In a five year span between 1963-64 and 1967-68, Jim Pappin ended his hockey season with a championship celebration. Over that time, he won two Stanley Cup rings with the Toronto Maple Leafs and three Calder Cup championships with the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League. However, Pappin is best known for his years as an offensive producer with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Jim Pappin – Junior and Minors
Pappin played two years of junior in the OHA with the Toronto Marlboros, 1958-59 and 1959-60. In his second season, Jim scored 40 goals and assisted on 34 for 74 points over 48 games. He led the Marlboros in goals, assists and points. Pappin was the OHA’s third leading goal scorer, behind Ray Cullen and Wayne Connelly. He placed tenth in the league for assists and sixth for points.
His AHL career was intermingled with his early years in the National Hockey League. Pappin appeared in 275 regular season games in the AHL between 1960-61 and 1967-68. Over that time he scored 134 goals and assisted on 124 for 258 points. He played an additional 37 playoff games, adding 39 points. All his time in the AHL was spent with the Rochester Americans.
Jim Pappin Collection
in 1964-65, Pappin played in 22 games with the Americans while also appearing in 44 games for the Maple Leafs. In the Calder Cup playoffs, Jim scored 11 goals and assisted on five for 16 points over ten games. The Amerks won the Calder Cup championship, downing the Hershey Bears in five games in the finals.
The following year, 1965-66, Jim played just seven games in the NHL with Toronto and 63 in the AHL with the Americans. In his 63 games, Pappin scored 36 goals and assisted on 51 for 87 points. He tied for seventh in the AHL for goals, tied for fifth for assists and placed fourth in the league for points. In the playoffs, Pappin added 15 points over 12 games. Rochester captured the Calder Cup with a 4-2 victory over the Cleveland Barons in the finals.
After leading all players in the 1966-67 Stanley Cup playoffs with 15 points, Jim found himself back with the Americans the following year. He appeared in 58 games with the Maple Leafs and just five regular season games with the Americans. Pappin played all eleven games in the Calder Cup playoffs, contributing eight points as the Amerks took out the Quebec Aces in six games in the finals to win yet another championship.
Jim Pappin – NHL
Pappin appeared in the National Hockey League from 1963-64 to 1976-77 with the Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, California Seals and Cleveland Barons. He played 767 regular season games, scoring 278 and assisting on 295 for 573 points. He played an impressive 92 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring 33 and totalling 67 points.
In his first year in the NHL, he played 50 games for the Maple Leafs and all eleven playoff games. Toronto won their third consecutive Stanley Cup championship, facing off against the Detroit Red Wings in the finals. Detroit pushed Toronto to the seven game limit.
For what he did in 1966-67, Jim is perhaps the most unsung hero in Toronto Maple Leafs history. Over 12 playoff games, Pappin scored seven goals and totalled 15 points. He led all players in the playoffs for goals and points. Toronto won the championship in six games over the Montreal Canadiens. It was Pappin’s goal that clinched the victory in game six. Despite all that, he stood in Dave Keon’s shadow when it came to the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
In May, 1968, Pappin was traded to the Black Hawks for defenseman Pierre Pilote. Pilote played just one more year in the NHL while Pappin starred with Chicago for several more years. With the Blackhawks, Jim went to the Stanley Cup finals twice more but did not win another championship.
In 1970-71, Chicago fell to the Montreal Canadiens in seven games. In 1972-73, it was once again the Habs ruining the party for the Blackhawks, winning the series in six. 1972-73 was the personnal pinnacle of Pappin’s career. He scored 41 goals and assisted on 51 for 92 points over 76 regular season games. Jim tied for sixth in the league with Garry Unger and Jean Ratelle in the goals category. He placed tenth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy.
Jim Pappin – Rookie Card
The Jim Pappin rookie card appears as number 64 in the 1964-65 Topps set. It was the first year that Topps was the lone dog in the hockey card market with Parkhurst out of the picture. It was the year of the Tall Boys cards. The Pappin card is valued at around three times that of a common card.
Even in the hockey card world, Pappin goes underrated. In the most valuable rookie card department, Jim falls behind ‘superstars’ Marcel Paille and Gary Dornhoefer. Of course, those two were part of the much scarcer second series and their value is purely supply and demand.
Jim Pappin Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1958-59 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 54 | 17 | 18 | 35 | 86 |
| 1959-60 | Sudbury Wolves | EPHL | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1959-60 | Toronto Marlboros | OHA | 48 | 40 | 34 | 74 | 126 |
| 1960-61 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 22 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 4 |
| 1960-61 | Sudbury Wolves | EPHL | 46 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 74 |
| 1961-62 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 69 | 28 | 21 | 49 | 105 |
| 1962-63 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 72 | 34 | 23 | 57 | 100 |
| 1963-64 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 16 | 10 | 6 | 16 | 16 |
| 1963-64 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 50 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 33 |
| 1964-65 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 22 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 36 |
| 1964-65 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 44 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 33 |
| 1965-66 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 63 | 36 | 51 | 87 | 116 |
| 1965-66 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 1966-67 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 6 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 4 |
| 1966-67 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 64 | 21 | 11 | 32 | 89 |
| 1967-68 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 5 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 16 |
| 1967-68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 13 | 15 | 28 | 37 |
| 1968-69 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 75 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 49 |
| 1969-70 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 66 | 28 | 25 | 53 | 68 |
| 1970-71 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 58 | 22 | 23 | 45 | 40 |
| 1971-72 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 64 | 27 | 21 | 48 | 38 |
| 1972-73 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 76 | 41 | 51 | 92 | 82 |
| 1973-74 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 78 | 32 | 41 | 73 | 76 |
| 1974-75 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 71 | 36 | 27 | 63 | 94 |
| 1975-76 | California Seals | NHL | 32 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 12 |
| 1976-77 | Cleveland Barons | NHL | 24 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 8 |
| NHL Totals | 767 | 278 | 295 | 573 | 667 |