Stephen Black (March 31, 1927 – June 12, 2008) was a Canadian 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 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 ...

with 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 ...

and

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 ...

between 1949 and 1951. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1946 to 1954, was spent in the minor leagues. Black won the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

with Detroit in

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 ...

Junior career

Steve Black played five years for the

Port Arthur Flyers The Port Arthur Marrs were a junior ice hockey team that played in Port Arthur, Ontario (now part of the city of Thunder Bay). They were named for trucking company and sponsor W.H. Marr, Ltd., and contested the 1967 Memorial Cup, which they lost t ...

of the

TBJHL The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League (TBJHL) was a Canadian junior ice hockey league that existed from c. 1920 to 1980. The TBJHL operated in Northwestern Ontario, primarily in the Thunder Bay region. The Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League was ...

, making two trips to the Memorial Cup Tournament before joining the

Pacific Coast Hockey League The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in three incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952. PCHL 1928–1931 The fir ...

(PCHL).

Professional career

In 1946, Black joined the

Oakland Oaks Oakland Oaks may refer to one of the following sport teams, listed chronologically: *Oakland Oaks (PCL), a minor league baseball team that played in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1955 *Oakland Oaks (ice hockey), a professional ice hockey te ...

of the PCHL and showed enough talent to move up to 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 ...

the following season. After two years in the minors, he joined the

of the

(NHL). The 1949–50 Wings were already deep in offensive talent, with established players such as

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

Ted Lindsay Robert Blake Theodore Lindsay (July 29, 1925 – March 4, 2019) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played as a forward for the Detroit Red Wings and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Lindsay scored over 800 ...

and

Sid Abel Sidney Gerald Abel (February 22, 1918February 8, 2000) was a Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame, Hall of Fame ice hockey, hockey player, coach and general manager in the National Hockey League, most notably for the Detroit Red Wings, and was a member ...

, so Black was told to concentrate on the defensive aspect of the game. As Black's defensive skills increased, his overall game improved, and was he selected to play in the 1950 NHL All Star Game. He won the

with the Red Wings. Black started the 1951 season with Detroit before being traded to the

. He would play 39 games for Chicago that season, which would also be his last in the NHL. Black played in the minor leagues for three more seasons before retiring from hockey in 1954.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards and achievements

Championship (

) *

NHL All Star (Detroit Red Wings)

References

External links

*
Steve Black's Day with the Stanley Cup
{{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Steve 1927 births 2008 deaths Calgary Stampeders (WHL) players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Detroit Red Wings players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Indianapolis Capitals players Milwaukee Sea Gulls players Oakland Oaks (PCHL) players St. Louis Flyers players Ice hockey people from Thunder Bay Stanley Cup champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen