Bert Olmstead facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Bert Olmstead
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1985
Olmstead in the 1940s
Born	(1926-09-04)September 4, 1926 Sceptre, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died	November 16, 2015(2015-11-16) (aged 89) High River, Alberta, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Chicago Black Hawks Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1948–1962

Murray Albert Olmstead (born September 4, 1926 – died November 16, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was a left winger who played for three teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). These teams were the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, and Toronto Maple Leafs.

Olmstead started his NHL career with the Black Hawks in 1949. He later joined the Montreal Canadiens in 1950. With Montreal, he had some of his best seasons. He led the league in assists with 48 in 1954–55. The next season, he set a new league record with 56 assists. He often played on a strong line with Jean Béliveau and Bernie Geoffrion. In 1958, the Toronto Maple Leafs picked him in a special draft. He played for Toronto until he retired in 1962.

Olmstead played in the Stanley Cup final in 11 of his 14 seasons in the NHL. He won the Stanley Cup five times. He won four times with Montreal (1953, 1956, 1957, 1958) and once with Toronto (1962). This last win was in his final season as a player. After retiring, he coached the Oakland Seals for a season in 1967–68. He was honored by being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985.

Early Life and Junior Hockey

Murray Olmstead was born in Sceptre, a small village in Canada. In 1944, when he was 18, he moved to Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan. There, he played junior hockey for the Moose Jaw Canucks.

In his first year, his team had a great playoff record of 15 wins and 1 loss. They played for the Memorial Cup, a big junior hockey championship. However, they lost to the Toronto St. Michael's Majors. Olmstead played 17 playoff games that year, scoring 10 goals and making 8 assists. He played one more season in Moose Jaw. After that, he was sent to the Kansas City Pla-Mors. This team was in the USHL.

Playing in the NHL

Starting with the Chicago Black Hawks

Olmstead played three full seasons for the Kansas City Pla-Mors. He also played part of another season for the Milwaukee Sea Gulls. In the 1946–47 season, he scored 42 points in 60 games for the Pla-Mors.

In 1948–49, the Chicago Black Hawks got his rights from the Canadiens. Olmstead made his NHL debut that same season. He was called up after scoring 77 points (33 goals, 44 assists) in 52 games for the Pla-Mors. His first NHL game was on Christmas Day 1948. He played nine games for the Black Hawks and had two assists. He played the whole next season for the Black Hawks, scoring 20 goals in 70 games.

In the 1950–51 season, Olmstead played for four different teams. He started with the Black Hawks, playing 15 NHL games and 12 USHL games. In December 1950, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings. Just 17 days later, he was traded again to the Montreal Canadiens. He never played a game for the Red Wings. After joining Montreal, he stayed in the NHL until he retired in 1962. That season, he played 39 games with Maurice Richard and Elmer Lach, scoring 38 points. He also played in 11 playoff games. The Canadiens lost the Stanley Cup finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs that year.

Winning with the Montreal Canadiens

Olmstead and the Canadiens reached the Stanley Cup finals again in the 1951–52 season. They lost to the Detroit Red Wings. In his third season with the Canadiens, Olmstead won his first Stanley Cup. He earned 45 points in 69 games and was named to the Second All-Star Team. In the last game of the season, Olmstead checked Gordie Howe. This stopped Howe from tying Maurice Richard's record of 50 goals in a season.

Olmstead played all 70 games in the next two seasons. He scored 52 points in 1953–54 and 58 points in 1954–55. The Canadiens lost to the Red Wings in the Stanley Cup finals both seasons. In 1954–55, Olmstead led the league with 48 assists.

The 1955–56 season was the start of Montreal's amazing run of five Stanley Cup championships in a row. That season, Olmstead played on a famous line with Jean Béliveau and Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion. He set a new record for assists with 56. He also had an incredible game where he scored eight points. He got four goals and four assists, tying Rocket Richard's record. This record was later broken in 1976 by Darryl Sittler. Besides winning the Stanley Cup, Olmstead was again named to the Second All-Star Team.

Olmstead won two more Stanley Cups in the 1956–57 and 1957–58 seasons. After the 1957–58 season, doctors told him his knees were very weak. They suggested he might need to retire. Because of this, the Canadiens did not protect Olmstead in the Intra-League Draft. He was then chosen by Billy Reay, the coach of the Canadiens' main rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs

At the start of the 1958–59 season, Punch Imlach became the head coach of the Leafs. He made Olmstead the playing assistant coach. This meant Olmstead was in charge of practices. However, Olmstead only stayed as assistant coach for three months. He resigned to focus more on his own playing.

That same season, the Leafs went on a big winning streak to make the playoffs. But they lost to the Canadiens in the finals. After losing in the Finals the next season, Olmstead won his fifth and final Stanley Cup in 1962. He missed two months of that season with a broken shoulder. He was also limited to playing only four of the 12 playoff games.

Retirement and Coaching

After winning his fifth Stanley Cup with Toronto, the New York Rangers picked Olmstead in the Intra-League Draft on June 4, 1962. This surprised Olmstead, and he refused to join the team. He wanted an immediate trade back to the Canadiens. Since no trade happened, he decided to retire at age 35.

During his 14 years in the NHL, Olmstead scored 181 goals and made 421 assists, for a total of 602 points. In the playoffs, he had 59 points in 115 games. He played in the Stanley Cup final 11 times in his 14 seasons. He won five times, four with the Montreal Canadiens and one with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

After retiring as a player, Olmstead tried coaching. In the 1965–66 season, he coached the Vancouver Canucks in the WHL. He had a record of 33 wins, 35 losses, and 4 ties. In the 1967–68 season, Olmstead coached the Oakland Seals in the NHL. He did not finish the season, stepping down after 64 games. His team had won only 11 games.

Legacy and Style of Play

Olmstead was known as "Dirty Bertie" because of his strong, physical style of play. He was a power forward. This meant he made hard hits and was good at winning the puck in the corners of the rink. He wasn't the fastest skater, so he used his bodychecking to make up for it. Olmstead didn't get into many fights, but when he did, they usually started because of his powerful hits.

Olmstead was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985. On August 13, 2005, Olmstead and his wife Nora visited the town of Okotoks, Alberta, with the Stanley Cup. He had previously not wanted to spend a day with the Cup. He later said he was happy to have the Stanley Cup again. Olmstead passed away at his home in High River, Alberta, on November 16, 2015, due to problems from a stroke.

Images for kids

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  Olmstead in the 1940s

See also

In Spanish: Bert Olmstead para niños