height_ft halloffame death_date birth_date alt career_start death_place shoots image_size image name caption weight_lb birth_place played_for career_end position height_in article_title birth_name
5 1966 14 august 2009 12 december 1925 four behind them , smiling triumphantly . hockey players , two sitting and two standing 1942 port colborne , on , can right 230px toronto maple leafs players 1946.jpg ted kennedy kennedy 1946 , back right , with leaf teammates in 170 port colborne , on , can toronto maple leafs 1957 centre 11 ted kennedy -lrb- ice hockey -rrb-
 theodore samuel kennedy
ted kennedy -lrb- ice hockey -rrb-

theodore samuel `` teeder '' kennedy -lrb- december 12 , 1925 -- august 14 , 2009 -rrb- was a professional ice hockey centre who played his entire career with the toronto maple leafs from 1942 to 1957 and was captain for eight seasons .
he was the first player in nhl history to win five stanley cups and is the last maple leaf to win the hart trophy for most valuable player .
he was an essential contributor to the maple leafs becoming what many consider as the national hockey league 's first dynasty .
he was inducted into the hockey hall of fame in 1966 .
he has been called the quintessential maple leaf and by some the greatest player in the team 's history .
kennedy was raised in the small ontario town of humberstone , now port colborne .
kennedy was born just eleven days after his father was killed in a hunting accident .
his mother , left alone to raise four children , took a job at the local hockey arena which became kennedy 's second home .
after a stellar junior hockey career , kennedy first came to the attention of the montreal canadiens and attended their training camp while still in high school .
however , after some disappointing experiences with montreal management he signed shortly afterward with the maple leafs .
although young , kennedy was successful with toronto from the start .
in his first season , the 18-year-old finished second on the team in scoring and then in his sophomore year was considered the star of toronto 's upset of the record-breaking montreal canadiens of 1944 -- 45 .
he would establish himself as the leader of the team and became captain in 1948 .
although not the best skater in the league , kennedy was a fierce fore-checker and skilled playmaker .
kennedy would be a perfect fit into coach hap day 's emphasis on defense and positional play .
he gained a reputation for scoring the important goal and excelling in the playoffs .
kennedy holds the toronto maple leafs ' all-time record for career points in stanley cup finals and is the youngest player in the history of the nhl to have scored a stanley cup winning goal .
a `` sports illustrated '' poll of hockey experts in 1998 rated kennedy as having the best face-off skills in the history of the nhl .
