Charlie Burns
| Charlie Burns | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
February 14, 1936 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | ||
| Died |
November 5, 2021 (aged 85) Wallingford, Connecticut, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Detroit Red Wings Boston Bruins Oakland Seals Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota North Stars | ||
| National team |
 Canada | ||
| Playing career | 1952–1974 | ||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Men's ice hockey | ||
Representing  Canada
| ||
| World Championships | ||
 |
1958 Oslo | |
Charles Frederick Burns (February 14, 1936 – November 5, 2021) was an American-born Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Oakland Seals, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars. Burns was mainly known for being an excellent skater, playmaker and defensive player who performed checking and penalty-killing. His trademark was the heavily padded helmet that he was forced to wear after suffering a serious head injury while playing junior hockey in 1954–55.
In 1959, he was the only US-born player in the NHL. Burns was born in Detroit, Michigan, his family moved to Toronto, Ontario, when he was a child.[1] Burns chose Canadian citizenship when he turned 21[2] and later played for the 1958 world champion Whitby Dunlops.
Burns had three spells as a player-coach, twice with the San Francisco Seals (1965–66 and 1966–67) and one with the Minnesota North Stars (1969–70). He coached the North Stars again in 1974–75 after his retirement. Curiously, all of these were midseason assignments. He coached youth hockey for the Wallingford Hawks of Wallingford, Connecticut in his spare time.[3] Burns died in Wallingford, Connecticut on November 5, 2021 at the age of 85.[4]
Career statistics[]
Regular season and playoffs[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1952–53 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr | 33 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr | 59 | 17 | 14 | 31 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954–55 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr | 20 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1956–57 | Whitby Dunlops | OHA-Sr | 40 | 16 | 25 | 41 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Whitby Dunlops | OHA-Sr | 31 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 62 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 62 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 8 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 68 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 68 | 33 | 36 | 69 | 27 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1964–65 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 51 | 27 | 36 | 63 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | San Francisco Seals | WHL | 40 | 10 | 35 | 45 | 26 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 0 | ||
| 1966–67 | California Seals | WHL | 71 | 22 | 38 | 60 | 29 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | ||
| 1967–68 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 73 | 9 | 26 | 35 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 50 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1970–71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 76 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1971–72 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 77 | 11 | 14 | 25 | 24 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 65 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 13 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1973–74 | New Haven Nighthawks | AHL | 64 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 73 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 | ||
| NHL Totals | 749 | 106 | 198 | 304 | 252 | 31 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 6 | ||||
Coaching record[]
| Team | Year | Regular season | Post season | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pct | Finish | G | W | L | Result | |||
| MIN | 1969–70 | 44 | 10 | 22 | 12 | 0.364 | 3rd in West | 6 | 2 | 4 | Lost in quarter-finals | |
| MIN | 1974–75 | 42 | 12 | 28 | 2 | 0.310 | 4th in Smythe | Did not qualify | ||||
| Total | 86 | 22 | 50 | 14 | .204 | - | 6 | 2 | 4 | 1 playoff appearance | ||
References[]
- ^ Shorthanded: The Untold Story of the Seals: Hockey's Most Colorful Team (p. 47), by Brad Kurzberg, AuthorHouse (2006), ISBN 1425910289
- ^ "Sport: The Pappy Line". Time. March 2, 1959.
- ^ Kurzberg, p.48
- ^ Charles F. Burns
External links[]
- Biographical information and career statistics from Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
 | This biographical article relating to a Canadian ice hockey centre born in the 1930s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by . |
- 1936 births
- 2021 deaths
- American men's ice hockey centers
- American ice hockey coaches
- Boston Bruins players
- California Golden Seals coaches
- Canadian ice hockey centres
- Canadian ice hockey coaches
- Detroit Red Wings players
- Ice hockey players from Detroit
- Ice hockey coaches from Michigan
- Ice hockey people from Ontario
- Minnesota North Stars coaches
- Minnesota North Stars players
- Oakland Seals players
- Pittsburgh Penguins players
- Sportspeople from Detroit
- Sportspeople from Toronto
- Ice hockey player-coaches
- Canadian ice hockey centre, 1930s births stubs