Bob Blake

Louis Robert Blake (August 16, 1914 – November 26, 2008) was an American ice hockey player who played with the Boston Bruins in the 1935–1936 National Hockey League season. After three years of hockey in high school, Blake began his professional career at the age of 17 in the Central Hockey League. Within two years he was one of the Canadian-American Hockey League's top scorers and was given an opportunity to play with the Bruins in 1935.

His tenure with the Bruins would be his only season in the National Hockey League, and Blake returned to playing in smaller leagues, eventually settling with the American Hockey League's Buffalo Bisons. Blake spent seven seasons with the team, including a term as captain and a break during World War II, where he fought in the Pacific Theater. He played on minor teams for two more years after the Bisons, retiring in 1951 as a member of the Cincinnati Mohawks. He later coached high school hockey and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. Blake died at the age of 94 in 2008.

Early life Blake was born in Ashland, Wisconsin, on August 16, 1914, and raised in Hibbing, Minnesota. At the peak of his career, Blake stood six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds.

Hockey career Blake, a left winger, began his career at the age of 17. He was a member of the Hibbing Miners' squad in the Central Hockey League during the 1933–1934 season, scoring 12 goals and 10 assists during the regular season and 3 goals and 1 assist during the playoffs. He then signed with the Boston Cubs of the Canadian-American Hockey League, helping lead them to the championships for the 1934–1935 season with 5 goals and 7 assists.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1932–33 Hibbing/Chisholm High School HS-MN — — — — — — — — — — 1933–34 Hibbing Miners CHL 42 10 12 22 74 6 3 1 4 8 1934–35 Boston Tiger Cubs Can-Am 44 5 7 12 28 3 0 0 0 4 1935–36 Boston Bruins NHL 12 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1935–36 Boston Cubs Can-Am 37 7 10 17 38 — — — — — 1936–37 Minneapolis Millers AHA 48 13 24 37 13 6 2 7 9 0 1937–38 Minneapolis Millers AHA 48 17 26 43 40 7 2 4 6 0 1938–39 Cleveland Barons IAHL 53 9 11 20 14 9 0 2 2 2 1939–40 Pittsburgh Hornets IAHL 3 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 1939–40 Cleveland Barons IAHL 46 8 8 16 8 — — — — — 1940–41 Minneapolis Millers AHA 19 4 9 13 8 — — — — — 1940–41 Buffalo Bisons AHL 33 1 6 7 20 — — — — — 1941–42 Buffalo Bisons AHL 56 6 15 21 58 — — — — — 1942–43 Buffalo Bisons AHL 42 3 14 17 28 9 1 3 4 2 1945–46 Buffalo Bisons AHL 10 1 2 3 2 12 0 4 4 0 1946–47 Buffalo Bisons AHL 63 6 11 17 57 4 0 2 2 0 1947–48 Buffalo Bisons AHL 5 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1947–48 Houston Huskies USHL 49 12 20 32 29 12 2 2 4 10 1948–49 Buffalo Bisons AHL 63 8 10 18 32 — — — — — 1949–50 Cincinnati Mohawks AHL 49 4 15 19 33 — — — — — 1950–51 New Haven Eagles AHL 27 3 6 9 16 — — — — — 1950–51 Buffalo Bisons AHL 24 4 5 9 6 — — — — — 1950–51 Cincinnati Mohawks AHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — IAHL/AHL totals 374 36 84 120 252 25 1 9 10 2 NHL totals 12 0 0 0 0 — — — — —