George Reginald "Red" Horner (May 28, 1909 – April 27, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League from 1928 to 1940. He was the Leafs captain from 1938 until his retirement. He helped the Leafs win their third Stanley Cup in 1932. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1965.

Red Horner
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1965
Born (1909-05-28)May 28, 1909
Lynden, Ontario, Canada
Died April 27, 2005(2005-04-27) (aged 95)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1928–1940

Born in Lynden, Ontario,[1] Horner spent all of his time playing in Toronto, Ontario. As a junior player, he played for the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League. In his NHL career, he had the role of enforcer and retired with 42 goals, 110 assists and 1,264 penalty minutes in 490 regular season games. His election to the Hockey Hall of Fame has been considered rather controversial, as until his final two seasons was not considered the best defenseman on his team, let alone in the NHL. His contemporaries for most of his career were the Hall of Famers King Clancy and Hap Day, who were the best defensemen on his team. It seems to rest more on his unprecedented and unequaled seven seasons as the NHL penalty minute leader. He retired as the league's all-time penalty minute leader, a mark he held until Ted Lindsay broke it in the late Fifties.

After retiring from hockey in 1940, Horner lived in Florida, and Toronto, where he became involved in business ventures for several companies including the Elias Rogers Fuels Limited and the Canada Coal Company Limited, where he later became President before retiring.

On February 13, 1999, he was involved in the opening and closing ceremonies of the final game at Maple Leaf Gardens. He was also involved in the opening of the Air Canada Centre.

Horner was the last surviving member of Toronto's 1932 Stanley Cup team.

Horner was the oldest living NHL player at the time of his death in Toronto, Ontario, and was later interred in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Toronto.

Career statistics

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Bold indicates led league

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1926–27 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 9 5 1 6 2 0 0 0
1927–28 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Jr. 9 4 5 9 2 2 0 0 0 0
1927–28 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Sr. 1 0 0 0 0
1927–28 Toronto Marlboros M-Cup 11 7 5 12
1928–29 Toronto Marlboros OHA-Sr. 2 0 0 0
1928–29 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 22 0 0 0 30 4 1 0 1 2
1929–30 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 33 2 7 9 96
1930–31 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 1 11 12 71 2 0 0 0 4
1931–32 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 42 7 9 16 97 7 2 2 4 20
1932–33 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 48 3 8 11 144 9 1 0 1 10
1933–34 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 40 11 10 21 146 5 1 0 1 6
1934–35 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 46 4 8 12 125 7 0 1 1 4
1935–36 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 43 2 9 11 167 9 1 2 3 22
1936–37 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 48 3 9 12 124 2 0 0 0 7
1937–38 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 47 4 20 24 82 7 0 1 1 14
1938–39 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 48 4 10 14 85 10 1 2 3 26
1939–40 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 31 1 9 10 87 9 0 2 2 55
NHL totals 490 42 110 152 1254 71 7 10 17 170

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Cole, Stephen (2006). The Canadian Hockey Atlas. Doubleday Canada. ISBN 978-0-385-66093-8.
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Preceded by Toronto Maple Leafs captain
193840
Succeeded by