Norm Ullman
Twelve straight 20-goal seasons; 490 NHL goals; Hall of Fame 1982.
Norman Victor Alexander Ullman (UHL-muhn; born December 26, 1935) is a Canadian former ice hockey centre who played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings and Toronto Maple Leafs, and two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Edmonton Oilers. He is notable for recording twelve consecutive 20-goal seasons from 1957 to 1969, becoming only the third player in NHL history to do so, and for being an eleven-time NHL All-Star Game selection.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Centre
- Played For
- Detroit Red Wings / Toronto Maple Leafs / Edmonton Oilers
- Shoots
- Left
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 10
- Weight Lb
- 185
- Birth Date
- 1935-12-26
- Birth Place
- Provost, Alberta, Canada
- Career Start
- 1955
- Career End
- 1977
- Halloffame
- 1982
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Ullman was born in Provost, Alberta, one of seven children. He learned to skate on a rink built by the United States Army before World War II. He began his minor hockey career with the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League and dropped out of high school before Grade 11 to pursue hockey. He turned pro with the Detroit Red Wings in the 1955–56 season, scoring his first NHL goal on October 16, 1955, against the Toronto Maple Leafs. He finished his rookie season with nine goals and nine assists in 66 games. In his sophomore season, he credited improvement to advice from former coach Ken McAuley and was promoted to center the Red Wings' Production Line between Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe. He finished that season with 16 goals and 36 assists, the first of eighteen consecutive 50-point seasons. He became a routine goalscoring threat in the 1957–58 season with 23 goals, the first of twelve straight 20-goal seasons. He played in all 70 games for the first time in 1959–60 and made the first of six straight All-Star Game appearances. In the 1964–65 season, he led the league in goals with 42, even-strength goals (31), and game-winning goals (10), and was named a First Team All-Star. Traded in a blockbuster deal in March 1968 to the Maple Leafs, he recorded two 30-goal seasons with the team and scored his 400th goal in 1970. He recorded his 1,000th point on October 16, 1971. After the 1974–75 season, team owner Harold Ballard unceremoniously dumped him. Ullman joined the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA for the 1975–76 season, leading the team in scoring with 31 goals and 56 assists, and scored his 500th professional goal on December 10, 1975, against the Quebec Nordiques. He retired after the 1976–77 WHA season at age 41.
Reader's Guide
Ullman's significance lies in his consistent scoring and durability over 20 NHL seasons. He played in 1,440 games, missing only 48 total games from 1955 to 1975. When he departed the NHL in 1975, he was fourth all-time in assists with 739 and eighth in goals with 490. His sixteen 20-goal seasons were second most in league history next to Gordie Howe, and his eighteen 50-point seasons were also second to Howe. In his career span, he was second in points (1,229) and assists (739) to Stan Mikita. Only Gordie Howe and Maurice Richard had more consecutive 20-goal seasons than Ullman. He led the NHL in goals in 1964–65 and was named a First Team All-Star. He was an eleven-time NHL All-Star Game selection. Despite reaching the Stanley Cup Final five times with the Red Wings (1956, 1961, 1963, 1964, 1966), he never won the Cup. He led the playoffs in assists (12) in 1963 and points in 1963 (16) and 1966 (15). On April 11, 1965, he recorded two goals in five seconds to tie Joe Malone for the fastest time between two goals in a Stanley Cup playoff game, a mark that has never been passed. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
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