Babe Pratt

Babe Pratt
Babe Pratt
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1966
Born	January 7, 1916; Stony Mountain, Manitoba, Canada
Died	December 16, 1988 (aged 72); Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	212 lb (96 kg; 15 st 2 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Left
Played for	New York Rangers ; Toronto Maple Leafs ; Boston Bruins
Playing career	1935–1952

Walter Peter "Babe" Pratt (January 7, 1916 – December 16, 1988) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman/left winger who played for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in the National Hockey League between 1935 and 1947. He is the father of the NHL hockey player, Tracy Pratt.

Babe was an important member of two Stanley Cup winning teams, the 1940 Rangers and 1945 Maple Leafs. He won the Hart Trophy in 1944. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

In January, 1946 Pratt was caught betting on hockey games and was subsequently suspended from the NHL. Pratt admitted to gambling but denied ever placing a bet against his own team. After promising to quit betting he was reinstated to the Toronto Maple Leafs. His last NHL season was with the Boston Bruins in 1946–47 and he played in the minors after that.^[1]^[2]

He subsequently worked as an analyst for CBC Television's Hockey Night In Canada telecasts from Vancouver in the 1970s and served as a goodwill ambassador of the Vancouver Canucks. Pratt died of a heart attack in the media lounge of the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver during the first intermission of a Canucks game on December 16, 1988.^[3]^[4]^[5] The Canucks honored Pratt's memory by stitching "BABE" on their sweaters for the remainder of the hockey season.

In 1998, he was ranked number 96 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1933–34	Kenora Thistles	MJHL	16	14	7	21	33	9	6	2	8	18
1933–34	Kenora Thistles	M-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	4	4	4	8	14
1934–35	Kenora Thistles	MJHL	18	19	23	42	18	2	0	4	4	2
1935–36	New York Rangers	NHL	17	1	1	2	16	—	—	—	—	—
1935–36	Philadelphia Ramblers	Can-Am	28	7	8	15	48	4	0	0	0	2
1936–37	New York Rangers	NHL	47	8	7	15	23	9	3	1	4	11
1937–38	New York Rangers	NHL	47	5	14	19	56	2	0	0	0	2
1938–39	New York Rangers	NHL	48	2	19	21	20	7	1	2	3	9
1939–40	New York Rangers	NHL	48	4	13	17	61	12	3	1	4	18
1940–41	New York Rangers	NHL	47	3	17	20	52	3	1	1	2	6
1941–42	New York Rangers	NHL	47	4	24	28	65	6	1	3	4	34
1942–43	New York Rangers	NHL	4	0	2	2	6	—	—	—	—	—
1942–43	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	40	12	25	37	44	6	1	2	3	8
1943–44	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	50	17	40	57	30	5	0	3	3	4
1944–45	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	50	18	23	41	39	13	2	4	6	8
1945–46	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL	41	5	20	25	36	—	—	—	—	—
1946–47	Boston Bruins	NHL	31	4	4	8	25	—	—	—	—	—
1946–47	Hershey Bears	AHL	21	5	10	15	23	11	3	5	8	19
1947–48	Cleveland Barons	AHL	17	1	4	5	8	—	—	—	—	—
1947–48	Hershey Bears	AHL	36	2	14	16	39	2	0	0	0	0
1948–49	New Westminster Royals	PCHL	63	18	48	66	64	12	1	8	9	10
1949–50	New Westminster Royals	PCHL	59	8	29	37	56	18	2	6	8	22
1950–51	New Westminster Royals	PCHL	65	8	15	23	54	7	0	0	0	4
1951–52	Tacoma Rockets	PCHL	63	7	31	38	20	5	0	1	1	0
NHL totals			517	83	209	292	473	63	12	17	29	100

Awards and achievements

MJHL Scoring Champion (1935)
Turnbull Cup MJHL Championship (1934)
Stanley Cup championship (1940 and 1945)
NHL First All-Star team Defence (1944)
Hart Memorial Trophy winner (1944)
NHL second All-Star team Defence (1945)
Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966
Inducted into the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame and Museum in 1990
Selected to Manitoba's All-Century first All-Star team
Honoured Member of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame
In 1998, he was ranked number 96 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, was ranked No. 47 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons^[6]
Tied for most assists by a defenceman in one game with 6
Scored the game-winning goal for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1945 Stanley Cup Finals

References

^ "Pratt, Leafs' Star, Is Reinstated With Warning Against Gambling; Governors of National Hockey League Rule That Henceforth Any Player Betting on Games Shall Be Barred for Life". The New York Times. 1946-02-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
^ "Sens' Pinto inks deal prior to gambling ban return". ESPN.com. 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
^ Ap (1988-12-18). "Babe Pratt, 72, a Former Ranger And Hall of Fame Member, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
^ "Archives: Babe dies while watching Canucks game". Vancouver Is Awesome. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
^ "Death of Walter 'Babe' Pratt". The Berkshire Eagle. 1988-12-18. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-01-26.
^ Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 118. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Bill Cowley	Winner of the Hart Trophy 1944	Succeeded by Elmer Lach

[1] "Pratt, Leafs' Star, Is Reinstated With Warning Against Gambling; Governors of National Hockey League Rule That Henceforth Any Player Betting on Games Shall Be Barred for Life". The New York Times. 1946-02-15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-26.

[2] "Sens' Pinto inks deal prior to gambling ban return". ESPN.com. 2024-01-19. Retrieved 2024-01-26.

[3] Ap (1988-12-18). "Babe Pratt, 72, a Former Ranger And Hall of Fame Member, Dies". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-01-26.

[4] "Archives: Babe dies while watching Canucks game". Vancouver Is Awesome. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2024-01-26.

[5] "Death of Walter 'Babe' Pratt". The Berkshire Eagle. 1988-12-18. p. 27. Retrieved 2024-01-26.

[6] Cohen, Russ; Halligan, John; Raider, Adam (2009). 100 Ranger Greats: Superstars, Unsung Heroes and Colorful Characters. John Wiley & Sons. p. 118. ISBN 978-0470736197. Retrieved February 3, 2020.

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