View source for Bruce Gamble

{{for|the American historian|Bruce Gamble (author)}}
{{Infobox ice hockey player
| image = 
| image_size = 230px
| caption =
| alt =
| position = [[Goaltender]]
| catches = Left
| height_ft = 5
| height_in = 9
| weight_lb = 190
| played_for = [[New York Rangers]]<br>[[Boston Bruins]]<br>[[Toronto Maple Leafs]]<br>[[Philadelphia Flyers]]
| birth_date = {{birth date|1938|5|24|mf=y}}
| birth_place = [[Port Arthur, Ontario|Port Arthur]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| death_date = {{death date and age|1982|12|29|1938|5|24|mf=y}}
| death_place = [[Niagara Falls, Ontario|Niagara Falls]], [[Ontario]], Canada
| career_start = 1958
| career_end = 1972
}}
'''Bruce George Gamble''' (May 24, 1938 – December 29, 1982) was a  professional [[ice hockey]] [[goaltender]] who played in the [[National Hockey League]] (NHL) between 1962 and 1972, with some stints in the minor leagues during that time.

==Junior career==
Gamble played three seasons with the Port Arthur Bruins of the [[Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League]] between 1953 and 1955. In the 1955–56 season, he backstopped the [[Port Arthur North Stars]] to a berth in the [[Memorial Cup]].   He did so again the following season with the [[Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters|Guelph Biltmores]] of the [[Ontario Hockey League|OHA]], and was elected to the 1957 OHA first All-Star team.  He made it to the Memorial Cup a third time with the [[Hull-Ottawa Canadiens]] the following year.

==Professional career and after==
Gamble played his first year as a pro with the [[Vancouver Canucks (WHL)|Vancouver Canucks]] of the [[Western Hockey League (1952–1974)|WHL]], and also played two games in the NHL for the New York Rangers. His performance impressed other NHL teams, and the Boston Bruins chose him in the [[1959 NHL Intra-League Draft|1959 intra-league draft]]. After a year with the [[Providence Reds]] in the [[American Hockey League|AHL]], Gamble became the team's starting goalie in 1960–61.  During the next four seasons he played mainly in the minors with the [[Portland Buckaroos#WHL/WIHL era (1960–1975)|Portland Buckaroos]], [[Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL)|Kingston Frontenacs]] and [[Springfield Indians]], and was called up by the Bruins for 28 games in 1961–62.

Gamble refused to go back to the minors in [[1964–65 NHL season|1964–65]], and so the Bruins suspended him from Springfield for the entire season.  The following year he was traded to the [[Toronto Maple Leafs]].

In his first few seasons in Toronto, Gamble was a back-up to [[Hall of Fame]]rs [[Johnny Bower]] and [[Terry Sawchuk]].   He recorded four shutouts in six games in March 1966. In [[1966–67 NHL season|1966–67]], when the Leafs won the [[Stanley Cup]], he played in 23 regular season games and rang up a record of 5–10–4 and a GAA of 3.39.  However, he was sent to the minors to the [[Tulsa Oilers#Tulsa Oilers: 1964–1984 (CHL)|Tulsa Oilers]] before the trading deadline; as a result, he did not spend the whole season with Toronto, and his name was left off the Stanley Cup.  With the loss of Sawchuk in the 1967 NHL expansion draft, Gamble saw more action with the Leafs and established himself as a solid, workhorse goalie.  He played in 41 games in [[1967–68 NHL season|1967–68]], 62 in [[1968–69 NHL season|1968–69]]  and 52 in [[1969–70 NHL season|1969–70]].  He played in the 1968 NHL All-Star game and was named its Most Valuable Player.  He was the last Leaf goalie to play without a mask, finally donning one in 1970-71.  Gamble, along with a first-round selection ([[Pierre Plante]]) in the [[1971 NHL Amateur Draft]], was traded to the [[Philadelphia Flyers]] for [[Bernie Parent]] and a second-round pick ([[Rick Kehoe]]) in the same draft as part of a three-way deal which also involved the [[Boston Bruins]] on [[January 31]], 1971. The Leafs also sent [[Mike Walton]] to the Bruins who shipped [[Rick MacLeish]] and [[Danny Schock]] to the Flyers.<ref>[https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1915&dat=19710201&id=cfAgAAAAIBAJ&sjid=xHMFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1927,116140&hl=en O'Hara, Dave. "Mike Walton Traded to Bruins," ''The Associated Press'', Monday, February 1, 1971.]</ref>

