John Gordon Hannigan (January 19, 1929 – November 16, 1966) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

forward who played for the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

between 1952 and 1956.

Playing career

Hannigan was a

left winger A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

and

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

for the

(1952–1956) of the

(NHL), Pittsburgh Hornets (1951–1952, 1954–1956) and

Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans (colloquially known as the Amerks) are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League; the team is an owned and operated affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, ...

(1956–1957) of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

(AHL) and the Edmonton Flyers (1957–1958) of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

(WHL). He played for the

St. Michael's College School St. Michael's College School, (also known as St. Michael's, St. Mike's, and SMCS), is an independent, Catholic school for young men in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Administered by the Basilian Fathers, it is the largest school of its kind in Cana ...

Monarchs as a 155-pound, fast-skating left winger, in 1951. He worked out with Toronto for the first time in February 1949, along with

Tim Horton Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (January 12, 1930 – February 21, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 24 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers, Pittsburg ...

. Because of an Ontario Hockey Association rule, the two college players were not allowed to play for the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was founded in 1903. It operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and later the Ontario Hockey League. The Marlboros ...

a Maple Leafs affiliatein that junior ice hockey league. Leafs' President

Conn Smythe Constantine Falkland Cary Smythe, Military Cross, MC (; February 1, 1895 – November 18, 1980) was a Canadian businessman, soldier and sportsman in ice hockey and horse racing. He is best known as the principal owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs ...

did not like the ruling but granted the junior players a trial after four of his team's forwards were injured. In October 1953 Hannigan sustained a rib injury in practice and was out of the Maple Leafs lineup for three weeks. Hannigan played the 1956–57 season for the

of the

. Jack Perrin, President of the WHL Winnipeg Warriors (1955–1961), made overtures to buy Hannigan's rights from the Maple Leafs in September 1957. Hannigan told Perrin that, if he could not play for the NHL Leafs, he would only consider an offer from the WHL Edmonton Flyers. He was purchased by the Flyers from the Leafs in October 1957, and his first game for the Flyers was against the Saskatoon/St. Paul Regals, when he replaced injured rookie John Utendale. His older brother,

Ray Hannigan Raymond James Hannigan (July 14, 1927 — July 18, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger. He played 3 games for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League during the 1948–49 season. The rest of his career, which ...

, played in the NHL, AHL and WHL (1948–1955). His younger brother,

Pat Hannigan Patrick Edward Hannigan (March 5, 1936 – December 11, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Toronto Maple Leafs, New York Rangers and Philadelphia Flyers b ...

, played in the WHL and NHL (1956–1962). The three brothers played with, or against, each other in some of those seasons.

Personal life

Gord Hannigan was a partner, with his brothers, in a successful Edmonton ice cream business at the time of his acquisition by the Flyers. He also had other interests in the

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

city. Hannigan married Ann Mary Conboy of

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...

in August 1953. Together they had nine children, before the then 37-year-old's sudden hospitalization and death in Edmonton on November 16, 1966.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

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External links