Lou Fontinato (original) (raw)

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Canadian ice hockey player

Ice hockey player

Lou Fontinato
Born (1932-01-20)January 20, 1932Guelph, 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 RangersMontreal Canadiens
Playing career 1954–1963

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 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]

Regular season and playoffs

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| | | 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 | | |

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.

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]

  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