Gamble served mainly as a back-up to [[Doug Favell]] with the Flyers for the rest of that season, appearing in 11 regular season games and two playoff games.   The following year he began to compete for the starting role.  He put in a run of solid performances which ended when he suffered a heart attack during a 3-1 victory over the Vancouver Canucks on February 8, 1972. Although he fell at one point during the game,<ref>Damien Cox and Gord Stellick, ''67: The Maple Leafs, Their Sensational Victory, and the End of an Empire'' (J. Wiley & Sons Canada, 2006), p73; ("He asked teammate [[Barry Ashbee]] who had hit him, and Ashbee told him that nobody had")</ref> he did not complain of problems until afterward, and traveled with the team to Oakland on February 9 for a game that evening against the California Golden Seals. As his chest pains continued, Gamble was admitted to an Oakland hospital where it was found that he had had a heart attack.<ref>"Heart Attack Sidelines Bruce Gamble", Winnipeg ''Free Press'', February 10, 1972, p46</ref> Gamble did not play in the NHL again. Apparently, Gamble went missing for a number of years after 1972, with a multiple news stories stating that neither family nor former associates knew where he resided as late as 1979.<ref>https://newspaperarchive.com/winnipeg-free-press-may-25-1977-p-62/</ref><ref>https://newspaperarchive.com/winnipeg-free-press-mar-15-1979-p-50/</ref>

On December 29, 1982, after a practice session the evening before with an old-timers hockey team, the Niagara Falls Flames, Gamble woke up with chest pains, and died at a hospital in Niagara Falls, Ontario at the age of 44.<ref>Cox and Stellick, at p73-74</ref>

Gamble was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1984.<ref>https://www.chroniclejournal.com/sports/gamble-backstopped-way-to-successful-pro-career/article_77257dd2-bbd4-11ef-8cb7-5b898eb1323c.html</ref>

==Urban legends regarding Gamble==
Because Gamble suffered both heart attacks after playing or practising hockey, accounts have been written that he was taken to a hospital during the 1972 NHL game, or that he "died during an old-timers game".  Neither of Gamble's heart attacks forced him from the ice; he finished the game after the first attack and suffered the second one the morning after a practice session.

