Alfred George Pike (September 15, 1917 – March 1, 2009) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

player who spent six

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) seasons with the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. The Rangers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The team plays ...

between 1939 and 1947. Born in

Winnipeg, Manitoba Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, he was a product of the hockey school there that was operated by Lester Patrick, the Rangers' coach and

general manager A general manager (GM) is an executive who has overall responsibility for managing both the revenue and cost elements of a company's income statement, known as profit & loss (P&L) responsibility. A general manager usually oversees most or all of ...

. A licensed mortician in the offseason, Pike's

nickname A nickname, in some circumstances also known as a sobriquet, or informally a "moniker", is an informal substitute for the proper name of a person, place, or thing, used to express affection, playfulness, contempt, or a particular character trait ...

was " The Embalmer". He also served as coach at various levels of the sport. During World War II, Pike attained rank of Leading Aircraftsman with the Royal Canadian Air Force. He served, and played hockey, in Winnipeg and also while stationed at Leeming Yorkshire home to RCAF 427 Lion and 429 Bison heavy bomber Squadrons.

Playing career

He played two years of junior hockey with the Winnipeg Monarchs of the

Manitoba Junior Hockey League The Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL) is a Junior ice hockey, Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba and one of nine member leagues of the Canadian Junior Hockey League (CJHL). The MJHL consists of thirt ...

(MJHL). In 1936–37, his second campaign with the team, he centered the top forward line as the Monarchs captured both the league title and

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

. After immediately signing a contract with Patrick's franchise in 1937, he spent two years with the New York Rovers, the Rangers' minor league affiliate in the Eastern Amateur Hockey League that shared Madison Square Garden III with the parent club.Klein, Jeff Z
"Alf Pike, Member of Rangers’ 1940 Stanley Cup Team, Dies at 91"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', Wednesday, March 11, 2009. Accessed March 11, 2009. He was the team captain when the Rovers won the EAHL crown in 1938–39. He also made two appearances with the

Philadelphia Ramblers The Philadelphia Ramblers were a minor professional ice hockey team based in the Philadelphia Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Ramblers played for six seasons during the infancy of the American Hockey League from 1935 to 1941. Histor ...

of the International-American Hockey League (IAHL) that same season. As a

rookie A rookie is a person new to an occupation, profession, or hobby. In sports, a ''rookie'' is a professional athlete in their first season (or year). In contrast with a veteran who has experience, a rookie is typically considered needing more tra ...

with the Rangers in 1939–40, he was the center on the third forward line with Dutch Hiller and Clint Smith. Pike contributed two key

goal A goal or objective is an idea of the future or desired result that a person or a group of people envision, plan, and commit to achieve. People endeavour to reach goals within a finite time by setting deadlines. A goal is roughly similar to ...

s in the 1940 Stanley Cup Finals. He scored the winner in

overtime Overtime is the amount of time someone works beyond normal working hours. The term is also used for the pay received for this time. Normal hours may be determined in several ways: *by custom (what is considered healthy or reasonable by society) ...

of Game 1, and tallied again midway through the third period of Game 6 to tie the match at 2–2 and eventually extend it beyond regulation.

Bryan Hextall Bryan Aldwyn Hextall (July 31, 1913 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played for the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League (NHL). Considered one of the top wingers of the 1940s, he led the NHL in goal ...

's goal in the extra period clinched the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

Championship for the Rangers. His most productive season was in 1941–42 with 27 points (8 goals, 19 assists). He was converted into a

defenseman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the l ...

the following year. His hockey career was put on hold between 1943 and 1945 when he was stationed with the

Royal Canadian Air Force The Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF; ) is the air and space force of Canada. Its role is to "provide the Canadian Forces with relevant, responsive and effective airpower". The RCAF is one of three environmental commands within the unified Can ...

in his hometown during World War II. He played two more seasons with the Rangers, the final one as a

left winger In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

in 1946–47, becoming one of the very few individuals in professional hockey history to play three different positions. His final NHL totals were 119 points (42 goals, 77 assists) in 234 games. He appeared in a handful of matches with the Winnipeg Nationals in 1948 and 1949 before ending his playing career.

Coaching career

Pike's first coaching job began in 1949–50 with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters, the Rangers'

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the province of Ontario. Founded in 1890, the OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern ...

(OHA) Junior A farm club. The highlight of his five years with Guelph was in 1952 when the team, which featured Andy Bathgate and Harry Howell, won both the league championship and Memorial Cup. His next stop was the Winnipeg Warriors from 1954 to 1959, collecting a

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a 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 hocke ...

(WHL) title and Edinburgh Trophy national minor professional championship in 1956. He returned to the Rangers as its coach eighteen games into the

1959–60 NHL season The 1959–60 NHL season was the 43rd season of the National Hockey League. Six teams played 70 games each. The Montreal Canadiens were the Stanley Cup winners as they defeated the Toronto Maple Leafs four games to none for their fifth straight ...

. His personality was a direct contrast from that of the man he replaced, the temperamental Phil Watson ( Muzz Patrick served as the interim for two matches). After compiling a 36–66–21 record in two years without a postseason appearance, Pike was replaced by Doug Harvey in 1961. Before his retirement in 1970, he returned to the WHL to coach three different franchises: the

Calgary Stampeders The Calgary Stampeders are a professional Canadian football team based in Calgary, Alberta. The Stampeders compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The club plays its home games at McMahon Stadium a ...

(1961–62 to 1962–63),

Los Angeles Blades The Los Angeles Blades were a professional inline hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. The Blades played in Roller Hockey International from 1993–1997 and played their home games at the Great Western Forum. Two other franchises have u ...

(1963–64 to 1964–65) and Phoenix Roadrunners (1967–68 to 1969–70). Pike died at age 91 on March 1, 2009, in

Calgary, Alberta Calgary () is a major city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Alberta. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a Metropolitan area, metropolitan population of 1,481,806 making it the List of ...

.Staff
"Alf Pike, member of 1940 Rangers, dies at 91"
,

, March 6, 2009. Accessed March 9, 2009.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

NHL coaching record

Awards and achievements

* 1937 Turnbull Cup Championship (MJHL) – Winnipeg Monarchs (player) * 1937 Memorial Cup Championship – Winnipeg Monarchs (player) * 1939 Eastern Amateur Hockey League Champions – New York Rovers (player) * 1940 Stanley Cup Championship – New York Rangers (player) * 1952 J. Ross Robertson Cup Championship (OHA) – Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (coach) * 1952 Memorial Cup Championship – Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters (coach) * 1956 Lester Patrick Cup Championship (WHL) – Winnipeg Warriors (coach) * 1956 Edinburgh Trophy Championship – Winnipeg Warriors (coach) * Honoured Member of the

Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame The Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum is a hall of fame and museum for ice hockey in Manitoba, located on the main level of the Canada Life Centre in downtown Winnipeg. It was established in 1985, when the first honoured members were named ...

* In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', was ranked No. 69 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons

References

External links

*
Alfred Pike's Day with the Stanley Cup

Obituary
in the Star Gazette {{DEFAULTSORT:Pike, Alf 1917 births 2009 deaths Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey left wingers Canadian military personnel of World War II Ice hockey people from Winnipeg New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Philadelphia Ramblers players Stanley Cup champions Winnipeg Monarchs players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen