Bob Blake Louis Robert Blake ( August 16 , 1914 – November 26 , 2008 ) was an American ice hockey player who played with the Boston Bruins in the 1935 - 1936 National Hockey League season . After three years of hockey in high school , Blake began his professional career at the age of 17 in the Central Hockey League . Within two years he was one of the Canadian - American Hockey League ' s top scorers and was given an opportunity to play with the Bruins in 1935 . His tenure with the Bruins would be his only season in the National Hockey League , and Blake returned to playing in lower leagues , eventually settling with the American Hockey League ' s Buffalo Bisons . Blake spent seven seasons with the team , including a term as captain and a break during World War II , where he fought in the Pacific Theater . He played on minor teams for two more years after the Bisons , retiring in 1951 as a member of the Cincinnati Mohawks . He later coached high school hockey and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985 . Blake died at the age of 94 in 2008 . Early life . Blake was born in Ashland , Wisconsin on August 16 , 1914 . He played high school hockey for three years in Hibbing , Minnesota for the Hibbing Blue Jackets . At the peak of his career , Blake stood six feet tall and weighed 200 pounds . Hockey career . Blake , a left winger , began his career at the age of 17 . He was a member of the Hibbing Miners ' squad in the Central Hockey League during the 1933 - 1934 season , scoring 12 goals and 10 assists during the regular season and 3 goals and 1 assist during the playoffs . He then signed with the Boston Cubs of the Canadian - American Hockey League , helping lead them to the championships for the 1934 - 1935 season with 5 goals and 7 assists . During his second season with the Cubs , after becoming one of the league ' s top ten scorers , Blake was drafted by the National Hockey League for the 1935 – 36 NHL season , debuting with the Boston Bruins . He played 12 games , alongside eight future Hockey Hall of Fame members , including Eddie Shore and Tiny Thompson . Despite 7 goals and 10 assists with the Cubs , he remained scoreless with the Bruins and was released from the team at the end of the season . He spent two seasons with the Minneapolis Millers of the American Hockey Association , garnering a total of 34 goals and 61 assists during this period . Blake signed up with the International - American Hockey League under the Cleveland Barons , bringing them to victory during the playoffs of the 1938 - 1939 season with a total of 9 goals and 13 assists . After a brief stint with the Pittsburgh Hornets , he played the remained of the 1939 - 1940 season with the Barons , amassing a record of 8 goals and 8 assists . Blake returned to the Minneapolis Millers for the 1940 - 1941 season , collecting an additional 4 goals and 9 assists . Midway through the season , Blake joined the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League , necessitating a move to New York . He spent seven seasons with the Bisons as a defenseman from 1940 – 1949 , with a two - season break from 1943 - 1945 due to World War II . For the 1941 - 1942 season , he was voted as Buffalo ' s most popular player and was named team captain for that season and the next , when the Bisons won the Calder Cup . During his tenure with the team , he amassed a total of 26 goals and 61 assists . Concurrent with his tenure with the Bisons , Blake played with the Houston Huskies , a Bisons ' affiliate in the United States Hockey League for the 1947 - 1948 season . There , he was credited with helping the team win the Loudan Trophy , with a total of 14 goals and 22 assists . In his sole season with the USHL , he was often rated as the best defenseman in the league . Blake spent the 1949 - 1950 season with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the American Hockey League , scoring 4 goals with 15 assists . After playing for the New Haven Eagles , Buffalo Bisons and the Cincinnati Mohawks for from 1950 – 1951 , Blake retired from professional hockey , with a total of 7 goals and 11 assists in his final season . Later life . Blake fought in World War II in the Pacific Theater . He served with the United States Army Air Forces from 1943 through the end of the conflict . After his retirement , he coached high school hockey and for a team in Fort Erie , Ontario . He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1985 and continued to teach the younger generations of his family how to play hockey into his 90s . He had a daughter and two sons , Robert and Thomas , with his wife Bernadine McNerney , who died in 2006 . Blake died November 26 , 2008 in Cheektowaga , New York at the age of 94 .