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William Alexander (Bill) Gadsby

NHL, the National Hockey League is a premier professional North American Sports League played in indoor stadiums. It’s divided into two conferences, each comprising of three divisions of ice hockey teams.

William Alexander was born on 8 August 1927 in Calgary, Alberta and he played 20 NHL seasons from 1946 to 1966. He was inducted in the year 1970. When Gadbsy was a child back home in cozy Alberta, he would routinely stay out late at night, playing hockey with his friends until he was exhausted or in so much trouble with his parents he knew it was time to go. He creeps into the house under the cover of night and tries to get his equipment dry enough for the next day's skating.

In his first game, he was cut for 12 stitches, a portentous NHL debut in light of his future penchant for damaging his body in the line of defensive duty. Late in the season, he scored a game-winning goal against Harry Lumley in the Detroit net with one second to go in the game. It was one of the biggest thrills of his life.

Gadsby remained a Black Hawk for the better part of nine years before being traded to the Rangers. After six seasons with the Rangers, Gadsby was involved in a trade that was to have sent him to the Red Wings. While Gadsby was always a star in the league he never won the Stanley Cup. In fact, although he played some 1,248 regular season games, he played only 67 playoff games, making it to the finals three times.

As the years passed, he became as famous for his cuts as his play. He reputedly received more than 600 stitches to his face. Gadsby's last five years in the league were with the Wings and shortly after retiring he became the team's head coach. He was behind the bench for all of 1968-69, but the team missed the playoffs and he was replaced just two games into the following season. He is remembered as a powerful skater with a lethal shot who back-checked responsibly and played the game cleanly. He, with all his dedication and devotion in his play has achieved many goals in his overall hockey playing career.

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