Bruce Gamble is not the best known goalie from the 1960’s and early 1970’s but he did his time and even had number one roles with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. If not for his heart, he may have stuck around long enough with the Flyers to win a Stanley Cup championship. As luck would have it, he was the third goalie for the Maple Leafs in 1966-67 and therefore did not dress for the team’s Stanley Cup run.
Bruce Gamble – Junior and Minor Pro
A native of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Bruce Gamble played four years of junior hockey in his hometown between 1952-53 an 1955-56. His first three years were with the Port Arthur Bruins of the TBJHL and his final of the four was with the Port Arthur North Stars. After that, he moved south to play two years with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters as a prospect of the New York Rangers.
In his first year with the Biltmores, 1956-57, the team finished first overall in the eight team OHL Junior A league. Guelph captured the championship, beating the St. Catherines Teepees in the finals in six games. The team then lost to the Ottawa Junior Canadiens in the Richardson Cup finals, denying the team a berth in the Memorial Cup. Gamble was named the OHA’s First Team All-Star goaltender.
In 1957-58, Guelph dropped to last place in the now seven team league. However, Bruce joined up with the Ottawa-Hull Canadiens for their Memorial Cup run. The team was crowned champions, beating out the Regina Pats in the finals. That year, Gamble also saw his first pro hockey action, appearing in a single American Hockey League game with the Providence Reds.
His first full pro season, 1958-59, was a smashing success. Playing 65 WHL games with the Vancouver Canucks, Gamble recorded seven shutouts and a 3.06 goals against average in a traditionally high scoring league. He was named the league’s rookie of the year and also saw his first action in the NHL, appearing in two games with the New York Rangers.
Gamble played 71 of 72 games for the Providence Reds in 1959-60. Playing the other game was future great Ed Giacomin.
After a stint with the Boston Bruins, Bruce returned to the minors from 1961-62 to 1965-66. During that time, he played for teams in the WHL, EPHL, AHL and CPHL. With the Kingston Frontenacs in 1962-63, Gamble was named a EPHL First Team All-Star, appearing in 68 games and posting a 3.23 GAA for the Kingston, Ontario club.
Bruce Gamble – NHL
Between 1958-59 and 1971-72, Bruce Gamble played in 327 regular season National Hockey League games with the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers. Over that time, he recorded 22 shutouts and posted a career 3.21 goals against average. Gamble played in just five playoff games, three in 1968-69 and two in 1970-71.
Bruce Gamble Collection
His time with the Rangers was limited to just two games in 1958-59. In 1960-61, he took over the number one role with the Boston Bruins, appearing in 52 of the team’s 70 regular season games. He was also number one with the Maple Leafs for three years from 1967-68 to 1969-70.
Bruce topped out with a 61 game season with Toronto in 1968-69. He posted five shutouts in both the 1967-68 and 1969-70 NHL seasons, both with the Maple Leafs.
Midway through the 1970-71 season, Gamble was traded from Toronto to the Philadelphia Flyers with Mike Walton and a draft pick (Pierre Plante) for Bernie Parent. Walton was then traded the same day to the Bruins for Rick MacLeish and Danny Schock.
His time in Philadelphia and the NHL came to an abrupt end on February 9, 1972. Gamble suffered a heart attack while playing against the Vancouver Canucks. However, he completed the game and it wasn’t detected until days later, after traveling with the team to Oakland for a game against the Seals. It would be another heart attack that would ultimately end Bruce’s life on December 30, 1982 at the age of 44.
Bruce Gamble – Rookie Card
The Bruce Gamble rookie card appears as number 3 in the 1962-63 Topps NHL hockey card set. He is shown with the Boston Bruins. After a long absense from the hockey card world, his next appearance was in the 1967-68 Topps set with the Maple Leafs. His final card is included in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee and Topps sets as a member of the Philadelphia Flyers but wearing a Toronto Maple Leafs jersey with the logo painted over.
In both the 1967-68 Topps and 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee cards, the same picture of Bruce is used. However, it looks like the 1969-70 and 1970-71 O-Pee-Chee cards are from the same photo shoot, just from different angles.
Bruce Gamble NHL Stats
| Season | Team | GP | A | PIM | SO | GAA |
| 1958-59 | New York Rangers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.00 |
| 1960-61 | Boston Bruins | 52 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3.71 |
| 1961-62 | Boston Bruins | 28 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 4.32 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 10 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2.51 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.39 |
| 1967-68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 41 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 2.32 |
| 1968-69 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 61 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 2.80 |
| 1969-70 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 52 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 3.06 |
| 1970-71 | Toronto Maple Leafs | 23 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 3.87 |
| 1970-71 | Philadelphia Flyers | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3.36 |
| 1971-72 | Philadelphia Flyers | 24 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2.93 |
| NHL Totals | 327 | 1 | 24 | 22 | 3.21 |