Bryan Fogarty
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Bryan Charles Fogarty (June 11, 1969 – March 6, 2002) was a Canadian
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 for the
Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...
,
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
and
Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...
. He set several records while in the junior leagues and was a high draft choice 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). However, his hockey career was marred by persistent alcohol and drug use, which prevented him from playing a full season at any point and led to him being frequently traded.


Playing career

Fogarty began playing hockey as a young boy. His sister Lynn says "I think ockeywas hard-wired into our amily'sveins." His older brother played
street hockey Street hockey (also known as shinny, dek hockey, ball hockey, road hockey or street roller hockey) is a collection of team sport variants played outdoors either on foot or with wheeled skates (either quad or in-line), using either a ball or puck ...
and Lynn says he thought "I want to be like those big kids and I want to be out there and I'm going to play." Brantford Minor Hockey Association coordinator Bob Coyne said that Fogarty's hockey skills were apparent "from day one." Coyne compared Fogarty to
Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...
, who had also grown up in Brantford, saying " retzky'sgame was outsmarting everybody else. Fogarty's game was outperforming everybody else." Fogarty played in the 1982
Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament The Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament () is an annual minor ice hockey event in Quebec City. The tournament was founded in 1960 to coincide with the Quebec Winter Carnival, and give an opportunity for international competition to p ...
with a
minor ice hockey Minor ice hockey or minor hockey is an umbrella term for amateur ice hockey which is played below the junior age level. Players are classified by age, with each age group playing in its own league. The rules, especially as it relates to body c ...
team from
Brantford Brantford ( 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by Brant County but is politically separate with a municipal government of its own that is fully indep ...
. In the mid-to-late 1980s, Fogarty played with the
Ontario Hockey League The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; ) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League, alongside the Western Hockey League and the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. The league is for players ag ...
(OHL). He was chosen first overall in the 1985 OHL draft by Ken Slater of the
Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontari ...
, ahead of several other future NHL players, including Adam Graves (6th),
Bryan Marchment Bryan William Marchment (May 1, 1969 – July 6, 2022) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman. He played in the National Hockey League for the Winnipeg Jets (1972–96), Winnipeg Jets, Chicago Blackhawks, Hartford Whalers, Edmonton Oilers, Tampa ...
(12th),
Brendan Shanahan Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born January 23, 1969) is a Canadian American professional ice hockey executive and former player who was the outgoing president and alternate governor for the Toronto Maple Leafs, having previously served as the dire ...
(13th), and
Jody Hull Jody Hull (born February 2, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who serves as the Head coach for the Tri City Americans of the Western Hockey League. He was also head coach of the Peterborough Petes from December 2012 to ...
(14th). Slater says Fogarty attracted a lot of attention early on, and some of his games had as many as 40 scouts in attendance — "They couldn't believe the hockey sense and the puck control." Fogarty was drafted ninth overall by the
Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...
in 1987. He finished the 1987–88 season with the Canadians before being traded to the
Niagara Falls Thunder The Niagara Falls Thunder were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1988 to 1996. The team was based in Niagara Falls, Ontario. History Niagara Falls became home to its third OHL franchise in 1988 upon the relocation of the H ...
. The 1988–89 season with the Thunder was "the year of his life" and he broke several long-standing hockey records. That year he scored 47 goals and 108 assists, breaking the records for both most goals and most assists scored by a defenceman in a single season. The records had previously been held by
Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the ...
and Doug Crossman, respectively. His 155 total points also broke the
Canadian Hockey League The Canadian Hockey League (CHL; , LCH) is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canada-based major junior ice hockey leagues. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three me ...
record for most points scored by a defenceman in a single season, previously held by Cam Plante. That season, Fogarty scored an average of 2.583 points in his 60 games, and is the . At the end of the year, Fogarty was named the Canadian major-junior player of the year. According to Max Offenburger, a sports psychologist who worked with Fogarty frequently, he once asked Thunder coach
Bill LaForge Bill LaForge (September 2, 1951 – June 19, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey coach. LaForge briefly coached the Vancouver Canucks in National Hockey League, but enjoyed more success in junior ice hockey with Western Hockey League and the Ontari ...
about Fogarty. LaForge responded by calling Fogarty over and making a bet with him — if Fogarty scored seven points in that night's game, he'd win ; if not, he'd take Offenburger and LaForge out to dinner. During the third
period Period may refer to: Common uses * Period (punctuation) * Era, a length or span of time *Menstruation, commonly referred to as a "period" Arts, entertainment, and media * Period (music), a concept in musical composition * Periodic sentence (o ...
of the game, Fogarty scored his fourth assist with teammate Keith Primeau, for a total of seven points. Afterwards, he skated over to the bench and said to LaForge, "I win. Do I have to play any more?" During his time with the Nordiques he continued to be regarded as an excellent player. Fogarty maintains the distinction of recording the last
natural hat trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three wic ...
in Quebec Nordiques franchise history when he scored three straight goals on December 1, 1990, in a 4–2 home win over the Sabres. He was the first Nordiques defenceman to record a hat trick. But around 1990, his alcoholism and drug addiction began to impact his hockey career. Following a stint in a rehab facility, Fogarty was traded to the
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. The Penguins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), E ...
in 1992. In 1993, the Penguins suspended Fogarty and he returned to rehab. Over the next several years Fogarty played for numerous minor and major league teams, though he spent little time with any one team because none of them wanted to deal with the hassles his alcoholism brought. In 1999, following some legal troubles, Fogarty attempted a comeback 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 ...
' affiliate, the St. John's Maple Leafs. He lasted 3 regular season games with them before being released. He then played two more seasons with some minor league teams, but "only as a favour to some friends" In total, he played nine seasons of pro hockey in seven leagues for 17 teams, retiring in 2001.


