MONTREAL – Gump Worsley, the Hall of Fame hockey goalie who didn’t wear a mask until the final season of his 21-year NHL career, has died. He was 77.
Worsley, who died Friday at his home in Beloeil, had a heart attack Monday, The Montreal Gazette said.
Born Lorne John Worsley in Montreal in 1929, he was tagged with the “Gump” moniker as a child because his hair stuck up like Andy Gump, the comic strip character.
The 5-foot-7 Worsley began his NHL career in 1952-53, winning the Calder Trophy as the rookie of the year with the New York Rangers.
He helped his hometown Montreal Canadiens win four Stanley Cup titles in a five-year span and finished his career with the Minnesota North Stars in 1973-74 – playing only his final six games with a mask.
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1980, Worsley was 335-352-150 with a 2.88 goals-against average and 43 shutouts in 861 regular-season games. In the playoffs, he was 40-26 with a 2.78 GAA and five shutouts.
Acquired by Montreal from the Rangers in a 1963 trade that sent fellow Hall of Fame goalie Jacques Plante to New York, Worsley won 29 of 36 playoff games in helping lead the Canadiens to Stanley Cup titles in 1965, ’66, ’68 and ’69.
Worsley won the Vezina Trophy in 1966 and 1968 as the NHL’s top goalie, was a first-team All-Star in 1968 and played in the All-Star game in 1961, ’62, ’65 and ’72.
He also holds the NHL record for career losses.
