Bob Pulford played his junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros, where he helped them win two Memorial Cups.  The winning ways would continue in the same city when he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs, the team he played the first 14 of his 16 NHL seasons.

Pulford played at Left Wing, where he proved to be a consistent presence on the lower lines.  Pulford had four 20-Goal seasons, three of which saw him exceed 50 Points.  His greatest asset to the Leafs was his penalty killing, as few in the 1960s were better at playing hockey a man down than Pulford.  Leading the NHL in Short-Handed Goals three times, Pulford had 28 of his 251 Goals with the Buds, with his team at a disadvantage.  His efforts helped Toronto win four Stanley Cups in the 1960s, and he led all skaters in Assists (10) in the 1967 Playoffs.

After he stopped playing, he would become a successful coach and executive for the Chicago Blackhawks, winning the Jack Adams Award as the Coach of the Year in 1975.

Pulford was chosen for the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.

It is not so much that we have an issue with the induction with Bob Pulford, but couldn’t the Hockey Hall of Fame just admit the induction of Pulford was a combination of what he did on the ice and off of it, as frankly he probably is not a Hall of Fame entry without the sum of all of the parts. As a player, he was a five time All Star game participant and helped the Toronto Maple Leafs win four Stanley Cups in the 1960’s. He was an excellent defensive forward, and had a multitude of checks that he mastered to slow attackers. As a Head Coach, he would win the Jack Adams Award (as Coach of the Year) completely turning around the Los Angeles Kings in 1975. Later he would take over the reins in Chicago, and though it was not as good, he still posted a winning record in the Windy City over a seven year period. Overall, the career is a Hall of Fame one, but again we feel it is based on the combination of his on and off ice work.