you’d duck out,” said former Chicago Blackhawks goalie Glenn Hall on Horton’s shot. He wasn’t just known for his shot, though. He also possessed stellar passing and was clutch in big moments when it most mattered.
Horton won four Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs in his time with the team, the first of which came in 1962, their first Cup championship in 11 seasons. He scored three goals and 13 assists for 15 points in 12 playoff games, setting a record for most points by a defenseman in one playoff season, with the point that set the record coming off a pass that set up the Cup-winning goal in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Blackhawks.
Horton spent nearly 20 years as a Maple Leaf, but he bounced around a couple of different NHL teams in the later part of his career. After the Leafs’ Stanley Cup win in 1967, the last Cup they’ve won, they retooled the team, which included parting ways with him. He played parts of two seasons with the New York Rangers and then was claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Intra-League Draft in 1971. He was then claimed in the Intra-League Draft the following year in 1972 by the Buffalo Sabres, the last team he would play for.
The “Horton Bear Hug”
Horton was as tough as they come, but there’s one thing he never was: a dirty player. Instead of playing mean and dirty like some of the most famous agitators in NHL history, he relied on his massive strength and old-school toughness to outmuscle his opponents and play the game the right way, all while remaining incredibly difficult to play against. At the same time, he was able to calm down the game and play the game at his own pace, all making for the truly great player that he was.
In the Canadian ten-part/ten-hour documentary mini-series Legends of Hockey, released in 2001 and featuring prominent members of the hockey world profiling the history of hockey, former Detroit Red Wings player Norm Ullman spoke on fighting Horton during the era they played in.
“Fighting Tim Horton? I can’t really remember him in a punch-up,” Ullman said on “Legends of Hockey.” “Most opponents, even the toughest, avoided him because when he got close and had a chance to put those arms around you, you were done.”This tactic of Horton’s that Ullman described was referred to as the “Horton Bear Hug,” a fitting name for what equated to a bear wrapping its arms around you.
Those who dared to mess with Horton on the ice learned the hard way just how intimidating the Horton Bear Hug truly was. During a game in his rookie season, Boston Bruins center Derek Sanderson slashed Horton while forechecking in the offensive zone, and proceeded to do it again, earning the bear hug that was about to come his way.
“He put the bear hug on me and started to squeeze,” said Sanderson. “I heard my ribs groan and thought they were all going to crack. It really started to hurt, and then he let go and tossed me on my back like a towel. I never slashed him or challenged him again.” Horton might be Clark Kent off the ice, but as Sanderson learned, it’s better not to mess with Superman on the ice."
[https://thehockeywriters.com/tim-horton-legacy-hockey-donuts-coffee/]

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"Tim Horton was called "Superman" by goaltender Johnny Bower, who believed the defenseman and longtime teammate with the Toronto Maple Leafs could lift a filled 40-gallon oil drum. Another teammate, center Dave Keon, recalled that Horton could throw around railroad ties "like they were toothpicks." Fellow Toronto defenseman Bob Baun saw him barricade an intersection in Quebec as a prank by lifting barrels of cement. Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, hardly a weakling himself, called Horton "the strongest player in hockey."
For many people today, the name Tim Horton means doughnuts and coffee at the fast-food franchise business he founded in 1964. But for more than two decades, Horton's name meant skill, mobility and unsurpassed strength on defense in the NHL. Horton spent most of that time with the Maple Leafs, helping Toronto win four Stanley Cup championships. He was runner-up for the Norris Trophy twice and earned postseason All-Star recognition six times.
AHL First All-Star Team (1952)
NHL Second All-Star Team (1954, 1963, 1967)
NHL First All-Star Team (1964, 1968, 1969)
Played in NHL All-Star Game (1954, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1968, 1969)
Traded to NY Rangers by Toronto for future considerations (Denis Dupere, May 14, 1970), March 3, 1970.
Claimed by Pittsburgh from NY Rangers in Intra-League Draft, June 8, 1971.
Claimed by Buffalo from Pittsburgh in Intra-League Draft, June 5, 1972."
[https://www.nhl.com/player/tim-horton-8446917]

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"Tim Horton was a Canadian hockey player and doughnut chain founder who died in a car crash in 1974. The privacy exemption on the autopsy and police reports expired 30 years after his death. These documents were released in response to a Freedom of Information request from the Ottawa Citizen in 2005. The documents show Horton had a blood-alcohol level well beyond the legal limit for driving, as well as prescription drugs in his system at the time of death. This PDF includes photographs of the accident scene, and descriptions of Horton's personal effects found on his body and in the vehicle."
[https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/2621-tim-horton-autopsy-pol...]

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"ST. CATHARINES, Ontario Feb. 21 (AP—Tim Horton, the hockey defenseman with till Buffalo Sabres, was killed early today when his sports car crashed off the Queen Elizabeth Way. He was 44 years old.
Surviving are his widow, Lori, and four daughters, Geri, Kim, Kelly and Tracy.
Successful Businessman
By GERALD ESKENAZI
Miles Gilbert (Tim) Horton was the oldest regular in the National Hockey. League at the age of 44. But hockey was only a part of his life.
In an era when players wore modish clothes, Horton stood apart. Invariably, he would be attired in a charcoal pin‐stripe suit with matching vest. In his wallet he kept a dozen business cards that read, “Tim Horton, President, Tim Donut, Ltd.” He was the head of Canada's third largest doughnut franchise.
Xet, his highly successful business never detracted from his stamina or play on the ice, where he earned more than $100,000 a year. Every game he played extended his record: no defenseman in hockey's history played more.
When he played his last game Wednesday night in Toronto, it was his 1,446th appearance, beginning in 1950 and encompassing 23 seasons.
Last Sunday he was struck in the right cheekbone by a slap shot. He wasn't sure whether he could play Wednesday night. He competed for two periods before he was hit in the face again. He left the game, but his performance was so outstanding that he was named one of the contest's three stars.
Horton wore glasses off the ice and had often joked about his poor eyesight, but was uncomfortable wearing contact lenses in a game.
“Someday I'm going to get hit in the head and never see the puck,” he said.
He was born in Cochrane, Ontario, on Jan. 12, 1930. After playing junior hockey he spent three seasons with Pittsburgh of the American League and played five games with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In 1952, Horton made it—to stay—in the big leagues. For the next 18½ years he was the bulwark of the Maple Leaf defense, helping the team win the Stanley Cup fourtimes and getting into the playoffs 12 times.
Of active defensemen, only Bobby Orr made the all‐star team more times—Horton was a first‐team all star three times and on the second team three times.
During the 1969–70 campaign he was traded to the Rangers in what he termed “the worst emotional moment of my life.” He felt he wasn't ready to uproot his family and make a major shift.
But he quickly adapted to New York.
He played 1½ seasons in New York, followed by a year with Pittsburgh of the N.H.L. In 1972 he became a Sabre, and Punch Imlach, his new coach, was moved to say, “At last, I have a major‐league defenseman.”
Once, when asked about his long career and the memorable days with Toronto, he said: 'I don't live in the past. There's always a game to be played today, or tomorrow.'"
[https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/22/archives/tim-horton-dies-hockey-...]