Personal life

Fogarty was born in 1969 in
Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...
,
Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...
to parents Tom and Virginia, the youngest of five, and the family moved to Brantford when he was a young boy. He had two sisters and two brothers. According to Ken Campbell, Fogarty started drinking at age 14. When Fogarty was 15 he was already playing with players who were much older than him due to his exceptional skill level, and would frequent bars and strip clubs with the older players. During his time with the
Kingston Canadians The Kingston Canadians were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League from 1973 to 1988. The team played home games at the Kingston Memorial Centre in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. History The Kingston Canadians arrival in the Ontari ...
he was nicknamed "Tippy" because, according to teammate Marc Laforge, "he was always tipsy". Over the next few years, Fogarty's alcoholism and drug addiction worsened. In a 2012 interview with ESPN magazine, Ron Tugnutt, Fogarty's teammate with the Nordiques, shared a story about an incident that happened around 1990 which made the team much more concerned about Fogarty. Several team members stayed out late drinking one night and Fogarty had drunk a lot, and the team worried he might not make it to practice the next day. However, Fogarty was the first to the rink and "skat dcircles around people" during practice. Tugnutt recalls, "If I drank like he did
hat A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
night, I wouldn't be able to drag myself out of bed in the morning. But it wasn't affecting him. That's when we all became more concerned." In February 1991, Fogarty checked into a rehab center in
Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Upper Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Ontario to the north and east and by the U.S. states of Wisconsin to the east, Iowa to the so ...
, where he met John Kordic. Nordiques general manager Pierre Pagé extended a job offer to Kordic, on the condition that he stay sober and off cocaine. Pagé also made arrangements for Kordic and Fogarty to be roommates at the rehab center, hoping they could help each other stay sober. In the fall and winter of 1991, Fogarty stayed clean with the help of Kordic. In January 1992, Kordic began using drugs again and died of a
heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
in August of that year. Even though they had drifted apart towards the end of Kordic's life, Fogarty still blamed himself for Kordic's death, feeling like he had failed as a friend. In November 1992 he said "It opened my eyes. When you know someone that close with the same kind of problems — it showed what can happen." Around that same time, Pagé made a deal with Fogarty. If he could stay sober for three months, Pagé would trade him to another team. Fogarty managed to stay sober for five months, and was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins. He met his wife Jennifer while she was performing a modeling job at a charity event for the Penguins, and the two married in late 1992. Fogarty eventually relapsed and in January 1993 was suspended indefinitely from the Penguins, checking into rehab again shortly after. In 1999, Fogarty was arrested and charged with drug possession after a break-in at a school in Brantford. Fogarty was charged with breaking and entering, and possession of a controlled substance. According to the police report, Fogarty broke open the kitchen doors at the Tollgate Technological Skills Centre and was found standing naked in the kitchen with cooking oil spilled on the floor around him. He was granted a conditional discharge, placed on
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...
for one year, and was ordered to donate $500 to a local addiction service after he pleaded guilty to one count of mischief. He returned to Brantford to take over the family business, Fogarty's Mobile Canteen, while playing games for various minor league teams on the side. After retiring from hockey in 2001, Fogarty remained clean and sober for more than a year. The last stretch of Fogarty's life was "completely different" and "peaceful at the end," according to Jennifer. She says he didn't really miss hockey after retiring, and speculates he may have never wanted to go pro at all. In 2002, she told the Globe & Mail, "He missed the guys, he missed the camaraderie, but not the game."


