Bob Probert

**Bob Probert** (born Robert Alan Probert on June 5, 1965 in Windsor, Ontario, Canada) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward who played in the NHL for the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks.

Probert was drafted 46th overall by Detroit in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft.

## Playing Career

### Early Playing Career

Prior to playing with the Detroit Red Wings, Bob was with the Brantford Alexanders of the Ontario Hockey League.

After being drafted, he spent one more season with the Alexanders before spending his 1984–85 season with both the Hamilton Steelhawks and the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds of the OHL.

### Professional

Bob was drafted as the fourth pick in the third round (46th overall) in the 1983 NHL Entry Draft, in which the Red Wings also selected Joey Kocur and Steve Yzerman.

During the 1985–1986 and 1986–1987 seasons, he spent the majority of his time with the Red Wings while occasionally playing for their minor league affiliate Adirondack Red Wings of the American Hockey League.

In the 1985–1986 season, he finished third on the team in penalty minutes behind Kocur and Randy Ladouceur, both of whom played more regular season games than Bob. In the 1986–1987 season, he accumulated only 24 points, but amassed 221 penalty minutes.

The 1987–1988 season was the pinnacle of Bob's career. He cemented his reputation as an enforcer with a league-leading 398 penalty minutes, the sixth-highest single-season total in NHL history.

He also tied for third on the team with 62 points, and played in his only NHL All-Star Game. In addition he contributed the most points during the Red Wings' playoff run, in which Yzerman missed all but the final three games with a knee injury.

Bob's career hit a snag in 1989 when he was arrested for cocaine possession while crossing the Detroit-Windsor border. U.S. Customs agents at the Detroit-Windsor Tunnel found 14 grams of cocaine hidden in his underpants.

Bob served three months in a federal prison in Minnesota, three more months in a halfway house, and was indefinitely suspended from the NHL. The NHL lifted the suspension at the conclusion of his prison term.

Bob was initially ordered to be deported to Canada following his conviction, but he immediately filed for an appeal. The appeal process allowed him to resume his career with the Red Wings, but barred him from traveling with the team to Canada, as he would not be allowed to return to the United States.

The matter was resolved on December 7, 1992, when the Immigration and Naturalization Service granted Bob's appeal, restoring his travel privileges between the United States and Canada.

When Bob returned to the Red Wings, he was temporarily one of the alternate captains of the team along with Gerard Gallant. While his penalty minutes remained high, he also averaged 40 points a season. During his last season with the Red Wings, he accumulated only 17 points for the team.

At this time, Bob once again got into trouble with the law. On July 15, 1994, he suffered minor injuries when he crashed his motorcycle into a car in West Bloomfield Township, Michigan. Police determined that his blood alcohol level was approximately triple the legal limit, and that there were also trace amounts of cocaine in his system.

At the time of the accident, Bob had been ruled an unrestricted free agent and on July 19, the Red Wings announced that they would not offer him a contract.

On July 23, 1994, Bob signed with the Chicago Blackhawks, but was placed on inactive status by commissioner Gary Bettman in September 1994 while he entered rehab following his July 15, 1994 crash and subsequent drunk-driving charge.

As a result, he sat out the lockout-shortened 1994-95 season before joining the Blackhawks. His first season with the Blackhawks was the last in which he accumulated over 40 points in a season.

From then on, his points and penalty minutes gradually decreased. While he never returned to the levels of point production he achieved with the Red Wings, Bob remained a physical force on the ice and continued many long-term rivalries with other enforcers.

Bob also sustained various injuries during his time with the Blackhawks, most notably a torn rotator cuff injury which caused him to miss most of the 1997–98 season. One of the more noteworthy occurrences of his career with Chicago is that he scored the final NHL goal at the historic Maple Leaf Gardens on February 13, 1999.

After the 2001–2002 season, Bob was placed on waivers by the Blackhawks. Because he was not picked up by another team, he was advised that his role with the Blackhawks would be limited or even relegated to playing in the minor leagues again.

On November 16, 2002, he opted to "unofficially" retire so that he could join the Blackhawks radio broadcasting team. He had finished fourth on the NHL's all-time list with 3,300 penalty minutes.

