30 years ago last night, the great Tim Horton passed away

[BillsSabresB.C.T. Fan]

I'm only 24 yrs. old so I don't know that much about him all I know is his jersey hangs up with the French Connection in the arena how did he die? how good was he?

[Demon]

He was driving home in his sports car from Toronto after a Sabres road game. He crashed his car in St. Catherines and died on the spot.

He only played the first period of that game too because he got injured late in the 1st.

[Dozerdog]

The guy was the Scott Stevens of his day- a tough defenseman. He was what, 42 or 43 when he died? He'd be in his 70's now.

[Dozerdog]

Tim Horton played 24 seasons in the NHL, breaking in with the Toronto Maple Leafs after impressing the Leafs with his stellar play in their farm system. It was widely accepted that Horton was one of the strongest players in the league as well as a skilled defenseman with a lethal slapshot. Very few opponents were willing to tangle with Horton and his "Horton Bear Hug." Tim Horton's name can be found not only on the frontage of many donut shops across Canada, but also on Lord Stanley's Cup 4 times, including 3 in a row from 1962-1964. During the 1969-70 season, Horton was dealt to the New York Rangers for future considerations, and then went on to skate briefly with Pittsburgh, and then with the Sabres for two years. Horton's career was prematurely ended when he died in a car accident in 1974. Horton scored 115 goals and tallied 403 assists in 1446 regular season contests. His playoff numbers read 11-39-50 in 126 games. Horton earned both first team and second team All-Star status 3 times and played in 7 NHL All-Star contests. Tim Horton entered the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1977.

http://www.hockeysandwich.com/thorton.html

[Ð]

Old Timmy was so hammered he launched his sports car off of a bridge under construction on the QEW near St. Catherines while being chased at over 100 MPH.

He's from the town my mom grew up in, Cochrane, Ontario.

[Earthquake Enyart]

I remember when Dave Schultz of the Flyers kept messing with him one game. Horton finally had enough and grabbed Schultz in that bear hug and slammed him to the ice, jawing at him the whole time. Schultz never messed with him again.

Tim was still playing well at 42 when he passed away. He was one tough old son of a gun.

[Ð]

You know what pisses me off ? When people couch drunk drivers splattering themselves against a concrete abutment at 100 mph by saying "oh he passed away...untimely death, etc."

We should call a spade a spade when it comes to drunk drivers.
His only saving grace was that he didn't kill anyone else.

[Ebenezer]

Originally posted by Ð
We should call a spade a spade when it comes to drunk drivers.

Originally posted by Demon
He only played the first period of that game too because he got injured late in the 1st.

Nobody ever denied he had a few beers that night but he was also on a bucket of painkillers because of the injury he sustained in the game. That, oversleeping and being late was not a good combination.

[Ð]

OK, so he was impaired with painkillers, too, that makes him a double-moron.

I can't believe anyone would come to the defense of someone who gets behind the wheel of an automobile impaired on anything.

[Dozerdog]

100 MPH deaths - even if he was clean- are really stupid

[Ð]

You haven't driven on Canadian highways much, have you ?

[Dozerdog]

It's one thoing if you are traversing Alberta, it's another on the QE2.

[Ð]

Cruisng speed (i.e. to keep up with traffic) on the QEW, 401, 403, etc. is @ 130-140 kmph (80- 88 MPH). If you want to pass, you better be going 150, and 160 is a pretty common sight these days.

[Earthquake Enyart]

Same around Atlanta.

[Myers57]

Same around Boston