Gordon Elwood Tottle (October 14, 1925March 9, 1987) was an American 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. As 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 ...
, he played 456 games in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
with the
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...
. In 18 seasons of professional hockey, he was a first-team all-star in both the American Hockey League, and the
Eastern Hockey League
The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league.
Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953)
The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...
, and played for the
United States men's national ice hockey team
The United States men's national ice hockey team represents the United States in men's international ice hockey. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ...
in the
1962 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from 8 to 18 March 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted in No ...
.
Early life
Gordon Elwood Tottle
was born in
Detroit
Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...
, Michigan, on October 14, 1925.
He grew up in
Woodstock, Ontario
Woodstock is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. The city has a population of 46,705 according to the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 Canadian census. Woodstock is the seat of Oxford County, Ontario, Oxford County, at the head of the Thames River, On ...
, Canada.
Playing career
Tottle began his professional hockey career with the
Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to:
American football
*Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League
*Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs
*Dallas Texans (arena football)
The Dallas Texans were an ...
, and the
Fort Worth Rangers
The Fort Worth Rangers were a minor professional ice hockey franchise based in Fort Worth, Texas. They played in the American Hockey Association (AHA) during the 1941–1942 season and in the United States Hockey League (USHL) from 1945–1946 ...
, in the
United States Hockey League
The United States Hockey League (USHL) is the top junior ice hockey league sanctioned by USA Hockey. The league consists of 16 active teams located in the Midwestern United States and Great Plains, for players between the ages of 16 and 21. Th ...
.
He signed with the
Springfield Indians
The Springfield Indians were two separate minor professional ice hockey franchises, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The original Indians were founding members of the American Hockey Leagu ...
, and wore uniform #5 for ten seasons.
During the three seasons which the Indians played as the
Syracuse Warriors
Syracuse most commonly refers to:
* Syracuse, Sicily, Italy; in the province of Syracuse
* Syracuse, New York, USA; in the Syracuse metropolitan area
Syracuse may also refer to:
Places
* Syracuse railway station (disambiguation)
Italy
* Provi ...
, he led the team with 187 penalty minutes.
He was named a first-team all-star in the
1954–55 AHL season
The 1954–55 AHL season was the 19th season of the American Hockey League. Six teams played 64 games each in the schedule. The "Carl Liscombe Trophy" for the league's top scorer is renamed to the John B. Sollenberger Trophy. The All-Star game ...
, scoring six goals, and 31 points, his highest totals in the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league in North America that serves as the primary developmental league of the National Hockey League (NHL). The league comprises 32 teams, with 26 in the United States and 6 in Cana ...
(AHL).
After his ten seasons with the Indians/Warriors, he had played the eighth most games (433), in Springfield AHL history, and was inducted into Springfield Hockey Hall of Fame.
Tottle then played one season in the
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 ...
, followed by four seasons with Charlotte in the
Eastern Hockey League
The Eastern Hockey League was a minor professional United States ice hockey league.
Eastern Amateur Hockey League (1933–1953)
The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League (EAHL). The league was founded by Tommy Lockhart ...
. In his first two seasons with the
Charlotte Clippers, he was named a first-team all-star in 1958–59, and 1959–60.
In his third season in Charlotte, the team was renamed to the
Charlotte Checkers
The Charlotte Checkers are a professional ice hockey team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the American Hockey League (AHL), and are the top minor league affiliate of the ...
, and Tottle was named its
player-coach
A player–coach (also playing coach, captain–coach, or player–manager) is a member of a sports team who simultaneously holds both playing and coaching duties. Player–coaches may be head coaches or assistant coaches, and they may make chang ...
.
He led the team to 25 wins in 64 games, but missed the playoffs.
During his fourth season in Charlotte, Tottle played for the
United States men's national ice hockey team
The United States men's national ice hockey team represents the United States in men's international ice hockey. The team is controlled by USA Hockey, the governing body for organized ice hockey in the United States. The U.S. team is currently ...
in the
1962 Ice Hockey World Championships
The 1962 Ice Hockey World Championships was the 29th edition of the Ice Hockey World Championships. The tournament was held in Colorado Springs and Denver, United States from 8 to 18 March 1962. This was the first World Championship hosted in No ...
.
He later returned to his home state of Michigan, to play a final season with the
Port Huron Flags
The Port Huron Flags were a minor league professional ice hockey team located in Port Huron, Michigan
Port Huron is a city in and seat of government of St. Clair County, Michigan, United States. The population was 28,983 at the 2020 census. ...
in the
International Hockey League in 1962–63.
Personal life
Tottle was married to Ann, and had two daughters and a stepson. He was the owner and operator of Gordie's
Amoco
Amoco ( ) is a brand of filling station, fuel stations operating in the United States and owned by British conglomerate BP since 1998. The Amoco Corporation was an American chemical and petroleum, oil company, founded by Standard Oil Company i ...
in
Harrisburg, North Carolina
Harrisburg is a town in Cabarrus County, North Carolina, United States. It is a northeastern suburb of Charlotte. In the 2020 census, the population was 18,967.
Geography
Harrisburg is located in southwestern Cabarrus County. It is bordered to ...
. He was a member of the Oak Branch Masonic Lodge No. 261 in
Innerkip, Ontario
East Zorra-Tavistock is a township in southwestern Ontario, Canada, formed on 1 January 1975 through the amalgamation of the Township of East Zorra and the Village of Tavistock. It is part of Oxford County. The township had a population of 7,12 ...
, a member of the
Scottish Rite
The Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite of Freemasonry is a List of Masonic rites, rite within the broader context of Freemasonry. It is the most widely practiced List of Masonic rites, Rite in the world. In some parts of the world, and in the ...
and the Carolina Consistory, and a member of the Commonwealth Baptist Church. He died from cancer on March 9, 1987, at his home in Harrisburg, and was interred in Sunset Memory Gardens.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs statistics.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tottle, Gordon
1925 births
1987 deaths
20th-century American businesspeople
20th-century American sportsmen
American Freemasons
American men's ice hockey defensemen
Businesspeople from North Carolina
Calgary Stampeders (WHL) players
Charlotte Checkers (EHL) players
Charlotte Clippers players
Dallas Texans (USHL) players
Deaths from cancer in North Carolina
Eastern Hockey League coaches
Fort Worth Rangers players
Ice hockey coaches from Michigan
Ice hockey people from Detroit
Ice hockey player-coaches
People from Harrisburg, North Carolina
Port Huron Flags (IHL) players
Seattle Totems (WHL) players
Sportspeople from Woodstock, Ontario
Springfield Indians players
Syracuse Warriors players