He had some of the softest hands in hockey during his playing career. Fred Stanfield was a setup man right from his junior days with the St. Catherines Black Hawks in the OHA and excelled in the shadow of Phil Esposito and Bobby Orr in the glory days of the Boston Bruins. Yet, underappreciated, the Fred Stanfield 1965-66 Topps rookie card is valued as a lowly common card.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Hockey Card Collection
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Fred Stanfield – Junior and Minor Pro
Fred Stanfield played his junior hockey in St. Catherines from 1961-62 to 1963-64. In the first year, the franchise was called the St. Catherines Teepees. After that year, the nickname changed to the Black Hawks. That franchise, after relocations to Niagara Falls and North Bay, is now the Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League.
In his final year with the OHA Black Hawks, Fred scored 34 goals and assisted on 75 for 109 points over 56 games. He placed second in the league for assists, 12 behind the leader Andre Boudrias of the Montreal Junior Canadiens. His 109 points placed him third in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy behind Boudrias and Yvan Cournoyer, also from Montreal.
Stanfield jumped right into a regular role with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1964-65. However, he took a bit of a step back over the following two years, splitting his time between Chicago and the St. Louis Braves of the CPHL.
Fred finished his pro career in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears in 1978-79. He played 50 games for the AHL club before stepping behind the bench for the last portion of the season. As head coach of the Bears, Stanfield saw 31 games during the regular season with the team placing second in the five team Southern Division. Hershey then fell in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs to the Binghamton Dusters.
Stanfield took on one last head coaching role in 1979-80 when he took over as head coach of the Niagara Falls Flyers in the OHL. He replaced Barry Boughner midseason and led the Flyers to the second round of the Robertson Cup playoffs before falling to the Windsor Spitfires.
Fred Stanfield – NHL
Over 914 NHL regular season games, Fred Stanfield scored 211 goals and assisted on 405 for 616 points while sitting just 134 minutes in the penalty box. Fred played an additional 106 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding 56 points while being called for just five minor penalties.
Fred Stanfield Collection
Stanfield appeared in the National Hockey League from 1964-65 to 1977-78 with the Blackhawks, Bruins, Minnesota North Stars and Buffalo Sabres. Fred was part of one of hockey’s most famous trades on May 15, 1967. Stanfield, Phil Esposito and Ken Hodge went to the Bruins from Chicago, in exchange for Gilles Marotte, Pit Martin and Jack Norris.
He was part of two Stanley Cup champions with Boston in 1969-70 and 1971-72. With the Sabres, Fred got another shot at the Cup in 1974-75, losing in the finals to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Fred was inexplicably denied the Lady Byng Trophy during his National Hockey League career. Especially with the Sabres, Stanfield played a clean style of hockey that kept him out of the sin bin. Over 248 regular season games with Buffalo between mid 1974-75 and 1977-78, Fred accumulated just 16 PIM. In 1975-76, Fred had just two minor penalties while playing the full 80 game schedule. Yet, Jean Ratelle of the Bruins was awarded the Lady Byng while sitting 18 minutes over 80 games.
In each of his six seasons with Boston, Stanfield scored 20 or more goals. However, it was his soft hands that made an impact. In 1967-68, his 44 assists were good for seventh in the NHL. In 1970-71, Fred tied for sixth with J.C. Tremblay of the Montreal Canadiens, Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks and Jude Drouin of the Minnesota North Stars, all with 52 assists.
It got even better in 1971-72, his second Stanley Cup season. Stanfield’s 56 assists tied him for fourth in the NHL with Vic Hadfield of the New York Rangers. The following year, the number of assists increased to 58 but it placed him just seventh in the league.
Fred is one of three Stanfield brothers to play in the NHL. Jack played just one game in the league with the Chicago Blackhawks during the 1965-66 playoffs. He also played in the WHA with the Houston Aeros in 1972-73 and 1973-74. Brother Jim Stanfield played seven games with the Los Angeles Kings between 1969-70 and 1971-72.
Fred Stanfield – Rookie Card
The Fred Stanfield rookie card appears as number 63 in the 1965-66 Topps set (click link to see images of the front and back of this hockey card). He is shown as a member of the Chicago Blackhawks. The card is valued as a common.
Stanfield’s final card was included in the 1978-79 O-Pee-Chee set. However, he did not appear with the Sabres that season, finishing out his career in the AHL with the Hershey Bears.
Fred’s 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee card, among others, refers to him being one of seven hockey playing Stanfield brothers, something we looked at above with Jim and Jack both appearing in the NHL.
Fred Stanfield Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1961-62 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 49 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 19 |
| 1962-63 | St. Catharines Black Hawks | OHA | 48 | 28 | 39 | 67 | 25 |
| 1963-64 | St. Catharines Black Hawks | OHA | 56 | 34 | 75 | 109 | 29 |
| 1964-65 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 58 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 14 |
| 1965-66 | St. Louis Braves | CPHL | 24 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 2 |
| 1965-66 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 39 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 |
| 1966-67 | St. Louis Braves | CPHL | 37 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 10 |
| 1966-67 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 1967-68 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 73 | 20 | 44 | 64 | 10 |
| 1968-69 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 71 | 25 | 29 | 54 | 22 |
| 1969-70 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 73 | 23 | 35 | 58 | 14 |
| 1970-71 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 75 | 24 | 52 | 76 | 12 |
| 1971-72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 23 | 56 | 79 | 12 |
| 1972-73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 20 | 58 | 78 | 10 |
| 1973-74 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 71 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 10 |
| 1974-75 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 40 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 12 |
| 1974-75 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 32 | 12 | 21 | 33 | 4 |
| 1975-76 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 80 | 18 | 30 | 48 | 4 |
| 1976-77 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 79 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 6 |
| 1977-78 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 57 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 2 |
| 1978-79 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 50 | 19 | 41 | 60 | 4 |
| NHL Totals | 914 | 211 | 405 | 616 | 134 |