Bob Pulford
Player, coach, and executive; Hall of Fame inductee in 1991.
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Bob Pulford spent his NHL career as a forward with the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings before moving behind the bench, first as head coach of the Kings and then for three decades with the Chicago Blackhawks as both coach and general manager. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Playing career
Born in Newton Robinson, Ontario, in 1936, Pulford came up through the Maple Leafs’ farm system after playing minor hockey in Weston. He played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros for three seasons, winning two Memorial Cups under coach Turk Broda. He joined the Maple Leafs for the 1956–57 season and wore number 20 for 14 seasons, helping the team win four Stanley Cups between 1962 and 1967.
When the NHL Players’ Association formed in the spring of 1967, Pulford became its first president. In the 1967 Stanley Cup Final, with the series tied 1-1 and the third game tied 2-2, he scored the overtime winner against Montreal goalie Rogie Vachon—whom he would later coach in Los Angeles. The Leafs traded him to the Kings in September 1970, and he played two seasons there before retiring as a player in 1972.
Coaching career
Pulford immediately became head coach of the Kings for the 1972–73 season, a role he held for five years. He transformed Los Angeles from one of the league’s worst defensive and penalty-killing teams into one of the best, guiding them to their first playoff appearance in five years in 1974.
He won the Jack Adams Award as coach of the year in 1975, when the Kings set a club record with 105 points that stood through 2013. He also led the Kings to their first playoff series wins since 1969, defeating the Atlanta Flames in the first round in both 1976 and 1977. He left the Kings after the 1976–77 season due to ongoing clashes with owner Jack Kent Cooke, who often interfered in player personnel decisions and traded young talent for aging veterans.
Pulford then moved to the Chicago Blackhawks, where he served as coach in three separate stints from 1977 to 1987. He was promoted to senior vice president in 1990 but returned as general manager from 1992 to 1997, 1999 to 2000, and 2003 to 2005. During his third stint as GM, he nominally doubled as head coach, demoting Lorne Molleken to an assistant, though Molleken remained the main operator behind the bench while Pulford acted as a senior consultant.
Career statistics and honours
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1953–54 | Weston Dukes | MetJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1953–54 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 12 |
| 1954–55 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 47 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 43 | 13 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 29 |
| 1954–55 | Toronto Marlboros | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 11 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 15 |
| 1955–56 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA-Jr. | 48 | 30 | 25 | 55 | 87 | 11 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 2 |
| 1955–56 | Toronto Marlboros | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 16 |
| 1956–57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1957–58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1958–59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 53 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 8 |
| 1959–60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 81 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 1960–61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 40 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 41 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 98 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 24 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 49 | 10 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 14 | |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 73 | 14 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 20 | |
| 1964–65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 19 | 29 | 39 | 46 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 |
| 1965–66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 51 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 12 |
| Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 28 | 12 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 12 | |
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 71 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 20 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1969–70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1970–71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 59 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 73 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 1,079 | 281 | 362 | 643 | 792 | 89 | 25 | 26 | 51 | 126 | ||
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Bob Pulford (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Bob Pulford?
Bob Pulford was a Canadian forward, coach, and general manager who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Los Angeles Kings before spending roughly three decades building the Chicago Blackhawks franchise. He was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
How many Stanley Cups did Bob Pulford win as a player?
Pulford lifted four championship banners with Toronto in 1962, 1963, 1964, and 1967. He had developed in the Leafs' farm system after playing junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros, where he won two Memorial Cups under Turk Broda.
What was Bob Pulford's coaching record with the Blackhawks?
Across 426 NHL games as head coach in Chicago, Pulford posted 182 wins, 176 losses, and 68 ties. He also served as the team's general manager during that same multi-decade stretch.
Did Bob Pulford win the Jack Adams Award?
Yes, he was named the NHL's coach of the year with the Jack Adams Award in 1975 while leading the Chicago Blackhawks. That honor recognized a standout season within his long tenure building and coaching the franchise.
When and where did Bob Pulford die?
Bob Pulford passed away on January 5, 2026, at the age of 89. He was born on March 31, 1936, in the small Ontario town of Newton Robinson.
More in Hockey Hall of Fame Builders and Executives
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Bob Pulford (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
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