November 7, 1962: Glenn Hall's Streak Ends

November 7, 1962: The Boston Bruins and the Chicago Black Hawks play to a 3-3 tie at the Chicago Stadium. The Bruins' John Bucyk scored a shorthanded goal with 1:07 left in the game to forge the tie. (There was no overtime in NHL regular-season games from 1942 to 1983.)

At the 10:21 mark of the 1st period, Hawks goaltender Glenn Hall had to leave the game with an injury, and Dennis DeJordy was in goal the rest of the way. This ends Hall's streak of 502 consecutive games, playing every minute of every game for the last 5 years -- and although he also did so when the Hawks made the Playoffs, those games are not counted in his total. If they are, then he really played 536 straight games, never missing a minute. He didn't play any of those games with a facemask, either, although he later began wearing one.

True, teams played 70 games a season back then, not 82 like they do now. But Hall's record remains unchallenged. There have been better goaltenders in the history of hockey, including his contemporaries Jacques Plante of the Montreal Canadiens and Terry Sawchuk of the Toronto Maple Leafs. But just as Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings is forever known as "Mr. Hockey," Glenn Hall is forever known as "Mr. Goalie."

He appeared in 13 NHL All-Star Games, and 7 Stanley Cup Finals, although he only won 1, in 1961. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as Rookie of the Year in 1956; the Vezina Trophy as top goaltender in 1963, 1967 and 1969; and the Conn Smythe Trophy as Playoff MVP in 1968, with the St. Louis Blues, despite their getting swept in the Finals by the Canadiens. He may be best remembered for giving up Bobby Orr's "Flying Goal" that won the 1970 Cup for the Bruins. Hall would later win another Cup in 1989, as the goaltending coach for the Calgary Flames.

In 1975, he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1998, The Hockey News ranked him 16th on their list of the 100 Greatest Players, among goalies trailing only Sawchuk (who was named 9th overall) and Plante (13th). In 2017, he was named to the NHL's 100th Anniversary 100 Greatest Players.

As of November 7, 2022, Glenn Hall is 91 years old. His grandson, Grant Stevenson, played 47 games as a right wing for the San Jose Sharks, all in the 2005-06 season.

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November 7, 1962 was a Wednesday. It was also the day of the event that has gone down in history, both inaccurately and sarcastically, as "Richard Nixon's Last Press Conference." I have a separate entry for that.

Baseball season was over. Football was in midweek. There was 1 other game played in the NHL: The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the New York Rangers, 5-1 at the old Madison Square Garden. The Leafs got 2 goals from Billy Harris.

And there were 3 NBA games played on this day:

* The New York Knicks beat the St. Louis Hawks, 122-112 at the Kiel Auditorium in St. Louis. Richie Guerin scored 33 points for the Knicks, while Bob Pettit scored 37 in defeat for the Hawks.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Cincinnati Royals, 106-105 at the Cincinnati Gardens. Oscar Robertson scored 42 points in defeat.

* And the Los Angeles Lakers beat the San Francisco Warriors, 132-108 at the Cow Palace outside San Francisco in Daly City, California. For the Lakers, Elgin Baylor scored 30, and Jerry West scored 28. For the Warriors, in their 1st season by the Bay after moving from Philadelphia, Wilt Chamberlain scored 38 points and grabbed 29 rebounds, to no avail.