Toe Blake

Hector Blake was more commonly known as Toe Blake. I thought this was a very strange nickname and was interested in knowing the origins of it. According to the Official Site of the hockey Hall of Fame his nickname came from his childhood. As a child his younger sister was unable to pronounce his name correctly and instead called him Hec-toe, hence the name Toe. It is very interesting that a nick name derived at such a young age has stuck for so long. Toe Blake’s career as a player was cut short due to a double fracture in his ankle but his coaching career lasted a total of thirteen years. Even more remarkable than this is the fact that he spent his whole career as a coach with one team, the Montreal Canadiens. Making Toe Blake suitable for this job was his fluency in French along with his ability to control his players. He is remembered for his tough but fair coaching style. I believe in order to be successful all coaches need to have a certain level of toughness in order to get the job done. But Blake not only showed his players his tough side, he went above and beyond for his players. His players knew he was on his side and that is very important to a player when they feel as if their coach has their back. Sadly, Toe Blake was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and passed away in 1995 at the age of 82. Long before Blake passed away he was elected into the Hall of Fame in 1966. It is easy to see how loved Toe Blake was among his community and hockey fans. An example of the love, and loyalty his community shared for him is the Community Centre in his hometown being renamed “Toe Blake Memorial Arena”. Not only is he commemorated in his hometown, but a park located next to his home in Montreal is also named in his honour. In my opinion, these actions alone show how much of an influence he had not only on his players but on the communities in which he was involved in. He had knowledge of the game but it was his personality and likability that allowed him to establish a relationship with his players as a great coach does and allowing him to win eight Stanley cups.