Charlie Hodge

Charlie Hodge may refer to:

See also

Charlie Hodge (guitarist)

Charles Franklin Hodge (December 14, 1934–March 3, 2006), better known as Charlie Hodge, was an American singer, vocal coach and musician who was a confidant and associate of Elvis Presley.

Biography

Early music career

Born in Decatur, Alabama, Hodge began his musical career at age 17 in a gospel quartet, The Path Finders, with Bill Gaither. At 5'3", the tenor singer used an empty Coke crate to stand on as a comedy routine while singing with the quartet. Hodge then joined The Foggy River Boys, and first met Presley in 1955 when Presley came backstage after the group performed in Memphis, Tennessee while visiting to promote ABC-TV's Ozark Jubilee. Before Elvis became a national success he commented to Hodge that he listened to him and his group on the radio. At that time The Foggy River Boys were the number one gospel quartet in the country. As a part of Ozark Jubilee, Hodge was also on network television before Presley.

The Elvis years

After meeting again in 1958, when both men were in the U.S. Army at Fort Hood, Texas, the two became friends; and the tenor singer subsequently became part of Presley's entourage, referred to as the "Memphis Mafia."

Charlie Hodge (ice hockey)

Charles Edward Hodge (born July 28, 1933) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks and Oakland Seals in the National Hockey League.

Early career

Charlie Hodge was born in Lachine, Quebec. Hodge was devoted to becoming a member of the Montreal Canadiens. Charlie Hodge began his hockey career with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens in 1950. In 1952, Hodge began showing his true skills finishing with a 2.22 GAA. The next year, he led the Quebec Junior Hockey League with 35 wins and 5 shutouts. Hodge then moved on to the Cincinnati Mohawks in the International Hockey League. There, he led the league in wins and shutouts and helped the Cincinnati Mohawks win the Turner Cup. In 1955, he played his first game with the Montreal Canadiens.

NHL career

Hodge's first NHL game occurred in 1954 with Montreal. But because teams in that era only carried one goalie, and Montreal had perhaps the best goalie of the era in Jacques Plante, Hodge was only used in emergency situations. During this time, he played mostly in the AHL. When Plante was traded in 1962, Hodge got his chance to play full-time. He twice won the Vezina Trophy for being the goaltender of the team allowing the fewest number of goals during the regular season, once outright in 1963–1964 and shared with Gump Worsley in 1965–1966. Hodge's name appears on the league championship Stanley Cup six times, although he only actually played in one of those finals. He also played 1 game in the finals in 1955, but lost to Detroit. In 1967, young goaltender Rogatien Vachon was called up by the Canadiens. Vachon played superbly, and there was no more room for Hodge. Hodge was left unprotected in 1967 and he was picked up by the Oakland Seals in the 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.