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Bronco Horvath

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Bronco Horvath
Born (1930-03-12)March 12, 1930
Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada
Died December 17, 2019(2019-12-17) (aged 89)
Hyannis, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Boston Bruins
Chicago Black Hawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1949–1970

Bronco Joseph Horvath (March 12, 1930 – December 17, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 434 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1955 and 1968.

Early life

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Horvath was born to an ethnic Hungarian family that emigrated from Transcarpathia after the end of World War I, when it became part of Czechoslovakia.[1]

Career

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Horvath was signed by the Detroit Red Wings as an amateur. On August 18, 1955, the Red Wings traded Horvath and Dave Creighton to the New York Rangers in exchange for Aggie Kukulowicz and Billy Dea.[2]

Horvath is perhaps best remembered for his time playing on the famous "Uke Line" with the Boston Bruins, with Ukrainian-Canadians Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk. Horvath missed out on the Art Ross Trophy in 1959–60 by a single point to Bobby Hull, however he tied with Hull for the goal-scoring lead, with 39. He played for five of the Original Six teams in the NHL (only missing Detroit), He did apprentice with the Edmonton Flyers, Detroit's WHL farm team, along with John Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk, his future Uke Linemates. He was demoted to the minors in 1963.

He played most of the next six seasons with the Rochester Americans of the American Hockey League (AHL). He was on three AHL Calder Cup championships for Rochester in 1964–65, 1965–66 and 1967–68. and was among the league's scoring leaders for several seasons.

With the increased demand for players with the NHL expansion in 1967, Horvath found himself back in the league with the Minnesota North Stars. At mid-season of that year he returned to the Rochester Americans and helped lead them to the championship. He would finish his career with Rochester and ultimately retired from playing in 1970. Horvath is a charter member of the Rochester Americans Hall of Fame.

The following year, he became coach of the London Knights of the OHL, from 1971 to 1972. He moved to South Yarmouth, Massachusetts, when he was named coach of the Cape Cod Cubs, an expansion team in the Eastern Hockey League, in 1972. He coached the Cubs to a regular-season divisional championship and a sweep of their first-round playoff series with the Long Island Ducks before a powerful Syracuse Blazers team ended Cape Cod's league championship hopes. Horvath returned as coach for the 1973–74 season with the Cubs, who were charter members of the new North American Hockey League, but was fired after the team got off to a slow start. His last coaching job was a brief stint at Dennis-Yarmouth Regional High School. He resided on Cape Cod, where he enjoyed an occasional round of golf.

Horvath was inducted in the AHL Hall of Fame in 2015. He died on December 17, 2019, in Hyannis, Massachusetts.[3][4][5]

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1948–49 Galt Black Hawks OHA-Jr. 33 22 18 40 45
1949–50 Galt Red Wings OHA-Jr. 47 20 33 53 91
1949–50 Grand Rapids Rockets EAHL 5 6 1 7 12 6 2 6 8 8
1950–51 Springfield Indians AHL 43 12 26 38 37 2 0 0 0 0
1951–52 Syracuse Warriors AHL 50 12 36 48 56
1952–53 Syracuse Warriors AHL 52 19 40 59 44 4 0 0 0 2
1953–54 Springfield Indians QHL 19 11 14 25 25
1953–54 Syracuse Warriors AHL 46 21 39 60 54
1954–55 Edmonton Flyers WHL 67 50 60 110 71 16 12 7 19 40
1955–56 New York Rangers NHL 66 12 17 29 40 5 1 2 3 4
1956–57 New York Rangers NHL 7 1 2 3 4
1956–57 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 0 0 0
1956–57 Rochester Americans AHL 56 37 44 81 39 10 6 7 13 14
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 67 30 36 66 71 12 5 3 8 8
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 45 19 20 39 58 7 2 3 5 0
1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 68 39 41 80 60
1960–61 Boston Bruins NHL 47 15 15 30 15
1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 17 29 46 21 12 4 1 5 6
1962–63 New York Rangers NHL 41 7 15 22 34
1962–63 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 10 0 4 4 12
1962–63 Rochester Americans AHL 18 7 15 22 6
1963–64 Rochester Americans AHL 70 25 59 84 28 2 0 0 0 2
1964–65 Rochester Americans AHL 72 38 68 106 24 10 4 5 9 16
1965–66 Rochester Americans AHL 70 27 48 75 34 12 3 7 10 22
1966–67 Rochester Americans AHL 72 29 49 78 54 12 2 7 9 2
1967–68 Tulsa Oilers CPHL 4 1 2 3 0
1967–68 Rochester Americans AHL 44 15 29 44 10 10 0 7 7 0
1967–68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 14 1 6 7 4
1968–69 Rochester Americans AHL 66 18 30 48 30
1969–70 Rochester Americans AHL 5 3 1 4 0
AHL totals 664 263 484 747 416 62 15 33 48 58
NHL totals 434 141 185 326 319 36 12 9 21 18

Awards and honours

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Award Year Ref
NHL
All-Star Game 1960, 1961 [6]
Goal scoring leader 1960
Second All-Star Team 1960
AHL
First All-Star Team 1957 [6]
Second All-Star Team 1964, 1965

References

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  1. ^ Наш Вождь - Вперед, юки, вперед! (in Ukrainian). Україна Молода. 2010-05-12. Archived from the original on 2012-04-25. Retrieved 2011-10-10. Батьки Бронка були мадярами, однак походили з Карпаталії — так угорці називають Закарпаття.
  2. ^ "Aggie Kukulowicz trades". NHL Trade Tracker. Retrieved 2020-02-01.
  3. ^ "BRONCO J. HORVATH Obituary (2019) Boston Globe". Legacy.com.
  4. ^ @NHLBruinsAlumni (17 December 2019). "We are sad to report the passing of Bronco Horvath, perhaps best remembered for playing on the Bruins' famous "Uke Line" with fellow Ukrainian-Canadians Johnny Bucyk and Vic Stasiuk. A 2-time All Star, Horvath tied with Bobby Hull for the 1959-60 NHL goal-scoring lead, with 39" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  5. ^ "Former NHL player Bronco Horvath dies at 89 | StCatharinesStandard.ca". www.stcatharinesstandard.ca. Archived from the original on 2019-12-22.
  6. ^ a b "Bronco Horvath". eliteprospects.com. Elite Prospects. Retrieved February 2, 2024.
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Preceded by NHL Goal Leader
1960

(tied with Bobby Hull)

Succeeded by