Howie Meeker

Howie Meeker
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1998
Howie Meeker being presented the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie in 1947
Born	(1923-11-04) November 4, 1923 (age 93) Kitchener, ON, CAN
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1946–1955

Howard William Meeker, C.M. (born November 4, 1923) is a former right winger in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey and television sports announcer as well as a former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. He was born in Kitchener, Ontario. Meeker is the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs 1947 Stanley Cup team and the inaugural NHL All-Star Game.

Meeker played his junior hockey with the Kitchener Greenshirts in the Ontario Hockey Association. In 1941–42, Meeker joined the Stratford Kist. In only 13 games, he scored 29 goals and had 45 points to lead all players in points. He played one more year of junior hockey before joining the Canadian Army. Meeker was badly injured during the war, but he made a full recovery. In 1945–46, after World War II had ended, Meeker returned to the OHA and played one season with the Stratford Indians.

In 1946–47, Meeker joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in the National Hockey League. He scored 27 goals and 45 points during his NHL debut and he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy. Meeker also played in the 1947 NHL All-Star Game and he also tied an NHL record for most goals by a rookie in one game with five goals against the Chicago Black Hawks. Meeker also won his first Stanley Cup with the Leafs that season, the first of three consecutive Stanley Cups. The season, however, would prove Meeker's best as a pro, and he would never again approach that level of scoring.