King Clancy

King Clancy
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1958
Clancy with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1930s
Born (1902-02-25)February 25, 1902
Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
Died November 8, 1986(1986-11-08) (aged 84)
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 155 lb (70 kg; 11 st 1 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Ottawa Senators
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1921–1937
Tom "King" Clancy, father of Frank and the original "King Clancy", was a famous rugby football player around the turn of the twentieth century with Ottawa College and the Ottawa Rough Riders.

Francis Michael "King" Clancy (February 25, 1902 – November 8, 1986) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, referee, coach and executive. Clancy played 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. He was a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams and won All-Star honours. After he retired in 1937, he remained in hockey, becoming a coach for the Montreal Maroons. Clancy next worked for 11 seasons as a referee in the NHL.

He joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization and worked as a coach and team executive from that point until his death in 1986.

In 2017 Clancy was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1]

Clancy's nickname "King" originates from his father Tom, who was the first 'King Clancy' and played football with the Ottawa Rough Riders. At the time the football was not snapped as is done today, but was 'heeled' back from the line. Frank's father was very good at this and was named 'King of the Heelers' or 'King' for short.[2] This nickname was eventually transferred to Frank.

  1. ^ "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  2. ^ McFarlane, p. 20.