Blake, Toe

Toe Blake, byname of Hector Blake, (born August 21, 1912, Victoria Mines, Ontario, Canada—died May 17, 1995, Montreal, Quebec), Canadian ice hockey player and coach who was a strict disciplinarian and brilliant strategist and helped the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) secure 11 Stanley Cup victories, 3 of them as a player and 8 as a coach.

Blake joined the Canadiens in 1936 after two seasons with the Montreal Maroons. As a Canadien, he played left wing on the “punch line” with Maurice (“the Rocket”) Richard and Elmer Lach, two other deadly scorers. In the 1938–39 season Blake was the recipient of both the Art Ross Trophy and the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s leading scorer and most valuable player, respectively. After breaking his ankle in 1948, he retired as a player but found a new career a few months later when he began coaching a minor-league hockey franchise.

In 1955 he returned to the Canadiens as the team’s coach. Blake was defined by an ever-present fedora, a tough yet fair coaching style, and an impressive 13-year record that included nine first-place finishes, eight Stanley Cup trophies, and a .634 winning percentage. After his retirement in 1968, Blake remained a guiding force as a team vice president and as the proprietor of a beer hall that served as the club’s unofficial headquarters. His eight coaching titles were an NHL record until Scotty Bowman coached his ninth championship team in 2002. Blake was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.