Bob Pulford is one of those under-rated players in the history of the National Hockey League. Pulford is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame but probably isn’t well-known outside of Toronto and Chicago. Even his Hockey Hall of Fame Class of 1991 sets off to the side, in the shadow of the double New York Islanders, Denis Potvin and Mike Bossy.
The Bob Pulford Rookie Card
The Bob Pulford rookie card appears as number 29 (Toronto #4) in the 1957-58 Parkhurst set. The card is valued at $150, well behind the Henri Richard rookie card that highlights the set. The Richard hockey card is valued at $600. The complete collection of 50 hockey cards is valued at $3,500.
Bob Pulford Collection
Bob Pulford – The Player
Before his National Hockey League days, Pulford played three years of junior hockey with the Toronto Marlboros between 1953-54 and 1955-56. In the final two years, Pulford helped the Marlboros to consecutive Memorial Cup championships. In each year, Toronto’s opponent was the Regina Pats.
Bob played in the NHL from 1956-57 to 1971-72. He was a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1956-57 to 1969-70. Pulford then spent the final two years of his career with the Los Angeles Kings. He was team captain in Los Angeles in his final year, 1971-72.
Over his NHL career, Pulford played 1,079 regular season games, scoring 281 goals and assisting on 362 for 643 points. In the playoffs, he played an additional 89 games, scoring 25 and assisting on 26 for 51 points. Bob was a member of four Stanley Cup winning teams with the Maple Leafs (1961-62, 1962-63, 1963-64, 1966-67).
As mentioned, Pulford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991, alongside Mike Bossy, Denis Potvin and Clint Smith.
Bob Pulford – The Coach and Executive
After retiring from the Los Angeles Kings as a player, following the 1971-72 season, Pulford immediately jumped behind the bench and took over the reigns as head coach of the club. He coached Los Angeles from 1972-73 to 1976-77. After the 1973-74 season, when the Kings won 33 of 78 and finished with an even .500 record, Bob was awarded the Jack Adams Award the following season. He remains one of the top Los Angeles Kings coaches in the team’s history.
In 1974-75, Pulford orchestrated the greatest regular season Kings team in their history, to date. Los Angeles finished with 42 wins and 105 points over the 80 games schedule. The team finished second in the Norris Division, behind the Montreal Canadiens. The Kings finished fourth overall behind the Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres and Philadelphia Flyers, a trio of teams that finished with 113 points each. The 105 points remain the most for the Kings over a single regular season.
Pulford was awarded the second ever Jack Adams Award by producing those results with a rag-tag bunch that starred Bob Nevin, Mike Murphy, Dan Maloney, Butch Goring and Juha Widing. Of course, Rogie Vachon, a goalie still denied entry to the Hockey Hall of Fame, was the major factor in the team’s success. Marcel Dionne was still with the Detroit Red Wings and wouldn’t arrive in Los Angeles until the following season.
Despite their regular season success, the Kings fell to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the preliminary round, two games to one. The series was close with the first two games going to overtime and the third game won by just a single goal. Yet, Toronto finished third in the four team Adams Division, a game below .500 with 78 points. It was a monumental upset.
Following the 1976-77 season, Pulford moved east to Illinois and the Chicago Black Hawks. He would spend the next 30 years with the Blackhawks in one capacity or another. His titles included Head Coach, General Manager and Senior Vice President of Hockey Operations. 2006-07 was his last year with the club.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1953-54 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 17 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 12 |
| 1954-55 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 47 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 43 |
| 1955-56 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 48 | 30 | 25 | 55 | 87 |
| 1956-57 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 11 | 11 | 22 | 32 |
| 1957-58 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 14 | 17 | 31 | 48 |
| 1958-59 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 23 | 14 | 37 | 53 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 81 |
| 1960-61 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 40 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 41 |
| 1961-62 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 98 |
| 1962-63 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 19 | 25 | 44 | 49 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 73 |
| 1964-65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 19 | 20 | 39 | 46 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 28 | 28 | 56 | 51 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 17 | 28 | 45 | 28 |
| 1967-68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 40 |
| 1968-69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 72 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 20 |
| 1969-70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 74 | 18 | 19 | 37 | 31 |
| 1970-71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 59 | 17 | 26 | 43 | 53 |
| 1971-72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 73 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 48 |
| NHL Totals | 1079 | 281 | 362 | 643 | 792 |