In the 1960’s, there were few tougher than Reg Fleming. He led the National Hockey League in penalty minutes one season and was among the top ten for PIM in nine other years.
After a few years of junior with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and St. Michael’s Majors, Fleming turned pro in 1956-57 and carried on until 1976-77. Reg appeared in the QHL, AHL, EPHL, NHL, WHL, WHA, IHL and USHL. He also spent time in the mostly amateur Continental Hockey League in 1977-78.
Fleming’s NHL career spanned from 1959-60 to 1970-71, playing 749 regular season games with the Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Black Hawks, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Buffalo Sabres. He sat 1,468 minutes in the penalty box, big numbers for the era. However, Reg also scored 108 and assisted on 132 for 240 points. Fleming also appeared in 50 Stanley Cup playoff games, contributing nine points and sitting 106 minutes in the sin bin.
Reg Fleming Collection
Glory came early with Reg winning a Stanley Cup championship with the Chicago Black Hawks in 1960-61. That year, he found himself among the penalty leaders for the first time. Reg finished second in the NHL behind just Chicago teammate Pierre Pilote.
By 1965-66, the Stanley Cup had greatly distanced itself from Fleming. He started the year with the fifth place Boston Bruins and was traded after 34 games to the last place New York Rangers. He played an additional 35 games with New York. Boston finished with 48 points while the Rangers tied up the basement with 47. Boston was 26 points behind the fourth place Detroit Red Wings in the six team league. Reg led the league in PIM with 166 over his 69 games, 13 minutes ahead of John Ferguson of the Montreal Canadiens.
From 1960-61 to 1970-71, Fleming was outside the top ten for penalties in just 1961-62. He finished second in 1966-67 as a member of the Rangers, behind only Ferguson from Montreal.
Even in his final year in the National Hockey League, Fleming placed tenth in the league with 159 minutes as a member of the expansion Buffalo Sabres. Buffalo took Reg 15th overall at the 1970 Expansion Draft. He played all 78 regular season games for the Sabres.
Fleming’s last shot at glory fell just short with the Saginaw Gears of the IHL in 1974-75. After playing just nine games for the club during the regular season, Reg scored eight and assisted on 13 for 21 points over 17 playoff games as the Gears marched to the finals. Saginaw met the Toledo Goaldiggers and the series went seven games with each team scoring 35 goals. However, Toledo came out on top, four wins to three. Interestingly, the goaltending duo for Saginaw was Mike Palmateer and Mario Lessard, both destined for the NHL.
Fleming passed away in 2009 while recovering from a stroke and heart attack.
Reg Fleming – Rookie Card
The Reg Fleming rookie card appears as number 26 in the 1961-62 Topps set. The card is rated as a common card. However, the Fleming hockey card has been seen for upwards of $80 on eBay.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1953-54 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | QPJHL | 48 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 47 |
| 1954-55 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | QPJHL | 44 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 139 |
| 1955-56 | Toronto St. Michael’s | OHA | 42 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 93 |
| 1956-57 | Shawinigan Falls Cataracts | QHL | 61 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 109 |
| 1957-58 | Shawinigan Falls Cataracts | QHL | 51 | 6 | 15 | 21 | 227 |
| 1958-59 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 70 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 112 |
| 1959-60 | Kingston Frontenacs | EPHL | 52 | 19 | 49 | 68 | 91 |
| 1959-60 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 9 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 4 |
| 1959-60 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1960-61 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 66 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 145 |
| 1961-62 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 70 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 71 |
| 1962-63 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 64 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 99 |
| 1963-64 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 61 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 140 |
| 1964-65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 136 |
| 1965-66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 34 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 42 |
| 1965-66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 35 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 124 |
| 1966-67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 61 | 15 | 16 | 31 | 146 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 17 | 7 | 24 | 132 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 138 |
| 1969-70 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 65 | 9 | 18 | 27 | 134 |
| 1970-71 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 78 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 159 |
| 1971-72 | Cincinnati Swords | AHL | 11 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 62 |
| 1971-72 | Salt Lake Golden Eagles | WHL | 56 | 20 | 28 | 48 | 134 |
| 1972-73 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 75 | 23 | 45 | 68 | 93 |
| 1973-74 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 45 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 49 |
| 1974-75 | Saginaw Gears | IHL | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 14 |
| NHL Totals | 749 | 108 | 132 | 240 | 1468 | ||
| WHA Totals | 119 | 25 | 57 | 82 | 144 |