1961 Stanley Cup Finals
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The 1961 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Black Hawks. Chicago was making its first Finals appearance since 1944, and Detroit its first appearance since 1956; both had lost to the Montreal Canadiens in those previous appearances. The Blackhawks would win the best-of-seven series four games to two to win their third Stanley Cup, their first since 1938. However, this proved to be the last time Chicago won the Cup until 2010, a 49-year drought. This was the only title not won by the Canadiens, Red Wings or Toronto Maple Leafs during the Original Six era.
Paths to the Final
Detroit defeated Toronto in five games and Chicago upset Montreal, the record five-time defending champion, in six, setting up the first all-American-team Finals since 1950, when the Wings beat the New York Rangers in a seven-game series.
The series
Two future Hockey Hall of Fame members, Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita, made their first Stanley Cup appearances. Hull scored two goals in the first game, including the winner, and Mikita scored the winner in game five.[1]
This was the only Stanley Cup championship in the 1960s not to be won by either the Toronto Maple Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens[1] or feature either team.
| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 6 | Detroit | 2 | Chicago | 3 | |
| April 8 | Chicago | 1 | Detroit | 3 | |
| April 10 | Detroit | 1 | Chicago | 3 | |
| April 12 | Chicago | 1 | Detroit | 2 | |
| April 14 | Detroit | 3 | Chicago | 6 | |
| April 16 | Chicago | 5 | Detroit | 1 |
Game 1
| April 6 | Detroit Red Wings | 2–3 0 – 3, 1 – 0, 1 – 0 |
Chicago Black Hawks | Chicago Stadium |
| Game reference | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Terry Sawchuk Hank Bassen |
Goalies | Glenn Hall | Referee: Frank Udvari Linesmen: George Hayes Bruce Sims | |
Len Lunde 2 (Gordie Howe) (PP) – 16:14 Al Johnson 2 (Gordie Howie, Norm Ullman) – 19:18 |
0 – 1 0 – 2 0 – 3 1 – 3 2 – 3 |
9:39 – Bobby Hull 3 (Murray Balfour, Stan Mikita (PP) 10:10 – Ken Wharram 2 (Ab McDonald, Stan Mikita) 13:15 – Bobby Hull 4 (Murray Balfour, Pierre Pilote) | ||
| 29 | Shots | 34 | ||
Chicago Black Hawks 1961 Stanley Cup Champions
Roster
- 11 Bill Hay
- 12 Ed Litzenberger (Captain)
- 17 Ken Wharram
- 21 Stan Mikita
- 9 Tod Sloan
- 6 Reg Fleming
- 8 Murray Balfour
- 8 Wayne Hicks
- 16 Bobby Hull
- 14 Alvin Ab McDonald
- 15 Eric Nesterenko
- 10 Ron Murphy(A)
- 16 Ronald Chico Maki
- 20 Earl Balfour
- 2 Al Arbour
- 3 Pierre Pilote(A)
- 4 Elmer Vasko
- 5 Jack Evans
- 18 Wayne Hillman
- 19 Dollard St. Laurent
- 1 Glenn Hall
- 1 Denis DeJordy (spare/did not play)
- Allan Roy Edwards (spare/did not play)
- Coaching and administrative staff
- Arthur Wirtz Sr. (President/Owner), Arthur Wirtz Jr. (Vice President/Owner)
- James D. Norris Jr. (Chairman/Owner), Tommy Ivan (Manager)
- Rudy Pilous (Coach), Nick Garen (Trainer)
- Walter Humenick (Asst. Trainer),
- Michael Wirtz (Vice President)†, John Gottselig (Publicity Director)† (won cups with Chicago 1934, 1938(Captain))
† Left off the cup, but included on the team picture.
Stanley Cup engraving
- Allan Roy Edwards was engraved as Allan R. Edwards. He never played for Chicago. Roy Edwards first NHL game was during the 1967–68 season with Detroit.
- Denis DeJordy first NHL game was during the 1962–63 season, when he replaced Glenn Hall. This ended Hall's record of 502 consecutive complete games.
- Ronald Robert Murphy was engraved as Robert Murphy.
- Tod Aloysius Martin Sloan was engraved as Martin A. Sloan. He was engraved on the cup was Tod Sloan in 1951 with Toronto.
- -Stan Mikita was born in Slovakia, but moved to Canada as young child. He was the first Slovakia born player to win the Stanley Cup.
See also
Notes
References
- Diamond, Dan (2000). Total Stanley Cup. Toronto: Total Sports Canada. ISBN 978-1-892129-07-9.
- Podnieks, Andrew; Hockey Hall of Fame (2004). Lord Stanley's Cup. Bolton, Ont.: Fenn Pub. pp 12, 50. ISBN 978-1-55168-261-7
| Preceded by Montreal Canadiens 1960 |
Chicago Black Hawks Stanley Cup Champions 1961 |
Succeeded by Toronto Maple Leafs 1962 |
