| Murray Armstrong | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 | |||
| Born |
January 1, 1916 Manor, Saskatchewan, Canada | ||
| Died |
December 8, 2010 (aged 94) St. Augustine, Florida, United States | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Playing career | 1937–1946 | ||
| Coaching career | |||
| Playing career | |||
| 1931–1934 | Regina Pats | ||
| 1934–1935 | Regina Victorias | ||
| 1935–1936 | New York Rovers | ||
| 1936–1939 | Syracuse Stars | ||
| 1937–1939 | Toronto Maple Leafs | ||
| 1939–1942 | New York Americans | ||
| 1942–1943 | Regina Army Caps | ||
| 1943–1946 | Detroit Red Wings | ||
| 1946–1947 | Buffalo Bisons | ||
| 1946–1947 | Dallas Texans | ||
| Position(s) | Center | ||
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |||
| 1948–1956 | Regina Pats | ||
| 1956–1977 | Denver | ||
| Head coaching record | |||
| Overall | 460–215–31 (.674) | ||
| Tournaments | 15–7 (.682) | ||
| Accomplishments and honors | |||
| Championships | |||
| 1937 Calder Cup 1958 WIHL regular season champion 1958 NCAA National Champion 1960 WCHA regular season champion 1960 WCHA tournament champion 1960 NCAA National Champion 1961 WCHA regular season champion 1961 WCHA tournament champion 1961 NCAA National Champion 1963 WCHA regular season champion 1963 WCHA tournament champion 1964 WCHA tournament champion 1966 WCHA tournament champion 1968 WCHA regular season champion 1968 WCHA tournament champion 1968 NCAA National Champion 1969 WCHA tournament champion 1969 NCAA National Champion 1971 WCHA tournament champion 1972 WCHA regular season champion 1972 WCHA tournament champion 1973 WCHA regular season champion 1973 WCHA tournament champion | |||
| Awards | |||
| 1947 Herman W. Paterson Cup 1961 WCHA Coach of the Year 1961 Spencer Penrose Award 1968 WCHA Coach of the Year 1974 Colorado Sports Hall of Fame 1977 Lester Patrick Trophy 1981 Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame 1984 Hobey Baker Legend of College Hockey Award 1996 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame 2000 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (Team) 2004 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (Team) 2006 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (Team) 2008 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (Team) 2010 Denver Athletic Hall of Fame (Team) | |||
Murray Alexander Armstrong (January 1, 1916 – December 8, 2010) was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) ice hockey Head Coach.
Armstrong played junior hockey with the Regina Pats before debuting with the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the 1937–38 season. Two years later he was involved in one of the biggest trades of the decade. He, Busher Jackson, Buzz Boll, and Doc Romnes were sent to the New York Americans in exchange for Sweeney Schriner. He played three years with New York before World War II, in which he went to play and coach for the Regina Army Caps. Following his army service, Armstrong was signed by Jack Adams in Detroit, but halfway through his third season he was demoted after Adams called up an 18-year-old named Gordon Howe. In 270 career NHL games, Armstrong scored 67 goals and 121 assists for 188 points.[1]
Following his retirement, Armstrong went on to coach the Regina Pats from 1950–55, and the University of Denver from 1956 to 1977, winning five NCAA Championships, in 1958, 1960, 1961, 1968 and 1969. He is considered one of the top NCAA coaches of all time.
He retired to St. Augustine, Florida, where he remained an avid golfer into his 90s.
His son Rob Armstrong is a former CBS News journalist and the current Retired Professional in Residence at Flagler College.[2]
He died in St. Augustine, Florida on December 8, 2010.[3]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1931–32 | Regina Pats | SJHL | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1932–33 | Regina Pats | SJHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 | ||
| 1933–34 | Regina Pats | SJHL | 2 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1934–35 | Regina Victorias | SSHL | 22 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 15 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1935–36 | New York Rovers | EAHL | 32 | 15 | 23 | 38 | 18 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1936–37 | Syracuse Stars | IAHL | 43 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 8 | 8 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 6 | ||
| 1937–38 | Syracuse Stars | IAHL | 35 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1937–38 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1938–39 | Syracuse Stars | IAHL | 50 | 27 | 27 | 54 | 10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1938–39 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1939–40 | New York Americans | NHL | 47 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1940–41 | New York Americans | NHL | 48 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1941–42 | Brooklyn Americans | NHL | 45 | 6 | 22 | 28 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1942–43 | Regina Army Caps | SSHL | 24 | 29 | 32 | 61 | 36 | 5 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | ||
| 1943–44 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 28 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1944–45 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 50 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 31 | 14 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1945–46 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 40 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1946–47 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 19 | 10 | 8 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1946–47 | Dallas Texans | USHL | 42 | 15 | 31 | 46 | 10 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| NHL totals | 270 | 67 | 121 | 188 | 72 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | ||||
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Denver Pioneers (WIHL) (1956–1958) | |||||||||
| 1956-57 | Denver | 12-14-2 | 6-11-1 | 5th | |||||
| 1957-58 | Denver | 24-10-2 | 12-10-0 | t-1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| Denver: | 36-24-4 | 18-21-1 | |||||||
| Denver Pioneers (Independent) (1958–1959) | |||||||||
| 1958-59 | Denver | 22-5-1 | |||||||
| Denver: | 22-5-1 | ||||||||
| Denver Pioneers (WCHA) (1959–1977) | |||||||||
| 1959-60 | Denver | 27-4-3 | 17-4-1 | 1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1960-61 | Denver | 30-1-1 | 17-1-0 | 1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1961-62 | Denver | 17-11-2 | 11-7-0 | 3rd | WCHA third-place game (Loss) | ||||
| 1962-63 | Denver | 23-9-1 | 12-6-0 | 1st | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1963-64 | Denver | 20-7-4 | 7-2-1 | 2nd | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1964-65 | Denver | 18-8-2 | 4-7-1 | 6th | |||||
| 1965-66 | Denver | 18-11-3 | 10-7-3 | 4th | NCAA Consolation Game (Win) | ||||
| 1966-67 | Denver | 22-8-0 | 11-5-0 | 2nd | WCHA Finals | ||||
| 1967-68 | Denver | 28-5-1 | 15-3-0 | 1st | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1968-69 | Denver | 26-6-0 | 14-6-0 | 2nd | NCAA National Champion | ||||
| 1969-70 | Denver | 21-10-1 | 13-8-1 | t-2nd | WCHA Regional Finals | ||||
| 1970-71 | Denver | 25-10-1 | 15-7-0 | 2nd | NCAA Consolation Game (Win) | ||||
| 1971-72 | Denver | 27-11-0 | 19-9-0 | 1st | NCAA Consolation Game (Loss) | ||||
| 1972-73 | Denver | 29-9-1 | 20-8-0 | 1st | NCAA Runner-Up | ||||
| 1973-74 | Denver | 22-13-3 | 15-11-2 | 3rd | WCHA Finals | ||||
| 1974-75 | Denver | 12-23-1 | 9-22-1 | 9th | |||||
| 1975-76 | Denver | 16-23-0 | 12-20-0 | t-7th | WCHA first round | ||||
| 1976-77 | Denver | 21-17-2 | 16-14-2 | 4th | WCHA Semifinals | ||||
| Denver: | 402-186-26 | 237-147-12 | |||||||
| Total: | 460-215-31 | ||||||||
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National champion
Postseason invitational champion
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