Duke Harris

George Francis "Duke" Harris (February 25, 1942 – August 2, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 26 games in the National Hockey League during the 1967–68 season with the Minnesota North Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played in the WHA from 1972 to 1975 with the Chicago Cougars and Houston Aeros. He died in 2017, six months after heart surgery.

Early life Harris grew up in Point Edward, Ontario. He played 5 seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees, starting his first season in 1958 at the age of 16. In the 1960 season with the Teepees Harris helped the team win the Memorial Cup against the Edmonton Oil Kings. In the 1961–62 season he played with the Guelph Royals

Professional career In 1961–62 Harris played his first professional games, appearing in 7 games with the Sault Thunderbirds of the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL). in 1962–63 he scored 28 goals as an EPHL's St. Louis Braves.

NHL career Harris played 26 NHL games in 1967–68, 22 with the Minnesota North Stars. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the season, where he played 4 more games. The rest of the season was spent in the minor leagues.

Post-NHL career After the NHL Harris played two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League. In the 1968–69 season Harris scored 23 goals and had 17 assists for a total of 40 points. He also played 3 non-consecutive seasons with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League, 1967–68, 1970–71, and 1971–72.

World Hockey Association In 1972 Harris joined the Houston Aeros of the newly founded World Hockey Association (WHA). He scored 30 goals for Houston during the 1972–73 season. He then played two seasons with the Chicago Cougars before retiring in 1975.

Personal life Harris was married for 55 years, until his death, to Eleanor Marie Harris. They had two children, Kimberly Marie Harris and Robert Harris.

After retiring from professional hockey Harris worked as a crane operator in Sarnia, Ontario.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1958–59 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 51 11 16 27 26 7 0 1 1 0 1959–60 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 48 16 26 42 19 16 6 6 12 30 1959–60 St. Catharines Teepees M-Cup — — — — — 14 5 13 18 4 1960–61 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 48 15 22 37 30 6 0 3 3 4 1961–62 St. Catharines Teepees OHA 9 5 0 5 8 — — — — — 1961–62 Guelph Royals OHA 39 23 37 60 50 — — — — — 1961–62 Sault Thunderbirds EPHL 7 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1962–63 St. Louis Braves EPHL 72 28 31 59 38 — — — — — 1963–64 St. Louis Braves CHL 72 21 41 62 16 6 1 3 4 4 1964–65 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 72 19 31 50 16 4 0 3 3 6 1965–66 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 72 18 23 41 12 3 1 1 2 2 1966–67 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 70 27 27 54 24 9 1 3 4 4 1967–68 Minnesota North Stars NHL 22 1 4 5 4 — — — — — 1967–68 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 4 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1967–68 Fort Worth Wings CHL 3 1 1 2 0 — — — — — 1967–68 Rochester Americans AHL 38 10 27 37 12 10 2 3 5 4 1968–69 Vancouver Canucks WHL 74 23 17 40 18 8 3 0 3 2 1969–70 Vancouver Canucks WHL 71 20 21 41 23 11 6 3 9 4 1970–71 Rochester Americans AHL 70 29 25 54 42 — — — — — 1971–72 Rochester Americans AHL 74 27 34 61 24 — — — — — 1972–73 Houston Aeros WHA 75 30 12 42 14 10 1 1 2 4 1973–74 Chicago Cougars WHA 64 14 16 30 20 18 6 6 12 2 1974–75 Chicago Cougars WHA 54 9 19 28 18 — — — — — WHA totals 193 53 47 100 52 28 7 7 14 6 NHL totals 26 1 4 5 4 — — — — —