Leo Gerald Labine, Ice Hockey (22 Jul 1931 - 25 Feb 2005)

Born on 22 Jul 1931 at Haileybury, Ontario, Canada, Leo LaBine (#16) played right wing for the Boston Bruins (1951 - 1961) and the Detroit Red Wings (1961-1962) of the National Hockey League. He finished his professional hockey career playing 5 years in the Western Hockey League for the Los Angeles Blades from 1962-1967. He began his professional hockey career in the minors playing the 1949-1950 season with the St. Michael’s Majors and the 1950-1951 season with the Barre Flyers. During part of the 1951-1952 and 1952-1953 seasons he played in the American Hockey League with the Hershey Bears. Leo was known as Leo ‘The Lion’ during his playing days. During the heydey of the Boston Bruins/Montréal Canadiens battles of the early and mid-1950’s, Leo LaBine was the one player the Canadiens hated to play against. He was booed by the Canadien fans more than any other player visiting the Montréal Forum. Always considered a very classy player, Leo was a hard-hitting player on the ice. After 9 1/2 years with the Boston Bruins, Leo was traded to the Detroit Red Wings where he played 1 1/2 years.

Leo LaBine still holds the Bruins record for the most points (5) in a single period. During the 28 Nov 1954 Bruins game against the Detroit Red Wings, Leo recorded a hat trick (3 goals) and two assists in the second period to almost single-handedly secure the 6-2 win for the Bruins. Over his 12-year National Hockey League career Leo LaBine played in 643 games, scored 128 goals, had 193 assists for a total of 321 points. He played in 60 playoff games where he scored 11 goals and had 12 assists for a total of 23 points.

After retirement from ice hockey Leo LaBine lived in North Bay, Ontario, Canada where he was in private business. With his first wife Betty Soucie he had 4 daughters (Cindy, Mary Anne, Laura and Teresa) and one son (Dan). Betty died in 1974. Leo was married a second time to Rosemary Kelly. On 25 February 2005 Leo Labine died of liver cancer at the hospital in North Bay, Ontario, Canada. He was 73 years of age and was survived by his wife Rosemary Kelly and by four children (Cindy, Mary Anne, Dan and Laura) of his first marriage to Betty Soucie.