Andy Hebenton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Andy Hebenton |
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Hebenton on a 1962 Topps hockey card
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| Born | October 3, 1929 Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada |
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| Died | January 29, 2019 (aged 89) Gresham, Oregon, U.S. |
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| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) | ||
| Weight | 182 lb (83 kg; 13 st 0 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | New York Rangers Boston Bruins |
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| Playing career | 1949–1976 | ||
Andrew Alexander "Spuds" Hebenton (born October 3, 1929 – died January 29, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was a right winger, meaning he played on the right side of the ice. Hebenton holds an amazing record: he played the most games in professional hockey history without missing a single one!
Contents
Playing Career
Andrew Hebenton started his professional hockey journey in 1949. He first played for the Cincinnati Mohawks in the American Hockey League. The next year, he joined the Victoria Cougars. This team was part of the Pacific Coast Hockey League, which later became the Western Hockey League (WHL).
Hebenton was a star player for the Victoria Cougars for five seasons. His best year was 1955, when he scored 46 goals. He was even named to the league's First All-Star team that year.
In 1955, the New York Rangers of the NHL bought his rights. Hebenton played for the Rangers for eight seasons. He scored his first NHL goal on October 16, 1955. He scored 20 or more goals in five of those seasons. His top year was 1958–59, when he scored 33 goals and made 29 assists. He was also a runner-up for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy that year. This trophy is given to the player who shows the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct. Hebenton had already won this award in 1956-57.
After the 1962–63 season, the Boston Bruins picked up Hebenton. He played his final NHL season with them. In total, he played 630 straight NHL games. This broke the record for the most consecutive games at the time. Later, other players like Garry Unger and Keith Yandle broke his NHL streak.
After his time with the Bruins, Hebenton's rights were sold to the Portland Buckaroos in the WHL. He stayed in Portland for most of the rest of his career. He became one of the WHL's top scorers. He also won the Fred Hume Cup for gentlemanly play many times. He won it even when he was 43 years old!
From 1953 to 1967, Hebenton played at least 1,054 professional regular season games in a row. If you include playoff games, he played 1,076 consecutive professional games. This is an incredible achievement in hockey.
Retirement
The WHL league ended in 1974. Hebenton then played a few games for the Seattle Totems in the Central Hockey League. This wrapped up his professional career. He played for 26 professional seasons in total. Only Gordie Howe and Jaromir Jagr have played more seasons in hockey history. Hebenton then played two more seasons in semi-pro leagues before he stopped playing for good.
In his career, Hebenton played 630 NHL games. He scored 189 goals and made 202 assists, totaling 391 points. He also played 1056 games in the PCHL/WHL. There, he scored 425 goals and made 532 assists, for 957 points. His amazing streak of consecutive games lasted from 1952 to 1967. He missed only a few games outside of this period. This means his streak was likely even longer, reaching at least 1,054 consecutive games. For comparison, the second longest professional streak belongs to Doug Jarvis, with 988 games.
Andrew Hebenton passed away on January 29, 2019, at the age of 89. He was inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame in 2009.
Career Achievements
- MJHL Second All-Star Team (1949)
- PCHL Championship (1951)
- WHL Championships (1965 & 1966)
- WHL Second All-Star Team (1955, 1965 & 1970)
- WHL First All-Star Team (1971 & 1973)
- Lady Byng Trophy (1957)
- Played in NHL All-Star Game in 1960
- Fred Hume Cup Winner (Most Gentlemanly Player WHL) (1965, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973 & 1974)
- Currently fifth all-time in NHL for consecutive games played
- Fourth all-time in WHL games played, third in goals scored, eighth in assists and fourth in points scored.
- Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
- Ranked No. 53 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers players in the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats.
Family
Hebenton's son, Clay, also played professional hockey. He was a goaltender from 1973 to 1980. He is best known for being the starting goalie for the Phoenix Roadrunners in the World Hockey Association during the 1977 season.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1946–47 | St. Boniface Canadiens | MAHA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1946–47 | Winnipeg Canadians | MJHL | 24 | 21 | 13 | 34 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1947–48 | Winnipeg Canadians | MJHL | 30 | 30 | 13 | 43 | 34 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1949–50 | Cincinnati Mohawks | AHL | 44 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1949–50 | Montreal Royals | QSHL | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1950–51 | Victoria Cougars | PCHL | 56 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1951–52 | Victoria Cougars | PCHL | 67 | 31 | 25 | 56 | 81 | 13 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 5 | ||
| 1952–53 | Victoria Cougars | WHL | 70 | 27 | 24 | 51 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1953–54 | Victoria Cougars | WHL | 70 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 29 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1954–55 | Victoria Cougars | WHL | 70 | 46 | 34 | 80 | 20 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1955–56 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 24 | 14 | 38 | 8 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1956–57 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 21 | 23 | 44 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1957–58 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 17 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1958–59 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 33 | 29 | 62 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 26 | 28 | 54 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 18 | 24 | 42 | 10 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1962–63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 12 | 11 | 23 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1964–65 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 70 | 34 | 40 | 74 | 16 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 0 | ||
| 1965–66 | Victoria Maple Leafs | WHL | 72 | 31 | 45 | 76 | 12 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 14 | ||
| 1966–67 | Victoria Maple Leafs | WHL | 72 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 70 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1968–69 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 74 | 26 | 51 | 77 | 26 | 11 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1969–70 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 72 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 9 | 11 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | ||
| 1970–71 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 72 | 29 | 52 | 81 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 14 | ||
| 1971–72 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 72 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 12 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1972–73 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 72 | 30 | 36 | 66 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 78 | 28 | 44 | 72 | 16 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Seattle Totems | CHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Portland Buckaroos | WIHL | 20 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHL totals | 934 | 378 | 491 | 869 | 251 | 100 | 35 | 42 | 77 | 34 | ||||
| NHL totals | 630 | 189 | 202 | 391 | 83 | 22 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 8 | ||||
