John Brophy

John Brophy (born January 20, 1933 in Halifax, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian coach and former hockey player who has spent most of his career in minor professional leagues, including 18 years as a player in the Eastern Hockey League and 13 seasons as a coach in the East Coast Hockey League. From 1986 to 1988 Brophy was head coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League.
==Playing career==
Brophy was a tough defenseman who played 18 seasons in the Eastern Hockey League, racking up nearly 4,000 career penalty minutes between 1955 and 1973—the most in EHL history—playing parts of nine seasons with the Long Island Ducks and retiring at the age of 40. He was reported to be the model for the character Reggie Dunlop (played by Paul Newman) in the movie Slap Shot.
==Early coaching career==
Brophy had briefly been player-coach with the Ducks in the 1968-69 season, and became a full-time coach following his retirement as a player. He coached the Hampton Gulls for four seasons until the team folded during the 1977-78 season. He then joined the Birmingham Bulls of the World Hockey Association as assistant to coach Glen Sonmor, becoming head coach in 1978-79 when Sonmor joined the Minnesota North Stars. His team finished last in the league, but included several future NHL stars at the beginning of their professional careers: Rick Vaive, Michel Goulet, Rob Ramage, Craig Hartsburg, and Gaston Gingras, as well as a 36-year-old Paul Henderson. Even though his team was the only one in the league not to make the playoffs, Brophy was awarded the Robert Schmertz Memorial Trophy as the WHA's coach of the year.
After the collapse of the WHA, Birmingham moved to the Central Hockey League and Brophy coached the team for another two seasons. In 1981, Brophy was hired by the Montreal Canadiens to return home and coach their AHL affiliate, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. He held the job for three seasons. 
==Toronto Maple Leafs==
Brophy then joined the Toronto Maple Leafs organization, first as an assistant coach with the Leafs, then briefly as head coach of the Leafs' AHL team, the St. Catharines Saints, and then as head coach of the Leafs for the 1986-87 season. The Leafs showed some promise during Brophy's first season as coach, despite finishing the year with a losing record, but it all went downhill from there with an embarrassing season in 1987-88. Brophy feuded with general manager Gerry McNamara, who tried to have Brophy fired but ended up being fired himself. After an equally poor start to the 1988-89 season, and despite being a favourite of Leafs owner Harold Ballard, Brophy was fired in December 1988, 33 games into the season.
==ECHL==
Brophy then found a home in Norfolk, Virginia with the Hampton Roads Admirals of the East Coast Hockey League. He coached the team for 11 seasons, from 1989 to 2000, winning the league championship in 1991, 1992, and 1998. The Admirals did not have a losing season with Brophy behind the bench.
After a game in January 1999, a fight broke out on the ice, and fans were throwing batteries. Brophy was accused of assaulting two security guards, but the guards said they were trying to keep him away from the Roanoke fans. In the end, Brophy pleaded guilty, was fined $1,000, and suspended for six games.
On June 25, 2000, Brophy was badly injured in a car accident near New Glasgow, Nova Scotia. He was listed in critical condition with a broken leg and a head injury. Brophy had fallen asleep at the wheel while driving.
After a successful recuperation, Brophy returned to the ECHL in 2001 as coach of the Wheeling Nailers for two seasons and retired. The ECHL's coach of the year award was renamed the John Brophy Award in 2003.Who's Who in Canadian Sport, Volume 4, p.53, Bob Ferguson, Fitzhenry and Whiteside Ltd., Markham, ON and Allston, MA, ISBN 1-55041-855-6 As of 2006, Brophy is the all-time leader among ECHL coaches in regular season wins (480), playoff games (94) and playoff wins (55).
==Recent coaching positions==
In 2004-05, he coached his hometown junior team, the Antigonish Bulldogs of the Maritime Junior A Hockey League. For 2006-07, at age 73, he went back to Virginia as head coach of the Richmond Renegades of the Southern Professional Hockey League.
As a professional hockey coach, Brophy has accumulated 1,027 victories, the second highest amount in all of professional hockey, behind only Scotty Bowman.
After one season with the Richmond Renegades, it was announced that Brophy would be released from his contract. His replacement in Richmond is former team captain Brian Goudie.
==Coaching record==
Team	Year 	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season	Regular Season 	Post Season
Team	Year 	G 	W 	L 	T 	OTL 	Pts 	Finish 	Result
BIR 	1978–79	80 	32 	42 	6 	- 	70 	6<SUP>th</SUP> in WHA 	Did Not Qualify
TOR 	1986–87	80 	32 	42 	6 	- 	70 	4<SUP>th</SUP> in Norris	Lost in Second Round
TOR 	1987–88	80 	21 	49 	10 	- 	52 	4<SUP>th</SUP> in Norris	Lost in First Round
TOR 	1988–89	33 	11 	20 	2 	- 	(62) 	5<SUP>th</SUP> in Norris	(fired)
==References==
==External links==
*hockeyDB.com page of Brophy career playing and coaching statistics
Category:Born in 1933
Brophy, John
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Toronto Maple Leafs coaches
Category:Milwaukee Chiefs players
Category:Halifax St. Mary's players
Category:Troy Uncle Sam Trojans players
Category:Moncton Hawks (senior) players
Category:Baltimore Clippers (EHL, 1945–1950) players
Category:Charlotte Clippers players
Category:New Haven Blades players
Category:Long Island Ducks players
Category:Philadelphia Ramblers (EHL) players
Category:Jersey Devils players
Category:Long Island Ducks coaches
Category:Long Island Cougars coaches
Category:Hampton Gulls coaches
Category:Birmingham Bulls (WHA) coaches
Category:Birmingham Bulls (CHL) coaches
Category:Nova Scotia Voyageurs coaches
Category:St. Catharines Saints coaches
Category:Hampton Roads Admirals (ECHL) coaches
Category:Wheeling Nailers coaches
Category:Richmond Renegades coaches
Category:Nova Scotia Sport Hall of Fame inductees