Alex Delvecchio

Alex Delvecchio
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1977

Born	(1931-12-04) December 4, 1931 Fort William, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Detroit Red Wings
Playing career	1950–1973

A row of six red banners. The banners, from left to right, read "Yzerman 19" "Sawchuk 1" "Delvecchio 10" "Lindsay 7" "Abel 12" "Howe 9". The Yzerman banner has a small "C" at the top right corner.

Delvecchio's #10 banner hanging in Joe Louis Arena.

A large bronze statue of an ice hockey player in the act of shooting the puck. The player's hands and stick are shown numerous times in order to simulate motion. At the base of the statue is inscribed "Alex Delvecchio Born: December 4, 1931 Fort William, Ontario, Canada

Statue of Delvecchio at Joe Louis Arena.

Alexander Peter "Fats" Delvecchio (born December 4, 1931) is a former ice hockey player, coach, and general manager who spent his entire National Hockey League (NHL) playing, coaching, and managerial careers with the Detroit Red Wings. He played in 1549 games across 24 seasons where he amassed 456 goals, 825 assists, and 1281 points. At the time of his retirement he was second in league history in games played, assists, and points. He won the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct three times, was a member of three Stanley Cup winning teams, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977. Delvecchio, Steve Yzerman, and Nicklas Lidstrom are the only players to have played in over 1500 games while also spending their entire career with one club, all three having played in Detroit.

Playing career

After playing a single junior league season for the Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) (during which he led the league in assists) and six games with the Indianapolis Capitals of the American Hockey League (AHL) Delvecchio joined the Red Wings for the 1951–52 NHL season and helped the team to win the Stanley Cup that year. He would go on to excel both at centre and left wing for twenty-two full seasons and parts of two others, and was notable for his spot on the Production Line with linemates Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. No player except Lidstrom in NHL history played more games in a career spent with only one team. Despite his impressive career, Delvecchio was never the Red Wings' leading point scorer in a season. The closest he ever came was in the 1969–70 NHL season, where he was just 3 points behind Howe for the team lead.

Following his retirement as a player in 1973 Delvecchio served two stints as Detroit's head coach and one as General Manager until leaving hockey in 1977 to go into business. Delvecchio is an "Honored Member" of the Detroit Red Wings Alumni Association and is active in its efforts to raise money for children's charities in Metro Detroit. At the time of his retirement, he ranked second in nearly every significant offensive category in Red Wings history behind only Howe. He has since been passed in most of those categories by Yzerman, and in assists by Lidstrom as well, but only Howe and Lidstrom have played more games as a Red Wing.

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1947–48	Fort William Rangers	TBJHL	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1948–49	Fort William Rangers	TBJHL	12	16	8	24	53	1	2	0	2	0
1948–49	Port Arthur Bruins	M-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	5	2	2	4	1
1949–50	Fort William Rangers	TBJHL	18	16	20	36	36	5	4	4	8	15
1950–51	Oshawa Generals	OHA-Jr.	54	49	72	121	36	5	4	10	14	5
1950–51	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	1	0	0	0	0	—	—	—	—	—
1951–52	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	65	15	22	37	22	8	0	3	3	4
1951–52	Indianapolis Capitals	AHL	6	3	6	9	4	—	—	—	—	—
1952–53	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	16	43	59	28	6	2	4	6	2
1953–54	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	69	11	18	29	34	12	2	7	9	7
1954–55	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	69	17	31	48	37	11	7	8	15	2
1955–56	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	25	26	51	24	10	7	3	10	2
1956–57	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	48	16	25	41	8	5	3	2	5	2
1957–58	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	21	38	59	22	4	0	1	1	0
1958–59	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	19	35	54	6	—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	19	28	47	8	6	2	6	8	0
1960–61	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	27	35	62	26	11	4	5	9	0
1961–62	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	26	43	69	18	—	—	—	—	—
1962–63	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	20	44	64	8	11	3	6	9	2
1963–64	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	23	30	53	11	14	3	8	11	0
1964–65	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	68	25	42	67	16	7	2	3	5	4
1965–66	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	31	38	69	16	12	0	11	11	4
1966–67	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	70	17	38	55	10	—	—	—	—	—
1967–68	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	74	22	48	70	14	—	—	—	—	—
1968–69	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	72	25	58	83	8	—	—	—	—	—
1969–70	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	73	21	47	68	24	4	0	2	2	0
1970–71	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	21	34	55	6	—	—	—	—	—
1971–72	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	75	20	45	65	22	—	—	—	—	—
1972–73	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	77	18	53	71	13	—	—	—	—	—
1973–74	Detroit Red Wings	NHL	11	1	4	5	2	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			1549	456	825	1281	383	121	35	69	104	29

Achievements

Third all-time in games played in a Red Wings uniform (Nicklas Lidstrom and Gordie Howe).
Retired as the overall leader and held record for 32 years for games played in a career spent with only one team (from 1980 until 2012), since passed by Lidstrom, still a record for forwards.
3-time Stanley Cup champion with Detroit (1952, 1954, 1955).
Named a Second Team All-Star in 1953 (at centre) and 1959 (at left wing).
Played in the All-Star Game 13 times (in 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965 and 1967), a total surpassed by only six players.
Served as team captain for twelve years, a mark surpassed only in Wings' history by Steve Yzerman.
Remains 11th all-time in NHL history in games played and 27th in points scored.
Third in points & goals and fourth in assists in Red Wings history
In 1998, he was ranked number 82 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
Detroit Red Wings #10 retired on November 10, 1991
On October 16, 2008, The Red Wings unveiled a commemorative statue commissioned by artist Omri R. Amrany.

NHL coaching record

Team	Year	Regular season						Post season
Team	Year	G	W	L	T	Pts	Finish	Result
Detroit Red Wings	1973–74	67	27	31	9	(63)	6th in East	Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings	1974–75	80	23	45	12	58	4th in Norris	Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings	1975–76	54	19	29	6	(44)	4th in Norris	Missed playoffs
Detroit Red Wings	1976–77	44	13	26	5	(31)	5th in Norris	(resigned)
Total		245	82	131	32

References

External links

Preceded by Gordie Howe	Detroit Red Wings captain 1962–73	Succeeded by Nick Libett rotating captaincy begins
Preceded by Ted Garvin	Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings 1973–1975	Succeeded by Doug Barkley
Preceded by Doug Barkley	Head coach of the Detroit Red Wings 1976	Succeeded by Larry Wilson
Preceded by Ned Harkness	General Manager of the Detroit Red Wings 1974–77	Succeeded by Ted Lindsay
Preceded by Camille Henry	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1959	Succeeded by Don McKenney
Preceded by Bobby Hull	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1966	Succeeded by Stan Mikita
Preceded by Stan Mikita	Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1969	Succeeded by Phil Goyette

Italian American Sports Hall of Fame

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