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Canadian ice hockey player (1932–2016) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Louis Joseph "Leapin' Louie" Fontinato (January 20, 1932 – July 3, 2016) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers from 1954 to 1961 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1961 to 1963.[1]
| Lou Fontinato | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||
| Born |
January 20, 1932 Guelph, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
July 3, 2016 (aged 84) Guelph, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
New York Rangers Montreal Canadiens | ||
| Playing career | 1954–1963 | ||
Lou Fontinato was a rugged defender and the most feared enforcer of his time. He started his career with New York during the 1954-55 season. The following year, he led the NHL in penalty minutes. Fontinato became the first player in league history to record over 200 minutes in penalties in a season.[2] He also led the league in that category in 1957-58 and 1961–62 (with Montreal). With the Rangers, Fontinato and Gordie Howe had a running feud that culminated in a fight at Madison Square Garden on February 1, 1959, in which Howe broke the nose and dislocated the jaw of "Leapin' Lou".[3] Fontinato was eventually traded to the Montreal Canadiens for Hall-of-Fame great Doug Harvey at the tail-end of his career. Fontinato's career came to an abrupt and violent end in 1963 at the Montreal Forum when he missed a check on left-winger Vic Hadfield of the Rangers behind the Montreal net, slammed head first into the boards, and became paralyzed for a month.[4]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1949–50 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA-B | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1950–51 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 45 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 93 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 48 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1951–52 | Guelph Biltmores | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 12 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 50 | ||
| 1952–53 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 65 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 169 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | ||
| 1953–54 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 63 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 147 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 25 | ||
| 1954–55 | Saskatoon Quakers | WHL | 35 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1954–55 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1955–56 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 202 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1956–57 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 139 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1957–58 | New York Rangers | NHL | 70 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 152 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1958–59 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 149 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 137 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1960–61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 53 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 167 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 23 | ||
| 1962–63 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 141 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 536 | 26 | 78 | 104 | 1247 | 21 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 42 | ||||
Fontinato later ran a cattle operation near Eden Mills, Ontario. He died in Guelph, Ontario on July 3, 2016.[5][6] Fontinato's great nephew, Greg McKegg, is also a professional ice hockey player.
In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, the authors ranked Fontinato at No. 95 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons.[7]
Gilles Groulx's 1964 National Film Board, 30-minute documentary film Un Jeu Si Simple includes footage of Lou Fontinato including his career-ending neck injury vs. NY Rangers on March 9, 1963.
In an email interview with Wayne Gretzky, Gordie Howe said a fight with Lou Fontinato was the most memorable of his career.[8]
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