Samuel Leo LoPresti (January 30, 1917 – December 11, 1984) was an American

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 ...

goaltender. He played

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

and professional hockey between 1937 and 1951, including two seasons 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) with the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. He was named an American Hockey Association (AHA) all-star in 1939–40 and the most valuable player of 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 ...

in 1949–50. He is best known for his performance with the Black Hawks on March 4, 1941, when he set an NHL record by facing 83 shots in a regulation game against 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 t ...

. He was inducted into the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials an ...

in 1973. LoPresti left the NHL during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

to join the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

and serve on board the SS ''Roger B. Taney''. In 1943 the ship was torpedoed and sunk while crossing the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

; LoPresti was one of 29 sailors who survived 42 days lost at sea in a single lifeboat before being rescued off the coast of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. LoPresti was credited with saving the lives of his shipmates by killing a

dolphin A dolphin is an aquatic mammal in the cetacean clade Odontoceti (toothed whale). Dolphins belong to the families Delphinidae (the oceanic dolphins), Platanistidae (the Indian river dolphins), Iniidae (the New World river dolphins), Pontopori ...

with a

sheath knife A sheath knife is a fixed-bladed knife that fits into a sheath, by tradition usually of leather, now often of other material such as nylon or kevlar. The sheath is used to protect the knife and act as a carrier. Most importantly, the sheath prot ...

, providing most of the food they had during their ordeal.

Early life

LoPresti was born January 30, 1917, in Elcor, Minnesota and grew up in the nearby community of Eveleth. In his youth he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

as a tackle and a fullback. He did not wear ice skates until the

ninth grade Ninth grade (also 9th grade or grade 9) is the ninth or tenth Educational stage, year of Formal education, formal or compulsory education in some countries. It is generally part of middle school or secondary school depending on country. Students i ...

but, inspired by local players

Frank Brimsek Francis Charles "Mr. Zero" Brimsek (September 26, 1913 – November 11, 1998) was an American professional ice hockey goaltender who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Boston Bruins and Chicago Black Hawks. He w ...

and

Mike Karakas Michael George Karakas (November 13, 1910 – May 2, 1992) was an Americans, American professional ice hockey goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He was the league's first American-born and -trained goaltender. He played eight se ...

, he became a

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

and was his high school team's starter by his final year of high school. He played for local junior colleges where he was scouted by the St. Paul Saints of the American Hockey Association (AHA).

Playing career

In his first season with the Saints, 1937–38, LoPresti appeared in 48 games, posted a 10–38–2 win-loss-tie record and earned a 3.62

goals against average Goals against average (GAA), also known as average goals against (AGA), is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending on spo ...

(GAA). He improved to 23–21–2 the following season. In his third season in St. Paul, he was named to the league's second all-star team after recording 29 wins and 4

shutout In team sports, a shutout (North American English, US) or clean sheet (Commonwealth English, UK) is a game in which the losing team fails to score. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketba ...

s. The Saints won the AHA championship, defeating the

Omaha Knights Omaha Knights may refer to: * Omaha Knights (AHA) an ice hockey team that played from (1939–1942) in the American Hockey Association and from (1945–1951) in the United States Hockey League * Omaha Knights (IHL) an ice hockey team that played ...

in four games. LoPresti posted a 6–1 record and 1.29 GAA during the playoffs. During that season, he was discovered by Bill Tobin and

Paul Thompson Paul Thompson may refer to: Education *Paul Thompson (professor) (born 1951), British management professor at the University of Strathclyde *Paul B. Thompson (philosopher) (born 1951), American philosopher at Michigan State University *Paul H. Tho ...

, president and coach of the NHL's

, during an exhibition game between the Saints and the Black Hawks. He was signed by Chicago, and began the season with the AHA's

Kansas City Americans Kansas ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the west. Kansas is named a ...