However, Bob's stint with the Blackhawks radio team did not last long. In February 2003, it was reported that he went back to rehab. During the 2003 offseason, he formally announced his retirement.

## Post-Playing Career

Bob routinely appeared in charity games, spoke at conventions, and conducted youth clinics. His activities as a Red Wings alumnus were somewhat limited by the fact that, due to his criminal history, he required an immigration waiver each time he wanted to cross the border.

On January 2, 2007, he appeared along with many other former Red Wings teammates to honor the retiring of Steve Yzerman's number 19 at Joe Louis Arena. He wore his number 24 Red Wings jersey, and helped former teammate Vladimir Konstantinov onto the ice for the ceremony.

The Detroit crowd gave Bob a very warm welcome, which he later said he appreciated. He stayed on to watch the game with Joey Kocur behind the penalty box; this was noted as a possible reconciliation with the Red Wings organization.

Apparently it worked, as Bob became a late addition to a January 27, 2007, Red Wings alumni game against the Boston Bruins alumni at Joe Louis Arena. He scored a goal and two assists, though the Red Wings alumni lost the game 8–6.

He recently worked on the Mike Myers 2008 film, "The Love Guru," making a cameo as a hockey player. He commented on the irony of being given jersey #28 to wear in the film (the same number worn by longtime rival Tie Domi).

In 2009, Bob participated in the Canadian figure skating reality television show, "Battle of the Blades" which features figure skating pairs of male hockey players and female figure skaters competing against other pairs. He was partnered with Kristina Lenko.

On June 4, 2004, Bob was arrested for allegedly parking his BMW sport utility vehicle on the wrong side of the street and entering into an altercation over drugs with bystanders. Several police officers intervened and had to subdue him with taser and stun guns. He was later acquitted on all charges related to this incident.

On July 1, 2005, Bob was arrested at his Windsor-area (Lakeshore) home for breach of peace, resisting arrest, and assaulting a police officer. He was arrested again on August 23, 2005, at a bar in Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada for violating two conditions of his bail conditions that he not consume alcohol or be in an establishment that serves liquor.

Bob was released after paying $200 CAD bail and all charges stemming from the arrest on July 1, 2005 were eventually dropped

## Death

On July 5, 2010, Bob died of a heart attack at the age of 45. During a severe heat wave, while boating on Lake St. Clair with his children, father-in-law, and mother-in-law, he developed what was described as "severe chest pain" and collapsed at approximately 2:00 pm local time. His step-father-in-law Dan Parkinson (the Cornwall, Ontario, chief of police) attempted CPR to save his life.

Bob was rushed to Windsor Regional Hospital's Metropolitan Campus with no vital signs; efforts to revive him were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead later that afternoon.

Funeral services were held July 9, 2010, in Windsor, Ontario, and attended by several former teammates and opponents,[29] including Dino Ciccarelli, Tie Domi, Chris Nilan, Gerard Gallant, Doug Gilmour, Stu Grimson, Joey Kocur, Brad McCrimmon, Darren McCarty and Steve Yzerman, as well as Red Wings general manager Ken Holland and owners Mike and Marian Ilitch.[30] Yzerman delivered the eulogy.

In recognition of Bob's love of motorcycle riding, his funeral procession was led by a group of 54 motorcyclists, and his casket was transported on a custom-built motorcycle sidecar. He is survived by his wife, Dani, and four children.

On September 25, 2010, Bob's family announced that his brain would be donated to the Sports Legacy Institute to assist researchers who are studying the effects of concussions and other sports-related head injuries. In March of 2011, it was reported that researchers at Boston University they had found evidence of chronic traumatic encephalopathy in Bob's brain.

On Sunday April 9, 2017, Bob's family spread his ashes in the Red Wings penalty box at the Joe Louis Arena's final game.

## Records

* Detroit Red Wings franchise record for career penalty minutes (2,090).
* Detroit Red Wings franchise record for penalty minutes in a season (398 in 1987–88).
* 5th all time in penalty minutes (3,300).

## Personal Life

Bob had an older brother Norm who also played hockey; Norm never played in the NHL, but it is mentioned in the 2018 documentary, "Tough Guy: The Bob Probert Story" that he "briefly played in Czechoslovakia."