Fido Purpur

Clifford Joseph "Fido" Purpur (September 26, 1914 – February 21, 2001) was an American ice hockey player who played five seasons in the National Hockey League for the St. Louis Eagles, Chicago Black Hawks, and Detroit Red Wings between 1934 and 1945. He also played several years of minor hockey, primarily with the St. Louis Flyers of the American Hockey Association. After retiring he became a coach, and led the University of North Dakota from 1949 to 1956.

Fido Purpur
Born (1914-09-26)September 26, 1914
Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA
Died February 21, 2001(2001-02-21) (aged 86)
Grand Forks, ND, USA
Height 5 ft 5 in (165 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Left
Played for St. Louis Eagles
Chicago Black Hawks
Detroit Red Wings
Playing career 1933–1947
Don Norman
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1949–1956North Dakota
Head coaching record
Overall94–75–6 (.554)

Career

Purpur played for the Minneapolis Millers winning a CHL championship in 1934 and went on to play 25 games for the St. Louis Eagles the following season becoming the first person born in North Dakota to play in the National Hockey League. After the Eagles folded the players were disbanded to other NHL teams and Purpur was selected by Toronto.[1] If the NHL ever resold the franchise, proceeds were to go to the Ottawa Hockey Association.[2] Rather than join the Leafs Purpur remained in Missouri and signed on with the AHA's St. Louis Flyers. Purpur played the next six seasons with the Flyers, winning 38 regular season titles and 4 league championships while being one of the top scorers for the team. In 1941 Purpur left St. Louis and joined the Kansas City Americans but received a brief call-up for his second stint in the NHL for the Chicago Black Hawks. In 78 games Purpur recorded no points and he was returned to Kansas City for the remainder of the year.

Due to America's entry into World War II several NHL rosters were depleted of talent and the league scrambled to find replacements. Chicago brought Purpur back and this time he was able to play a full 50-game season, posting 13 goals and 16 assists but Chicago missed out on the playoffs by 1 point when the lost the final two games of the year. Purpur was finally able to make his playoff debut for the Black hawks the next year and, while his team made the finals, they were swept out by the Montreal Canadiens. Purpur split his time in 1944-45 between Chicago and Indianapolis of the newly-formed AHL but after the Capitals bowed out in the first round of the playoffs Purpur made his final appearance in the NHL by appearing in seven playoff games for the Detroit Red Wings. with the war over in 1945 Purpur returned to the minors and finished his playing career in 1947.

Coaching career

A few years after retiring Purpur returned to North Dakota to take over the program at UND. Purpur would spend seven seasons with the Fighting Sioux and shepherded the team through the early years of conference play. His best season came in 1952–53 with a 15-5 record and a third-place finish in the MCHL. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974[3][4] and was awarded North Dakota's highest honor, the Roughrider Award in 1981. During his coaching career, Purpur coached his younger brother Ken.[5] In 1988, he received the Hobey Baker Legends of College Hockey Award.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1931–32 Grand Forks Falcons HS-ND ————— —————
1932–33 Minneapolis Millers CHL 371331613 71126
1933–34 Minneapolis Millers CHL 4415102579 32132
1934–35 Minneapolis Millers CHL 1442629 —————
1934–35 St. Louis Eagles NHL 251238 —————
1935–36 St. Louis Flyers AHA 471351834 71342
1936–37 St. Louis Flyers AHA 327152229 62352
1937–38 St. Louis Flyers AHA 4823153815 70334
1938–39 St. Louis Flyers AHA 4835437834 73364
1939–40 St. Louis Flyers AHA 4632387044 51344
1940–41 St. Louis Flyers AHA 4625164132 95054
1941–42 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 80000 —————
1941–42 Kansas City Americans AHA 3918304819 61051510
1942–43 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 5013162914 —————
1943–44 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 409101913 91120
1944–45 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 2127911 —————
1944–45 Indianapolis Capitals AHL 268142210 51232
1944–45 Detroit Red Wings NHL ————— 70114
1945–46 St. Louis Flyers AHL 5618153321 —————
1946–47 St. Paul Saints USHL 5615233816 —————
AHA totals 306153162315207 4722204230
NHL totals 14425356046 161234

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (Independent) (1949–1951)
1949–50 North Dakota 15–6–2
1950–51 North Dakota 12–12–2
North Dakota: 27–18–4
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (MCHL) (1951–1953)
1951–52 North Dakota 13–11–16–6–04th
1952–53 North Dakota 15–5–011–5–03rd
North Dakota: 28–16–117–11–0
North Dakota Fighting Sioux (WIHL) (1953–1956)
1953–54 North Dakota 14–12–19–6–13rd
1954–55 North Dakota 14–13–19–12–16th
1955–56 North Dakota 11–16–17–13–0t-5th
North Dakota: 39–41–323–31–2
Total:94–75–8

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References
  1. "St Louis Out of Title Hunt: League Buys Franchise Splits Players Among Remaining Eight Clubs". The Leader-Post. 1935-10-16.
  2. Coleman 1967
  3. "Blackhawks Members in the Hall of Fame". Archived from the original on 2006-06-23. Retrieved 2006-11-20.
  4. U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
  5. Jessen, Chris (June 6, 2011). "Olympic medalist has quite a legacy". Rapid City Journal. Retrieved February 24, 2019.
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