. LoPresti was called up to Chicago when

Paul Goodman Paul Goodman (September 9, 1911 – August 2, 1972) was an American writer and public intellectual best known for his 1960s works of social criticism. Goodman was prolific across numerous literary genres and non-fiction topics, including the ...

retired. He made his NHL debut on January 5, 1941, and went unbeaten in his first four starts. He appeared in 27 games with Chicago, finishing with a record of 9–15–3. He set a record on March 4 in a game against the

when he faced 83 shots in a regulation game. The Bruins took 42 shots at LoPresti before they scored their first goal, and won the game 3–2. As Chicago's top goaltender in 1941–42, LoPresti won 21 games and lost 23, and recorded three shutouts. He was his team's star in the Black Hawks'

playoff The playoffs, play-offs, postseason or finals of a sports league are a competition played after the regular season by the top competitors to determine the league champion or a similar accolade. Depending on the league, the playoffs may be eithe ...

series against the Bruins. He recorded one shutout, but Chicago was eliminated by Boston. He then left the NHL to join the

during the

, joking that "it was safer to face Nazi U-boats in the North Atlantic than vulcanized rubber in North America."

Military service

LoPresti joined the Navy's armed guard service and served aboard the SS ''Roger B. Taney'' as a

gunner's mate The United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating of gunner's mate (GM) is a designation given by the Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) to enlisted sailors who either satisfactorily complete initial Gunner's Mate "A" sch ...

, assigned to duty protecting ships as they crossed the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was torpedoed and sunk during an Atlantic crossing in February 1943. Listed as

missing in action Missing in action (MIA) is a casualty (person), casualty classification assigned to combatants, military chaplains, combat medics, and prisoner of war, prisoners of war who are reported missing during wartime or ceasefire. They may have been ...

, LoPresti was thought to be the first casualty among American professional athletes in the conflict. As the ''Roger B. Taney'' sank, LoPresti and the other Naval Armed Guards abandoned the ship on rafts, which were picked up the next morning by the lifeboats. He was one of 26 men who took refuge in the number 4 lifeboat with little water and food supplies. The lifeboat traveled towards the South American coast in a voyage of 42 days, traveling nearly southwest, before it were found and rescued off the coast of

. The men had collected rain water when they could, at times drinking only per day, and had only a small amount of biscuits and baker's chocolate for food. LoPresti was credited with saving the men's lives by catching the only real food they had during their entire ordeal after noticing

s swimming around their boat on one occasion. According to another sailor, LoPresti improvised a weapon by lashing a

to a

boat hook A boat hook is part of boating equipment. Its most common use is as a docking and undocking aid. It may be similar to a pike pole, however it commonly has a blunt tip, for pushing during undocking, with a hook for docking. In addition, it may have ...

. He plunged into the ocean and caught a dolphin. The men hauled it into the boat, drank its blood, and cooked its flesh in a metal bucket with rags and kerosene.

Later career and personal life

LoPresti returned to hockey following his ordeal, but never played in the NHL again. He played two seasons in California with the

San Diego Skyhawks The San Diego Skyhawks were a professional ice hockey team based in San Diego, California. Founded in 1941 as members of the Southern California Hockey League (SCHL), the team joined the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) in 1944. The team playe ...

, then returned to Minnesota to play several seasons of

senior hockey Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition. There are no age restrictions for Senior players, who typically consist of those whose Junior eligibility has expired. Senior hockey leagues operate under the jurisdicti ...

. As a member of the

Eveleth Rangers The Eveleth Rangers were an amateur ice hockey team from Eveleth, Minnesota that played in various amateur leagues during the first half of the 1900s. As a member of the United States Amateur Hockey Association (1920–1925) the team was know ...

he was named the most valuable player of the North America Hockey League in 1949–50. He retired from hockey in 1951. In 1973 he became a charter member of the

LoPresti married his wife Carol in 1941, and operated a tavern in Eveleth following his playing career. His son Pete was also an NHL goaltender, making him and Sam the first father-son goaltenders in NHL history.

Death

LoPresti 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 ...

at his home in Eveleth, Minnesota on December 11, 1984.'Former Hawk, LoPresti, dies,' Kenosha News, December 12, 1984, pg. 20

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

*Career statistics:

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lopresti, Sam 1917 births 1940s missing person cases 1984 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople American men's ice hockey goaltenders Businesspeople from Minnesota Chicago Blackhawks players Eveleth Rangers players Formerly missing American people Ice hockey players from Minnesota Kansas City Americans players Military personnel from Minnesota Missing in action of World War II Shipwreck survivors Sportspeople from Eveleth, Minnesota Ice hockey people from St. Louis County, Minnesota St. Paul Saints (AHA) players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees United States Navy personnel of World War II United States Navy sailors