Alex Delvecchio

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Alex Delvecchio
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1977
1958 Topps Alex Delvecchio.jpg
Born (1931-12-04) December 4, 1931 (age 92)
Fort William, ON, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1950–1973
A row of six red banners. The banners, from left to right, read "Yzerman 19" "Sawchuk 1" "Delvecchio 10" "Lindsay 7" "Abel 12" "Howe 9". The Yzerman banner has a small "C" at the top right corner.
Delvecchio's #10 banner hanging in Joe Louis Arena.
A large bronze statue of an ice hockey player in the act of shooting the puck. The player's hands and stick are shown numerous times in order to simulate motion. At the base of the statue is inscribed "Alex Delvecchio Born: December 4, 1931 Fort William, Ontario, Canada
Statue of Delvecchio at Joe Louis Arena.

Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio (born December 4, 1931) is a former ice hockey player, coach, and general manager who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) playing, coaching, and managerial careers with the Detroit Red Wings. He played in 1549 games across 24 seasons where he amassed 456 goals, 825 assists, and 1281 points. At the time of his retirement he was second in league history in games played, assists, and points. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct three times, was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom are the only players to have played in over 1500 games while also spending their entire career with one club, all three having played in Detroit.

Playing career

After playing a single junior league season for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) (during which he led the league in assists) and six games with the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League (AHL) Delvecchio joined the Red Wings for the 1951–52 NHL season and helped the team to win the Stanley Cup that year. He would go on to excel both at centre and left wing for twenty-two full seasons and parts of two others, and was notable for his spot on the Production Line with linemates Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. No player except Lidstrom in NHL history played more games in a career spent with only one team. Despite his impressive career, Delvecchio was never the Red Wings' leading point scorer in a season. The closest he ever came was in the 1969–70 NHL season, where he was just 3 points behind Howe for the team lead.

Following his retirement as a player in 1973 Delvecchio served two stints as Detroit's head coach and one as General Manager until leaving hockey in 1977 to go into business. Delvecchio is an "Honored Member" of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association and is active in its efforts to raise money for children's charities in Metro Detroit. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second in nearly every significant offensive category in Red Wings history behind only Howe. He has since been passed in most of those categories by Yzerman, and in assists by Lidstrom as well, but only Howe and Lidstrom have played more games as a Red Wing.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1947–48 Fort William Rangers TBJHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1948–49 Fort William Rangers TBJHL 12 16 8 24 53 1 2 0 2 0
1948–49 Port Arthur Bruins M-Cup — — — — — 5 2 2 4 1
1949–50 Fort William Rangers TBJHL 18 16 20 36 36 5 4 4 8 15
1950–51 Oshawa Generals OHA-Jr. 54 49 72 121 36 5 4 10 14 5
1950–51 Detroit Red Wings NHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
1951–52 Detroit Red Wings NHL 65 15 22 37 22 8 0 3 3 4
1951–52 Indianapolis Capitals AHL 6 3 6 9 4 — — — — —
1952–53 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 16 43 59 28 6 2 4 6 2
1953–54 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 11 18 29 34 12 2 7 9 7
1954–55 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 17 31 48 37 11 7 8 15 2
1955–56 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 25 26 51 24 10 7 3 10 2
1956–57 Detroit Red Wings NHL 48 16 25 41 8 5 3 2 5 2
1957–58 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 21 38 59 22 4 0 1 1 0
1958–59 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 19 35 54 6 — — — — —
1959–60 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 19 28 47 8 6 2 6 8 0
1960–61 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 27 35 62 26 11 4 5 9 0
1961–62 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 26 43 69 18 — — — — —
1962–63 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 20 44 64 8 11 3 6 9 2
1963–64 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 23 30 53 11 14 3 8 11 0
1964–65 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 25 42 67 16 7 2 3 5 4
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 31 38 69 16 12 0 11 11 4
1966–67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 70 17 38 55 10 — — — — —
1967–68 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 22 48 70 14 — — — — —
1968–69 Detroit Red Wings NHL 72 25 58 83 8 — — — — —
1969–70 Detroit Red Wings NHL 73 21 47 68 24 4 0 2 2 0
1970–71 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 21 34 55 6 — — — — —
1971–72 Detroit Red Wings NHL 75 20 45 65 22 — — — — —
1972–73 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 18 53 71 13 — — — — —
1973–74 Detroit Red Wings NHL 11 1 4 5 2 — — — — —
NHL totals 1549 456 825 1281 383 121 35 69 104 29

Achievements

  • Third all-time in games played in a Red Wings uniform (Nicklas Lidstrom and Gordie Howe).
  • Retired as the overall leader and held record for 32 years for games played in a career spent with only one team (from 1980 until 2012), since passed by Lidstrom, still a record for forwards.
  • 3-time Stanley Cup champion with Detroit (1952, 1954, 1955).
  • Named a Second Team All-Star in 1953 (at centre) and 1959 (at left wing).
  • Played in the All-Star Game 13 times (in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967), a total surpassed by only six players.
  • Served as team captain for twelve years, a mark surpassed only in Wings' history by Steve Yzerman.
  • Remains 11th all-time in NHL history in games played and 27th in points scored.
  • Third in points & goals and fourth in assists in Red Wings history
  • In 1998, he was ranked number 82 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
  • Detroit Red Wings #10 retired on November 10, 1991
  • On October 16, 2008, The Red Wings unveiled a commemorative statue commissioned by artist Omri R. Amrany.

NHL coaching record

Team Year Regular season Post season
G W L T Pts Finish Result
Detroit Red Wings 1973–74 67 27 31 9 (63) 6th in East Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings 1974–75 80 23 45 12 58 4th in Norris Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings 1975–76 54 19 29 6 (44) 4th in Norris Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings 1976–77 44 13 26 5 (31) 5th in Norris (resigned)
Total 245 82 131 32

See also

References

External links

Preceded by Detroit Red Wings captain
1962–73		 Succeeded by
Rotating captains begin
Nick Libett
Preceded by Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings
1973–1975		 Succeeded by
Doug Barkley
Preceded by Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings
1976		 Succeeded by
Larry Wilson
Preceded by General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings
1974–77		 Succeeded by
Ted Lindsay
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1959		 Succeeded by
Don McKenney
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1966		 Succeeded by
Stan Mikita
Preceded by Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy
1969		 Succeeded by
Phil Goyette
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