==Career statistics==
===Regular season and playoffs===
{| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="width:90%; text-align:center;"
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="9" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Regular season]]
! rowspan="99" bgcolor="#ffffff" |  
! colspan="8" bgcolor="#e0e0e0" | [[Playoffs]]
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! [[Season (sports)|Season]]
! Team
! League
! GP !! W !! L !! T !! MIN !! GA !! [[Shutout#Ice hockey|SO]] !! [[Goals against average|GAA]] !! [[save percentage|SV%]]
! GP !! W !! L !! MIN !! GA !! SO !! GAA !! SV%
|-
| 1952–53
| Port Arthur Bruins
| [[Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League|TBJHL]]
| 11 || — || — || — || 660 || 82 || 0 || 7.45 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1953–54
| Port Arthur Bruins
| TBJHL
| 36 || 20 || 15 || 1 || 2160 || 150 || 0 || 4.17 || —
| 9 || — || — || 540 || 42 || 0 || 4.67 || —
|-
| 1954–55
| Port Arthur Bruins
| TBJHL
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| 1955–56
| [[Port Arthur North Stars]]
| TBJHL
| 31 || 19 || 10 || 2 || 1860 || 97 || 0 || 3.13 || —
| 9 || 8 || 1 || 540 || 27 || 0 || 3.00 || —
|-
| [[1956 Memorial Cup|1955–56]]
| Port Arthur North Stars
| [[Memorial Cup|MC]]
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| 13 || 7 || 6 || 800 || 53 || 0 || 4.74 || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1956–57 OHA season|1956–57]]
| [[Guelph Biltmores]]
| [[Ontario Hockey League|OHA]]
| 40 || — || — || — || 2360 || 102 || 6 || 2.59 || —
| 10 || — || — || 600 || 34 || 0 || 3.40 || —
|-
| [[1957 Memorial Cup|1956–57]]
| Guelph Biltmores
| MC
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| 6 || 1 || 4 || 370 || 28 || 0 || 4.54 || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1957–58 OHA season|1957–58]]
| Guelph Biltmores
| OHA
| 50 || 13 || 32 || 5 || 3000 || 205 || 1 || 4.10 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1957–58 AHL season|1957–58]]
| [[Providence Reds]]
| [[American Hockey League|AHL]]
| 1 || 1 || 0 || 0 || 60 || 1 || 0 || 1.00 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1958 Memorial Cup|1957–58]]
| [[Montreal Junior Canadiens|Hull-Ottawa Canadiens]]
| MC
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
| 13 || 10 || 3 || 610 || 30 || 2 || 2.95 || —
|-
| [[1958–59 NHL season|1958–59]]
| [[New York Rangers]]
| [[National Hockey League|NHL]]
| 3 || 0 || 3 || 0 || 180 || 11 || 0 || 3.67 || .894
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1958–59 WHL season|1958–59]]
| [[Vancouver Canucks (WHL)|Vancouver Canucks]]
| [[Western Hockey League (1952–1974)|WHL]]
| 65 || 29 || 26 || 10 || 3900 || 199 || 7 || 3.06 || .891
| 5 || 2 || 3 || 300 || 11 || 2 || 2.20 || —
|-
| [[1959–60 AHL season|1959–60]]
| Providence Reds
| AHL
| 71 || 37 || 32 || 2 || 4280 || 231 || 4 || 3.24 || —
| 5 || 1 || 4 || 328 || 19 || 0 || 3.48 || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1960–61 NHL season|1960–61]]
| [[Boston Bruins]]
| NHL
| 52 || 12 || 33 || 7 || 3118 || 193 || 0 || 3.71 || .892
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1960–61 AHL season|1960–61]]
| Providence Reds
| AHL
| 19 || 6 || 13 || 0 || 1140 || 85 || 0 || 4.47 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1961–62 NHL season|1961–62]]
| Boston Bruins
| NHL
| 28 || 6 || 18 || 4 || 1680 || 121 || 1 || 4.32 || .879
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1961–62 WHL season|1961–62]]
| [[Portland Buckaroos]]
| WHL
| 41 || 28 || 11 || 2 || 2476 || 108 || 2 || 2.62 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1962–63 EPHL season|1962–63]]
| [[Kingston Frontenacs (EPHL)|Kingston Frontenacs]]
| [[Eastern Professional Hockey League (1959–63)|EPHL]]
| 68 || 39 || 18 || 11 || 4080 || 220 || 1 || 3.23 || —
| 5 || 4 || 1 || 300 || 13 || 1 || 2.60 || —
|-
| [[1963–64 AHL season|1963–64]]
| [[Springfield Indians]]
| AHL
| 21 || 5 || 12 || 3 || 1230 || 80 || 0 || 3.90 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1965–66 NHL season|1965–66]]
| [[Toronto Maple Leafs]]
| NHL
| 10 || 5 || 2 || 3 || 502 || 21 || 4 || 2.51 || .925
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1965–66 CPHL season|1965–66]]
| [[Tulsa Oilers (1964–84)|Tulsa Oilers]]
| [[Central Professional Hockey League|CPHL]]
| 54 || 21 || 24 || 9 || 3240 || 155 || 4 || 2.87 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1966–67 NHL season|1966–67]]
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 23 || 5 || 10 || 5 || 1181 || 67 || 0 || 3.40 || .900
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1966–67 CPHL season|1966–67]]
| Tulsa Oilers
| CPHL
| 7 || 2 || 4 || 1 || 420 || 24 || 0 || 3.43 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1966–67 AHL season|1966–67]]
| [[Rochester Americans]]
| AHL
| 5 || 2 || 3 || 0 || 300 || 25 || 0 || 5.00 || —
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| [[1967–68 NHL season|1967–68]]
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 41 || 20 || 14 || 2 || 2194 || 85 || 5 || 2.32 || .934
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1968–69 NHL season|1968–69]]
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 61 || 28 || 20 || 11 || 3439 || 161 || 3 || 2.81 || .914
| 3 || 0 || 2 || 86 || 13 || 0 || 9.08 || .803
|-
| [[1969–70 NHL season|1969–70]]
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 52 || 19 || 24 || 9 || 3054 || 156 || 5 || 3.06 || .915
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1970–71 NHL season|1970–71]]
| Toronto Maple Leafs
| NHL
| 23 || 6 || 14 || 1 || 1280 || 83 || 2 || 3.89 || .882
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|-
| 1970–71 
| [[Philadelphia Flyers]]
| NHL
| 11 || 3 || 6 || 2 || 658 || 37 || 0 || 3.37 || .901
| 2 || 0 || 2 || 120 || 12 || 0 || 6.01 || .821
|- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"
| [[1971–72 NHL season|1971–72]]
| Philadelphia Flyers
| NHL
| 24 || 7 || 8 || 2 || 1184 || 58 || 2 || 2.94 || .912
| — || — || — || — || — || — || — || —
|- bgcolor="#e0e0e0"
! colspan=3 | NHL totals
! 328 !! 111 !! 152 !! 46 !! 18,470 !! 993 !! 22 !! 3.23 !! .906
! 5 !! 0 !! 4 !! 206 !! 25 !! 0 !! 7.28 !! .809
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Ice hockey stats|legends=18520}}
* {{Find a Grave|7986081}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gamble, Bruce}}
[[Category:1938 births]]
[[Category:1982 deaths]]
[[Category:Boston Bruins players]]
[[Category:Canadian ice hockey goaltenders]]
[[Category:Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters players]]
[[Category:New York Rangers players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers players]]
[[Category:Philadelphia Flyers scouts]]
[[Category:Portland Buckaroos players]]
[[Category:Providence Reds players]]
[[Category:Rochester Americans players]]
[[Category:Ice hockey people from Thunder Bay]]
[[Category:Springfield Indians players]]
[[Category:Stanley Cup champions]]
[[Category:Toronto Maple Leafs players]]
[[Category:Tulsa Oilers (1964–1984) players]]
[[Category:Vancouver Canucks (WHL) players]]
[[Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen]]