Brian Glennie (August 29, 1946 – February 7, 2020) 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 ...

who played 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 ...

(NHL) from

1969 1969 ( MCMLXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1969th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 969th year of the 2nd millennium, the 69th year of the 20th century, and the ...

until

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. Glennie was a master of the hip-check.

Amateur career

Glennie was born in

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

. He had an outstanding junior career with the

Toronto Marlboros The Toronto Marlborough Athletic Club, commonly known as the Toronto Marlboros, was an ice hockey franchise in Toronto, Canada. Founded in 1903, it operated junior ice hockey and senior ice hockey teams in the Ontario Hockey Association and la ...

of the

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 ...

, eventually captaining the team to the

1967 Memorial Cup The 1967 Memorial Cup was the 49th annual Memorial Cup competition, organized by the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association (CAHA) to determine the champion of junior A ice hockey. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Toronto Marlbo ...

. As a PeeWee he was coached by future Toronto Maple Leafs coach

Roger Neilson Roger Paul Neilson, (June 16, 1934 – June 21, 2003) was a Canadian professional ice hockey coach, most notably in the NHL, where he served with eight teams. Known as Captain Video because of his technological contributions to the game, he is ...

. After junior Glennie joined the Canadian National Team program run by Father David Bauer for the 1967–68 season. He was a member of the Canadian team in the

1968 Olympics 1968 Olympics may refer to: * 1968 Summer Olympics, which were held in Mexico City, Mexico * 1968 Winter Olympics The 1968 Winter Olympics, officially known as the X Olympic Winter Games (), were a winter multi-sport event held from 6 to 18 Feb ...

at Grenoble, France which won the bronze medal. This tournament was also representative of the

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; ; ) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 84 member countries. The IIHF maintains the IIHF World Ranking based on international ice hockey tourn ...

World Championship.

Pro career

As a pro Glennie went on to play 572 career NHL games, all but 18 with 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 ...

, scoring 14 goals and 100 assists for 114 points. Glennie, a defensive, hard-hitting defenceman was often paired with the offensively-skilled defencemen on the Leafs, such as

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 spent the majority of his career playing for the Toronto Maple ...

Börje Salming Anders Börje Salming ( ; 17 April 1951 – 24 November 2022) was a Swedish ice hockey player. He was a defenceman who played professionally for 23 seasons, for the clubs Brynäs IF, Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and AIK Hockey, AIK. H ...

and more frequently former Marlboro teammate Jim McKenny. Glennie has described his playing style as "a standup guy who would take the guy out" and his partner would then "get the puck and start something happening." ''

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 ...

'' ranked Glennie #6 on their list of the best all-time body checkers. He was a member of

Team Canada Canadian National Team or Team Canada may refer to: Canada at multi-sport events * Canada at the Olympics ** Canadian Olympic Committee * Canada at the Paralympics ** Canadian Paralympic Committee * Canada at the Commonwealth Games * Canada at ...

in the

1972 Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (), or Series of the Century (), was an eight-game ice hockey series between the Soviet Union and Canada, held in September 1972. It was the first competition between the Soviet nation ...

. While he did not have the opportunity to play against the Soviet Union, Brian played in two of the games against Sweden and Czechoslovakia. He counted the experience among the greatest of his life. Glennie sustained a mild

concussion A concussion, also known as a mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI), is a head injury that temporarily affects brain functioning. Symptoms may include headache, dizziness, difficulty with thinking and concentration, sleep disturbances, a brief ...

in the second period of a 7–3 win over the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

Maple Leaf Gardens Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church and Wellesley, Church Street in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hoc ...

on November 5, 1975, after

Dan Maloney Daniel Charles "Snowshoes" Maloney (September 24, 1950 – November 19, 2018) was a Canadian professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), left winger in the National Hockey League (NHL) and NHL coach. He featured in the 1971 Stanley Cup Finals wit ...

attacked him from behind, flattened him with a right-hand punch, hit him several more times and repeatedly lifted and dropped him to the ice. Maloney had come to the defense of teammate

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 ...

who had received a hit from Glennie which was described by ''

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

'' as "a clean check." Maloney, who claimed the force of the contact was excessive and that he had no intention of injuring Glennie, was charged with

assault In the terminology of law, an assault is the act of causing physical harm or consent, unwanted physical contact to another person, or, in some legal definitions, the threat or attempt to do so. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may ...

Attorney General of Ontario The attorney general of Ontario is the Attorney general, chief legal adviser to Monarchy in Ontario, His Majesty the King in Right of Ontario and, by extension, the Government of Ontario. The attorney general is a senior member of the Executi ...

Roy McMurtry Roland Roy McMurtry (May 31, 1932 – March 18, 2024) was a Canadian lawyer, judge and politician in Ontario. He was a Progressive Conservative member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario from 1975 to 1985, serving in the cabinet of Bill Dav ...

the following day on November 6. The third NHL player to ever be prosecuted by local authorities with a crime resulting from action on the ice, Maloney was

acquitted In common law jurisdictions, an acquittal means that the criminal prosecution has failed to prove that the accused is guilty beyond a reasonable doubt of the charge presented. It certifies that the accused is free from the charge of an o ...

just under eight months later on June 30, 1976. In 1978, Glennie joined

Lanny McDonald Lanny King McDonald (born February 16, 1953) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Colorado Rockies and Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League (NHL). He played over 1,100 games during a 16-year ...

in a

Swanson Swanson is a brand of TV dinners, broths, and canned poultry made for the North American and Hong Kong markets. The former Swanson Company was founded in Omaha, Nebraska, where it developed improvements of the frozen dinner. The TV dinner busi ...

Hungry-Man entree commercial in which Glennie rips off the door of the refrigerator. Glennie died in

Ottawa Ottawa is the capital city of Canada. It is located in the southern Ontario, southern portion of the province of Ontario, at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the cor ...

at the age of 73 in February 2020 after years of declining health.

Honours and awards

1967 Memorial Cup (captain)
Bronze medal 1968 Winter Olympics
Inducted

Canada's Sports Hall of Fame Canada's Sports Hall of Fame (; sometimes referred to as the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame) is a Canadian sports hall of fame and museum in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Dedicated to the history of sports in Canada, it serves as a hall of fame and mu ...

in 2005.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Glennie, Brian 1946 births 2020 deaths Canadian ice hockey defencemen Ice hockey players at the 1968 Winter Olympics Los Angeles Kings players Medalists at the 1968 Winter Olympics Michigan State Spartans men's ice hockey players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Olympic bronze medalists for Canada Olympic ice hockey players for Canada Olympic medalists in ice hockey Rochester Americans players Ice hockey people from Toronto Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlboros players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen