Clancy, "King" (Francis M.)
Hockey
b. Feb. 25, 1903, Ottawa, ONT
d. Nov. 10, 1986
Clancy had a dual reputation as a fighter during his 16-year NHL career. It was said he never backed away from a fight and never won one. Feisty, fast, and agile, he weighed only 150 pounds when he joined the Ottawa Senators in 1921 as one of the game's first great rushing defensemen.
The Toronto Maple Leafs acquired him from Ottawa in 1930 for an unprecedented price of $35,000, plus two players. Toronto owner Conn Smythe later called Clancy "probably the best all-around man, as far as morale, ability, and effort for his team is concerned, that ever was."
Clancy played with Toronto through the 1936-37 season, coached the Montreal Maroons for part of the 1937-38 season, then became an NHL referee. While working a game in Boston, Clancy got angry at a fan who was heckling him and offered to fight then and there. Fortunately for Clancy, the fan turned down the challenge: He was world heavyweight champion Jack Sharkey.
In 1950, Clancy returned to coaching with Toronto, remaining through the 1952-53 season. Later he worked in the Toronto front office as right-hand man to general manager and sometime coach Punch Imlach.
During his 16 seasons as a player, Clancy had 137 goals and 143 assists in 592 regular season games, with 13 goals and 17 assists in 61 playoff games.
In 1988, the NHL established the King Clancy Memorial Trophy, which is presented to the "player who best exemplifies leadership qualities on and off the ice and has made a noteworthy humanitarian contribution in his community."