Louis Joseph "Leapin' Louie" Fontinato (January 20, 1932 – July 3, 2016) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1954 to 1961 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1961 to 1963.[1]

Lou Fontinato
Born (1932-01-20)January 20, 1932
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Died July 3, 2016(2016-07-03) (aged 84)
Guelph, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for New York Rangers
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1954–1963

NHL career

edit

Lou Fontinato was a rugged defender and the most feared enforcer of his time. He started his career with New York during the 1954-55 season. The following year, he led the NHL in penalty minutes. Fontinato became the first player in league history to record over 200 minutes in penalties in a season.[2] He also led the league in that category in 1957-58 and 1961–62 (with Montreal). With the Rangers, Fontinato and Gordie Howe had a running feud that culminated in a fight at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 1959, in which Howe broke the nose and dislocated the jaw of "Leapin' Lou".[3] Fontinato was eventually traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Hall-of-Fame great Doug Harvey at the tail-end of his career. Fontinato's career came to an abrupt and violent end in 1963 at the Montreal Forum when he missed a check on left-winger Vic Hadfield of the Rangers behind the Montreal net, slammed head first into the boards, and became paralyzed for a month.[4]

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1949–50 Guelph Biltmores OHA-B
1950–51 Guelph Biltmores OHA 45 3 11 14 93 5 0 0 0 0
1951–52 Guelph Biltmores OHA 48 6 25 31 0
1951–52 Guelph Biltmores M-Cup 12 1 3 4 50
1952–53 Vancouver Canucks WHL 65 3 18 21 169 9 1 3 4 12
1953–54 Vancouver Canucks WHL 63 4 14 18 147 6 0 1 1 25
1954–55 Saskatoon Quakers WHL 35 4 6 10 55
1954–55 New York Rangers NHL 28 2 2 4 60
1955–56 New York Rangers NHL 70 3 15 18 202 4 0 0 0 6
1956–57 New York Rangers NHL 70 3 12 15 139 5 0 0 0 7
1957–58 New York Rangers NHL 70 3 8 11 152 6 0 1 1 6
1958–59 New York Rangers NHL 64 7 6 13 149
1959–60 New York Rangers NHL 64 2 11 13 137
1960–61 New York Rangers NHL 53 2 3 5 100
1961–62 Montreal Canadiens NHL 54 2 13 15 167 6 0 1 1 23
1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 2 8 10 141
NHL totals 536 26 78 104 1247 21 0 2 2 42

Personal life

edit

Fontinato later ran a cattle operation near Eden Mills, Ontario. He died in Guelph, Ontario on July 3, 2016.[5][6] Fontinato's great nephew, Greg McKegg, is also a professional ice hockey player.

Legacy

edit

In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Fontinato at No. 95 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[7]

Gilles Groulx's 1964 National Film Board, 30-minute documentary film Un Jeu Si Simple includes footage of Lou Fontinato including his career-ending neck injury vs. NY Rangers on March 9, 1963.

In an email interview with Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe said a fight with Lou Fontinato was the most memorable of his career.[8]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Lou Fontinato's player profile". Legends of Hockey.net. Retrieved May 12, 2010.
  2. ^ "NHL 1955-56 League Leaders: PIM". Hockeydb.com/. Retrieved September 23, 2023.
  3. ^ "Gordie's greatest hits: The night Howe took apart Lou Fontinato | Detroit Athletic Co. Blog". Archived from the original on February 12, 2013. Retrieved April 1, 2013..
  4. ^ http://www.legendsofhockey.net.
  5. ^ Forbed, Andrew (July 6, 2016). "Former NHL Defenceman Lou Fontinato Passes Away". thehockeynews.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  6. ^ Saxon, Tony (July 5, 2016). "Guelph mourns loss of 'Leapin' Louie from The Ward". guelphtoday.com. Retrieved March 28, 2018.
  7. ^ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 20. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
  8. ^ Gretzky - Howe interview - BarDown
edit