Death

Fogarty died in
Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Myrtle Beach is a resort city on the East Coast of the United States in Horry County, South Carolina. It is located in the center of a long and continuous stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state. Its ...
on March 6, 2002. Fogarty and his wife Jennifer's uncle, Thomas Branch, were staying at a motel called the Compass Cove, to do some deep sea fishing. He and Branch arrived on the morning of March 5. After checking in, they went right to the bar, where they spent most of the day drinking. The next morning, Branch was unable to wake Fogarty, and called EMS. Fogarty was transported to the Grand Strand Regional Center where he was pronounced dead shortly after. The coroner reported that Fogarty died of an enlarged heart. He is interred at Holy Cross Cemetery in Brantford. Jennifer and Offenburger both believe that the stress from hockey played a major role in Fogarty's death. In an interview with the Globe & Mail, Jennifer said "In hockey, he was just a piece of meat. There wasn't a place he played that he wasn't expected to do everything. The game was simply too stressful for him, and he would drink to hide the anxiety." Offenburger expressed a similar sentiment, saying "his perception of hockey, and what he thought he had achieve, caused him great stress. He was happiest if he was playing hockey for fun -- think of the example when he scored seven points for Niagara Falls."


Career statistics


Awards

* OHL First All-Star Team (
1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...
,
1989 1989 was a turning point in political history with the "Revolutions of 1989" which ended communism in Eastern Bloc of Europe, starting in Poland and Hungary, with experiments in power-sharing coming to a head with the opening of the Berlin W ...
) *
Red Tilson Trophy The Red Tilson Trophy is awarded annually by the Ontario Hockey League to the most outstanding player (MVP) as voted by OHL writers and broadcasters. It was donated by ''The Globe and Mail,'' and first awarded in the 1944–45 OHA season by the On ...
(OHL MVP) (1989) *
CHL Defenceman of the Year The CHL Defenceman of the Year Award is given out annually to the top defenceman in the Canadian Hockey League. It is chosen from the winners of the league trophies, the Max Kaminsky Trophy of the Ontario Hockey League, the Bill Hunter Memorial ...
(1989) * CHL Player of the Year (1989) *U.A.P./N.A.P.A. AUTOPRO Plus-Minus Award (1989)


Records

*Last natural hat trick by a Nordiques defenceman (Dec 1/90 against Buffalo Sabres, 4–2 win) *Most points in a season by a defenceman (CHL) - 155 (47G, 108A), 1988–89 *Most goals in a season by a defenceman (OHL) - 47, 1988–89 *Most assists in a season by a defenceman (OHL) - 108, 1988–89 *Most points in a game by a defenceman (OHL) - 8 (3 goals, 5 assists) - Nov. 11 1988 - vs.
Sudbury Wolves The Sudbury Wolves are an Ontario Hockey League (OHL) ice hockey team based in Greater Sudbury, Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Sudbury has had various hockey teams competing at the Junior ice hockey, junior and senior ice hockey levels of the game k ...


In popular culture

Dave Bidini's song "The Land is Wild", released as the title track of the Bidiniband's debut release in June 2009, tells the life story of Fogarty.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fogarty, Bryan 1969 births 2002 deaths Atlanta Knights players Baton Rouge Kingfish players Brantford Alexanders players Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Lumberjacks players Detroit Vipers players Elmira Jackals (UHL) players Halifax Citadels players Hannover Scorpions players HC Davos players HC Milano players Huntsville Tornado players Ice hockey people from Montreal Indianapolis Ice players Kansas City Blades players Kingston Canadians players Knoxville Speed players Las Vegas Thunder players Minnesota Moose players Montreal Canadiens players Muskegon Lumberjacks players NHL first-round draft picks New Haven Nighthawks players Niagara Falls Thunder players Pittsburgh Penguins players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Quebec Nordiques draft picks Quebec Nordiques players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen St. John's Maple Leafs players Ice hockey people from Brantford Aurora Tigers players