Glenn Hall, the Hall of Fame goaltender known as “Mr. Goalie” and owner of one of sport’s most unbreakable endurance marks, died Wednesday in a hospital in Alberta at the age of 94. According to Hall’s record run of 502 consecutive regular-season starts — 552 including the Stanley Cup Playoffs — still stands as the NHL’s goaltending ironman standard.
Born Oct. 3, 1931, in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, Hall rose from junior hockey in Windsor to a brief early call-up with the Detroit Red Wings before joining the team in net during the 1955-56 season. According to NHL.com, his emergency debut in 1952 came in borrowed gear from trainer Ross “Lefty” Wilson at the Montreal Forum, a professional precursor that would define his career.
Nicknamed “Mr. Goalie,” Hall starred as a goaltender for 18 NHL seasons with Detroit, the Chicago Black Hawks (the club’s name back then), and finally the St. Louis Blues. He led Chicago from the net to the 1961 Stanley Cup. Hall compiled a 407-326-164 record with a 2.50 goals-against average and 84 shutouts, which still remains fourth-most in league history. He was known for pioneering the butterfly style, as ESPN.com explained, Hall was one of the game’s last-standing bare-faced goalies. He proudly wore no mask for the majority of his record streak.
Hall won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie with Detroit in 1956; captured three Vezina Trophies as the league’s top goaltender (two with Chicago in 1963 and 1967 and one with St. Louis at age 37); and was named a First-Team NHL All-Star a record seven times. He earned the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1968 when the Blues were Stanley Cup runner up. According to Sportsnet.ca, he played 50 straight playoff games during his streak and helped the expansion Blues to the Final in each of their first three seasons.
“Glenn Hall was the very definition of what all hockey goaltenders aspire to be,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said, praising his “sturdy, dependable” excellence and calling the consecutive-games record “almost unfathomable — especially when you consider he did it all without a mask,” as reported by NHL.com, ESPN.com, and Sportsnet.ca.
The NHL expressed condolences to Hall’s children — Pat, Lindsay, Tammy, and Leslie — and to the entire Hall family.
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