Walter Peter "Babe" Pratt (January 7, 1916 – December 16, 1988) 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 ...
defenceman
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 ...
/
left winger who played for 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 ...
,
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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
and the
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...
in the
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 ...
between 1935 and 1947. He is the father of the NHL hockey player,
Tracy Pratt.
Babe was an important member of two
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 ...
winning teams, the
1940 Rangers and
1945 Maple Leafs. He won the
Hart Trophy in
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
. He was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
In January, 1946 Pratt was caught betting on hockey games and was subsequently suspended from the NHL. Pratt admitted to gambling but denied ever placing a bet against his own team. After promising to quit betting he was reinstated to 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. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...
. His last NHL season was with the Boston Bruins in
1946–47 and he played in the minors after that.
He subsequently worked as an analyst for
CBC Television
CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
's ''
Hockey Night In Canada
''Hockey Night in Canada'' (often abbreviated ''Hockey Night'' or ''HNiC'') is a long-running program of broadcast ice hockey play-by-play coverage in Canada. With roots in pioneering hockey coverage on private radio stations as early as 1923, ...
''
telecasts from Vancouver in the 1970s and served as a goodwill ambassador of the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. The Canucks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conferenc ...
. Pratt died of a heart attack in the media lounge of the
Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver during the first intermission of a Canucks game on December 16, 1988. The Canucks honored Pratt's memory by stitching "BABE" on their sweaters for the remainder of the hockey season.
In 1998, he was ranked number 96 on
''The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
Awards and achievements
*
MJHL
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 ...
Scoring Champion (1935)
*Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1934)
*
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 (
1940 and
1945)
*NHL First
All-Star team Defence (
1944
Events
Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix.
January
* January 2 – WWII:
** Free France, Free French General Jean de Lattre de Tassigny is appointed to command First Army (France), French Army B, part of the Sixt ...
)
*
Hart Memorial Trophy winner (1944)
*NHL second All-Star team Defence (
1945)
*Inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966
*Inducted into the
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990
*Selected to
Manitoba
Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
's All-Century first All-Star team
*Honoured Member of the
Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
*In 1998, he was ranked number 96 on ''
The Hockey News
''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a reader ...
list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
* In the 2009 book ''100 Ranger Greats'', was ranked No. 47 all-time of the
901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first
82 seasons
*Tied for most assists by a defenceman in one game with 6
*Scored the game-winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the
1945 Stanley Cup Finals
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pratt, Babe
1916 births
1988 deaths
Boston Bruins players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
Brandon Wheat Kings players
Canadian expatriates in the United States
Canadian ice hockey defencemen
Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players
Elmwood Millionaires players
Hart Memorial Trophy winners
Hershey Bears players
Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
Ice hockey people from Manitoba
Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame inductees
Kenora Thistles (MJHL) players
National Hockey League broadcasters
New Westminster Royals (WHL) players
New York Rangers players
Philadelphia Ramblers players
Stanley Cup champions
Tacoma Rockets (WHL) players
Toronto Maple Leafs players
Vancouver Canucks announcers
20th-century Canadian sportsmen