Behind Doug Jarvis and his 964 consecutive game streak, there is Garry Unger. Unger played 914 consecutive games between 1968 and 1979. He played every game for his teams each season from 1968-69 to 1978-79. In 1970-71, he even played one extra game after being traded from the Detroit Red Wings to the St. Louis Blues mid-season.
The Garry Unger rookie card can be found as card number 142 in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. Unger did not appear in the 1968-69 Topps set. In fact, Garry didn’t make his way onto a Topps card until 1970-71. His rookie card is valued at $30.
Garry Unger – Junior Hockey
After a season in the Ontario Hockey Association with the London Nationals, Unger played his first NHL hockey in 1967-68 with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In 1966-67, he led the Nationals with 73 points in 48 regular season games. His 38 goals placed him in third behind Mickey Redmond of the Peterborough Petes and Derek Sanderson of the Niagara Falls Flyers.
Garry Unger Collection
Garry Unger – NHL Career
Garry played in the NHL from 1967-68 to 1982-83 with the Maple Leafs, Red Wings, Blues, Atlanta Flames, Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers. He played a total of 1,105 regular season games, scoring 413 goals and assisting on 391 for 804 points. He also sat 1,075 minutes in the sin bin.
Perhaps best known for his ironman streak and his awesome hair, Unger goes under the radar as a goal scorer. In 1969-70 with the Detroit Red Wings, his 42 goals placed him second in the National Hockey League, just one goal behind Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins. He also had a 41 goal season in 1972-73 with the St. Louis Blues and finished tied for sixth in the league. For points, he topped out at 83 in 1975-76 with the Blues but was far from the NHL’s top ten.
After his NHL career was over, Unger headed over to England for three years (1985-86 to 1987-88). in 1986-87 with the Peterborough Pirates of the BHL Division 1, he scored 95 goals and assisted on 143 for 238 points in just 30 games.
When the Central Hockey League began operation for the 1992-93 season, Unger was behind the bench for the Tulsa Oilers. Tulsa won the league championship that year, beating the Oklahoma City Blazers in five games in the finals. Garry was named the recipient of the Commissioner’s Trophy as Coach of the Year. The following season, Tulsa went to the finals again, this time falling to the Doug Shedden coached Wichita Thunder in four games.
Garry Unger Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1966-67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1966-67 | London Nationals | OHA | 48 | 38 | 35 | 73 | 60 |
| 1966-67 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 1967-68 | London Nationals | OHA | 2 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 2 |
| 1967-68 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 |
| 1967-68 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 5 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 1967-68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1967-68 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| 1968-69 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 33 |
| 1969-70 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 76 | 42 | 24 | 66 | 67 |
| 1970-71 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 51 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 63 |
| 1970-71 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 28 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 41 |
| 1971-72 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 36 | 34 | 70 | 104 |
| 1972-73 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 41 | 39 | 80 | 119 |
| 1973-74 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 78 | 33 | 35 | 68 | 96 |
| 1974-75 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 36 | 44 | 80 | 123 |
| 1975-76 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 39 | 44 | 83 | 95 |
| 1976-77 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 30 | 27 | 57 | 56 |
| 1977-78 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 32 | 20 | 52 | 66 |
| 1978-79 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 80 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 44 |
| 1979-80 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 79 | 17 | 16 | 33 | 39 |
| 1980-81 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 58 | 10 | 10 | 20 | 40 |
| 1980-81 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| 1981-82 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 46 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 69 |
| 1982-83 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 |
| 1982-83 | Moncton Alpines | AHL | 8 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1985-86 | Dundee Rockets | BHL | 35 | 86 | 48 | 134 | 64 |
| 1986-87 | Peterborough Pirates | BHL | 30 | 95 | 143 | 238 | 58 |
| 1987-88 | Peterborough Pirates | BHL | 32 | 37 | 44 | 81 | 116 |
| NHL Totals | 1105 | 413 | 391 | 804 | 1075 |