- Ron Hurst, the oldest living Toronto Maple Leaf, died Thursday at 95
- The Toronto native played all 64 of his NHL games for the Leafs between 1955 and 1957
- Read below for the George Armstrong stories and the alumni lunch he helped build
Ron Hurst was the oldest living Toronto Maple Leaf.
He died Thursday at 95, and Lance Hornby of the Toronto Sun had it first.
Toronto confirmed the death a few hours later and called Hurst its oldest living alumnus.
The 5-foot-9 right winger played all 64 of his NHL games for his hometown club between 1955 and 1957. He made his debut on Nov. 16, 1955, and scored on Jacques Plante in it.
That first year was the real run. Hurst dressed for 50 games in 1955-56 and put up seven goals and five assists, then added two assists in three playoff games.
Ice time got harder to find after that. He got into 14 games the following season as Sid Smith, Dick Duff, Bob Pulford and Tod Sloan crowded the forward group ahead of him.
His start came with the junior Marlboros in 1949-50, for a dollar a day, on a team with future Leafs captain George Armstrong. Hurst talked to the Sun last year about the first of his call-ups:
“The Leafs treated me wonderfully. But my first game, I got hit in the eyebrow by a puck, just sitting on the bench in New York. Armstrong saw it coming and ducked. He had better reflexes than me.”
Small as he was, Hurst played it heavy. Sportswriters of the era stuck him with “Brawny Ronny” and “The Try Guy,” and he put that streak down to his father William, who was wounded in France during the First World War.
A broken leg ended his playing days early. Hurst went to work as a stockbroker and in real estate, and he and his wife Beryl bought a farm outside Toronto near Newcastle.
In the 1970s he helped found the monthly NHL Alumni Lunch in the Toronto area, then spent decades as its featured speaker.
Luncheon director and hockey video archivist Paul Patskou told the Sun what Hurst meant in that room:
“Ron was a true Maple Leaf, the kind of aggressive winger the present-day team could use. He was proud to be the oldest Leaf and to be honoured by them.”
Hurst died in the same week Toronto opened camp for its 100th year under the Maple Leafs name, with the 1927 crest painted back at centre ice.
We at Gino Hard send our condolences to Hurst’s family, his friends, and the alumni room he helped build.
