Born May 29 1909 - Lynden, ONT
Died Apr 27 2005
Height 6.01 - Weight 190 - Shoots Right
Sweater #2
Horner had the reputation as the toughest and most intimidating
player of his era.
His father was a farmer in Lynden, Ontario, just outside of Brantford
after the family sold the farm they moved to Ancaster where he went
to school and then moved to Hamilton and lived there for a couple
of years before moving to Toronto in his early teens.
Horner's half-brother, (mother's son from her first marriage), had
a grocer/butcher store in Toronto. In his early teens, he stayed
with his half-brother and his wife for a couple years and worked
for them delivering groceries. That's where he first met Mrs. Selke.
Mrs. Selke was the wife of Frank Selke, a prominent hockey figure
in Toronto after the First World War.
Selke was general manager of the Toronto Marlboros in the 1920s.
He asked Mrs. Selke if she thought her husband would mind if he
came down and tried out for the Marlboro Juniors and he was able
to and made the hockey club.
The Player:
Toronto Marlie's captain and team mate "Shrimp" MacPherson
once said of Horner, "He has his elbow in your kisser or his
fanny in your face every time he is on the ice."
Conn Smythe thought Horner's robust style was being wasted in the
amateur leagues and soon called him up to the Maple Leafs where
he was signed as a free agent by Toronto, January 20, 1929 at nineteen
years of age where he got paid $2,500 for the balance of the season.
Horner had his hand broken in only his second game with the Leafs,
Christmas night, by Montreal Maroons' Nels Stewart who hit Horner
in the back of his hand with his stick. The Maple Leafs won that
game 4 to 1.
Horner would be paired up with King Clancy on the Maple Leafs blueline
for eight seasons. Horner was the Leafs' "policeman,'' the
tough, aggressive protector of his mates. Clancy had this to say
of Horner, "Do one of us dirt and you had to deal with Red.
That was absolutely no fun at all. He was as tough as any man who
played the game, an excellent body-checker who fought only when
necessary." Horner led the NHL in penalty minutes for eight
consecutive seasons beginning in 1932-33, and helped the Maple Leafs
to their first Stanley Cup in 1932. The team also featured the famed
"Kid Line"- (Charlie) Conacher,
(Busher) Jackson and (Joe) Primeau.
He played in a day when goaltenders served their own penalties and
a minor infraction lasted the entire two minutes. He was called
upon twice himself in his career to defend the Toronto net. The
first game was on on March 15, 1932 against the Boston Bruins. Boston
scored a goal against him. (Two other players, Alex Levinsky and
King Clancy, would tend goal for Toronto for that two minute penalty
and were also scored upon, once each).
He spent his entire 12-year career with Toronto, collecting 42 goals,
110 assists and 1,264 penalty minutes in 490 games before retiring
in 1940. He served as the team's captain in his final two seasons.
His last NHL game was against the New York Rangers March 17, 1940.
He retired the league's all-time penalty minute leader, a mark he
held until Ted Lindsay of he Detroit Red Wings broke it in the late
Nineteen Fifties.
The Businessman:
After retiring from hockey in 1940, Horner lived in Florida, and
Toronto, where he became involved in successful business ventures
for several companies including the Elias Rogers Fuels Limited and
the Canada Coal Company Limited.
Honours:
* 1932 - Stanley Cup, Toronto Maple Leafs
* 1934 - Played in the NHL benefit game for Ace Bailey
* 1937 - Played in the NHL benefit game for Howie Morenz
* 1965 - Inducted into Hockey Hall-of-Fame
* 1999 - Participated in closing ceremony at Maple Leaf Gardens,
February 13th.
(Horner was also involved in the opening of the Air Canada Centre
one week later).
Personal:
He worked as a linesmen for two seasons until a back problem ended
his hockey involvement.
Horner was the last surviving member of Toronto 1932 Stanley Cup
team. He was also the
oldest living member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and believed to
be the oldest living NHL player at the time of his death (95 years).
Horner is buried in Mount Hope Catholic Cemetery in Toronto.
Right up to his final year he hit the gymnasium where he'd ride
the exercise bike twice a day for thirty minutes each session!
YouTube video clip: Red Horner Hall of Fame tribute
