Calvin Pearly "Ginger, Red, Torchy" Gardner (October 30, 1924 – October 10, 2001) was a Canadian professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) 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. In ice hockey, two o ...

player in the

NHL 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 ...

. In 1943, after playing professional hockey for three years and winning the

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

, he joined the Canadian military and took part in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

. At the conclusion of the war, he once again began playing professional hockey, joining the

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

affiliate, the New York Rovers. With the Rovers, Gardner would centre a line with fellow Manitobans

Church Russell Churchill Davidson Russell (March 16, 1923 – March 31, 1999) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Russell played 90 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers over three seasons between 1945 and 1947. The rest o ...

and

Rene Trudell Joseph Rene Edward Trudell (January 31, 1919 – July 25, 1984) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 129 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers between1946 and 1948. The rest of his career, which lasted ...

. The trio were dominate, with all three players being called up to the Rangers and making their debut on February 10, 1946. From their debut, the trio remained intact as a line until December 1947, with the unit being nicknamed "Whiz Kids" and the "rover-boy line." Following the 1948 season, the Rangers traded Gardner 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. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Divi ...

, with whom he won two Stanley Cup championships. He died in 2001. His two sons Paul and

Dave Dave may refer to: Film, television, and theater * ''Dave'' (film), a 1993 film starring Kevin Kline and Sigourney Weaver * ''Dave'' (musical), a 2018 stage musical adaptation of the film * Dave (TV channel), a digital television channel in the ...

were also professional ice hockey players. While playing for the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

of the AHL in the 1957–58 season, Gardner served as an assistant coach. Gardner also served as a player-head coach while with the Kingston Frontenacs of the EPHL in 1959-60.

NHL Transactions

*1945: Signed as a free agent with the New York Rovers ( EHL). *April 26, 1948: Traded to the

(along with Bill Juzda, Rene Trudel and the rights to

Frank Mathers Frank Sydney Mathers (March 29, 1924 – February 9, 2005) was a professional ice hockey player during the 1940s and 1950s. He competed with the National Hockey League's Toronto Maple Leafs and the American Hockey League's Pittsburgh Hornets ...

) for Wally Stanowski and

Elwyn Morris Elwyn Gordon "Moe" Morris (January 3, 1921 – February 6, 2000) was a Canadian ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Rangers between 1943 and 1949. The rest of his career, which laste ...

. *September 11, 1952: Traded to the

Chicago Black Hawks (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

(along with Ray Hannigan, Gus Mortson and

Al Rollins Elwin Ira Rollins (October 9, 1926 – July 27, 1996) was a professional Canadian ice hockey goaltender who played for the Chicago Black Hawks, New York Rangers and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Playing career Before joining the NHL, Rollins played ...

) for Harry Lumley. *June 26, 1953: Traded to 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 ...

in exchange for cash. Sources: Legends of Hockey NHLTradeTracker.com

Awards and achievements

Championship (1943) * EHL First All-Star Team (1946) * EHL Scoring Champion (1946) *Played in

All-Star game (1948 & 1949) * Stanley Cup Championships (1949 & 1951) * AHL Second All-Star Team (1958) *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 ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gardner, Cal 1924 births 2001 deaths Boston Bruins players Boston Bruins announcers Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey centres Canadian military personnel of World War II Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Manitoba Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL) players Memorial Cup winners National Hockey League All-Stars New York Rangers players New York Rovers players Providence Reds players St. Boniface Canadiens players Sportspeople from Winnipeg Springfield Indians Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Winnipeg Esquires players Winnipeg Rangers players