Red Wings alumnus Marty Pavelich passed away at 96 years of age this past June due to complications from ALS. We’ve talked about his legacy through NHL.com’s Dave Stubbs’ “in memoriam” piece, as well as a Sault Star interview with his nephew, Burnie Thorpe…
And today, the Globe and Mail’s Tom Hawthorn posted a tremendously thorough obituary of the player who may have been the Red Wings’ first Kris Draper:
For hockey stars of the 1950s, the only thing clingier than their hockey sweater was Marty Pavelich.
Mr. Pavelich, who has died at 96, was regarded as one of the best checking forwards of his era, an energetic and fast-skating left winger whose assignment it was to keep rivals off the scoresheet.
The forward won four Stanley Cup championships with a Detroit Red Wings dynasty remembered for the scoring of Gordie Howe, the defensive play of Red Kelly and the goaltending of Terry Sawchuk.
While Mr. Pavelich was overshadowed by teammates, he revelled in his role as a shadow of opposing scorers, most notably as an ardent foe of Maurice (Rocket) Richard of the Montreal Canadiens. The pair – a little-known role player versus hockey’s most dynamic player – conducted a long-running feud. The checker knew he faced a determined scorer in the Rocket.
“He had arms and forearms on him like steel and his eyes flashed when he streaked to the net,” Mr. Pavelich told Tom Keenan of the Sault Star newspaper in 2010. “It was my job to stop him, and I worked all my life to hone my skills.”
A top goal scorer himself in junior hockey, Mr. Pavelich was assigned checking duties when promoted to the Red Wings during the 1947-48 season. He quit after 10 seasons when management threatened a demotion to the minors as part of a purge of players seen to be in favour of a union. Mr. Pavelich then went on to have success as a supplier of plastic products to the automotive industry in the Motor City.
Continued; give this one a read. It’s a fantastically-written obituary.
