Ronald Thomas Harris (born June 30, 1942) is a Canadian former 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 who played 476 games 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 ...

. He played for 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 ...

Oakland Seals The California Golden Seals were a professional ice hockey club that competed in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1967 to 1976. Based in Oakland, California, they played their home games at the Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum Arena. The ...

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

, and

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 ...

. On January 13, 1968, Harris, playing with the

against the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

, was involved in the accident that caused the death of Bill Masterton. Harris is still plagued with memories of the incident to this day and has conducted only one interview on this subject, with the '' St. Paul Pioneer Press'' in 2003, in which he stated, "It bothers you the rest of your life. It wasn't dirty and it wasn't meant to happen that way. Still, it's very hard because I made the play. It's always in the back of my mind." After Harris retired from the NHL, he began getting involved in other areas of the game, coaching the Windsor Spitfires and Spokane Flyers at the major junior level, and later working as an assistant coach 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 ...

in the NHL.

Career statistics

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* 1942 births Living people Atlanta Flames players 20th-century Canadian sportsmen Cincinnati Wings players Detroit Red Wings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Canadian ice hockey defencemen Hamilton Red Wings (OHA) players Kamloops Junior Oilers coaches Memphis Wings players New York Rangers players Oakland Seals players Pittsburgh Hornets players Quebec Nordiques coaches San Francisco Seals (ice hockey) players Spokane Flyers (junior) coaches Ice hockey people from Montreal Canadian ice hockey coaches {{Canada-icehockey-defenceman-1940s-stub