Behind the rookie cards of Rangers greats Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert, the Pat Stapleton rookie card is one of the more significant first year cards in the 1961-62 Topps set.
Although he played the bulk of his National Hockey League career with the Chicago Black Hawks, Stapleton is a member of the Boston Bruins on that first piece of cardboard. He has the distinction of owning a NHL record for defensemen, only to have it broken by Bobby Orr the following year.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Hockey Card Collection
WHA Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Pat Stapleton – Junior and Minors
Whitey played two years in the OHA with the St. Catherines Teepees, 1958-59 and 1959-60. Now the present day Saginaw Spirit of the Ontario Hockey League, the 1959-60 Teepees had a glory year in 1959-60.
The team finished second overall behind the Toronto Marlboros in the seven team league during the regular season. The Max Kaminsky coached Teepees came up against Toronto St. Michael’s in the finals and won the Robertson Cup championship, eight points to three.
St. Catherines then moved on the Eastern Canada Memorial Cup playoffs and took out the Brockville Canadiens, nine points to seven to earn a showdown with the Edmonton Oil Kings for the Canadian junior title. The series was held at Toronto’s Maple Leaf Gardens and the Teepees came out on top in six games for the championship. Over the Memorial Cup playoffs, Stapleton scored five and totalled 14 points over 14 games from the point.
Pat’s first year of pro hockey came in 1960-61 as a member of the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds in the EPHL. Pat tied for fourth on the team for points and was their top scoring defenseman. Stapleton tied for fifth in the EPHL for assists. The Thunderbirds reached the finals before losing out to the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens in seven games.
Between his early days with the Boston Bruins and his hay day with the Black Hawks, Stapleton spent time with the Portland Buckaroos in the WHL. In 1964-65, Pat scored 29 goals and assisted on 57 for 86 points over 70 regular season games. He placed third in the league for assists and fourth for points.
Stapleton was awarded the Hal Laycoe Cup that year as the WHL’s top defenseman. It was the first year the award was handed out and, ironically, Hal Laycoe was the head coach of the Buckaroos. Portland went on to win the WHL championship with a 4-1 victory over the Victoria Maple Leafs in the final series.
Pat Stapleton – NHL
Stapleton played in 635 regular season National Hockey League games between 1961-62 and 1972-73 with Boston and Chicago. Over that time, he scored 43 goals and assisted on 294 for 337 points. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Pat played an additional 65 games, contributing 49 points.
Pat Stapleton Collection
Never a Stanley Cup champion, he came close twice with the Black Hawks. In 1970-71, Chicago reached the finals and pushed the Montreal Canadiens the full seven games before bowing out. Pat had 17 points over 18 playoff games, placing him third on the team behind Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.
In 1972-73, it was a bit of deja vu. Chicago once again met up with the Canadiens in the Stanley Cup finals. This time, it took six games for Montreal to eliminate the Blackhawks. Over 16 playoff games, Stapleton totalled 17 points, once again placing him third on the team, this time behind Dennis Hull and Mikita.
In 1968-69, Pat assisted on 50 goals, setting a new single season mark for defensemen in the NHL. Unfortunately, Bobby Orr came into his own the following season and assisted on 87. Orr then shattered his own mark with 102 after that.
Pat was a member of the Canadian team at the 1972 Summit Series with the Soviet Union. He played in seven games and went without a point.
Pat Stapleton – WHA
Pat jumped to the World Hockey Association for the 1973-74 season, the second year for the rebel league. He played 372 regular season games in the WHA from 1973-74 to 1977-78, scoring 27 and assisting on 212 for 239 points. He played an additional 28 playoff games and totalled 23 points.
Over his time in the WHA, Stapleton played for the Chicago Cougars, Indianapolis Racers and Cincinnati Stingers. He was player/head coach of the Cougars over his two years there and the team reached the Avco World Trophy finals in 1973-74. Unfortunately, Chicago came up against the Howe family and the Houston Aeros easily swept the Cougars in four.
In that first year, Pat placed ninth in the WHA with 52 assists over 78 regular season games. He was awarded the Dennis A. Murphy Trophy as the WHA’s top defenseman.
In 1974, he once again represented Canada at the second Summit Series with the Soviet Union. This time, the Canadian team was made up of players from the WHA. This time, the Soviet Union won, winning four and tying three of the eight games played. Stapleton played all eight games and added two assists.
In 1978-79, he stayed in the league as head coach of the Indianapolis Racers. Despite having Wayne Gretzky in the lineup, the team was dismal and folded 25 games into the final year of existence for the WHA.
Pat Stapleton – Rookie Card
The Pat Stapleton rookie card appears as number 18 in the 1961-62 Topps set and is valued at around double that of a common card. The Stapleton hockey card is one of the most significant in a secondary group of rookies that includes Ted Green, Dallas Smith and Denis Dejordy. Leading the way for RC’s that year were the New York Rangers duo of Jean Ratelle and Rod Gilbert with each of their cards valued six times greater than the Stapleton RC.
Pat Stapleton Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1958-59 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 49 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 18 |
| 1959-60 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 47 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 83 |
| 1959-60 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1960-61 | SSM Thunderbirds | EPHL | 59 | 5 | 43 | 48 | 22 |
| 1961-62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 69 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 42 |
| 1962-63 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 49 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 92 |
| 1962-63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 21 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 |
| 1963-64 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 70 | 5 | 44 | 49 | 80 |
| 1964-65 | Portland Buckaroos | WHL | 70 | 29 | 57 | 86 | 61 |
| 1965-66 | St. Louis Braves | CPHL | 14 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 |
| 1965-66 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 55 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 52 |
| 1966-67 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 3 | 31 | 34 | 54 |
| 1967-68 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 67 | 4 | 34 | 38 | 34 |
| 1968-69 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 75 | 6 | 50 | 56 | 44 |
| 1969-70 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 49 | 4 | 38 | 42 | 28 |
| 1970-71 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 76 | 7 | 44 | 51 | 30 |
| 1971-72 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 78 | 3 | 38 | 41 | 47 |
| 1972-73 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 75 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 14 |
| 1973-74 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 78 | 6 | 52 | 58 | 44 |
| 1974-75 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 68 | 4 | 30 | 34 | 38 |
| 1975-76 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 80 | 5 | 40 | 45 | 48 |
| 1976-77 | Indianapolis Racers | WHA | 81 | 8 | 45 | 53 | 29 |
| 1977-78 | Cincinnati Stingers | WHA | 65 | 4 | 45 | 49 | 28 |
| NHL Totals | 635 | 43 | 294 | 337 | 353 | ||
| WHA Totals | 372 | 27 | 212 | 239 | 187 |