Saki

orig. H(ector) H(ugh) Munro

(born Dec. 18, 1870, Akyab, Burma—died Nov. 14, 1916, near Beaumont-Hamel, France) Scottish writer. A journalist early in his career, he wrote political satires and worked as a foreign correspondent before settling in London in 1908. His comic short stories and sketches, which satirize the Edwardian social scene, were published in Reginald (1904), Reginald in Russia (1910), The Chronicles of Clovis (1911), and Beasts and Super-Beasts (1914); the best-known include “Tobermory” and “The Open Window.” Studded with epigrams and with well-contrived plots, his stories reveal a vein of cruelty and a self-identification with the enfant terrible. He was killed in action in World War I.

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(born Dec. 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France—died March 8, 1869, Paris) French composer. He studied guitar in his early years and later studied music at the Paris Conservatoire, against his parents' wishes. His first great score was the stormy Symphonie fantastique (1830), which became a landmark of the Romantic era. Impulsive and passionate, he was a contentious critic and gadfly constantly at war with the musical establishment. Though he was the most compelling French musical figure of his time, his idiosyncratic compositional style kept almost all his music out of the repertory until the mid-20th century. His works include the operas Benvenuto Cellini (1837) and Les Troyens (1858); the program symphonies Harold in Italy (1834) and Romeo and Juliet (1839); and the choral dramas La Damnation de Faust (1846) and L'Enfance du Christ (1854). He was also known as a brilliant conductor with an unsurpassed knowledge of the orchestra; his orchestration treatise (1843) is the most influential such work ever written.

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In Greek legend, the eldest son of Priam and Hecuba, the husband of Andromache, and the chief warrior of the Trojan army. In Homer's Iliad he is notable not only for his military prowess but also for his nobility of character. He was a favorite of Apollo, who helped him slay Achilles' friend Patroclus in combat; in reprisal, Achilles killed Hector in battle and dragged his naked body around the walls of Troy.

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(born circa 1748, Noyelles, Flanders—died Aug. 10, 1807, Quito, Viceroyalty of New Granada) Spanish governor of the territory of Louisiana and western Florida (1791–97). When he arrived in New Orleans, he formed alliances with local Indian tribes to defend disputed territory north of the 31st parallel of latitude against U.S. settlers. He negotiated with Gen. James Wilkinson to effect the secession of the trans-Appalachian territories from the U.S. and to secure their alliance with Spain. These efforts were terminated in 1795 with the signing of Pinckney's Treaty (see Thomas Pinckney). Carondelet was recalled in 1797 and went to South America to become governor-general of Quito.

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Hector "Toe" Blake, CM (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).

Nickname

His nickname came out of his childhood for his sister was unable to pronounce his name. When she said it, it often sounded like Hec-toe, hence Toe as his nickname which later replaced the nickname he had been given as a scorer, the Old Lamplighter, because he often activated the light behind the goal.

Biography

Born in what is now the ghost town of Victoria Mines, Ontario, he was raised playing outdoor hockey in the town of Coniston, Ontario near the city of Sudbury in Northern Ontario. Blake played junior and senior hockey in the Sudbury area and was part of the 1932 Memorial Cup champions, the Sudbury Cub Wolves. He played for the Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Hockey Association before joining the NHL club with which he won his first Stanley Cup, the Montreal Maroons, in 1935, then playing for the Montreal Canadiens until his retirement in 1948. For the last eight seasons, he was team captain, and led the Canadiens to Stanley Cups in 1944 and 1946.

While playing with the Canadiens, he was part of a trio called the "Punch Line," which featured Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard. He won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player and the Art Ross Trophy as scoring champion in 1938–39.

A little after January 11, 1948, he suffered a double fracture of his ankle, ending his NHL career. In 1998, he was ranked number 66 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After retiring from the Canadiens he resided permanently in Montreal, raising his children and subsequently where his grand children were raised. The "Toe" Blake Tavern, which he owned, became a successful watering hole in Montreal and "la belle province".

After eight years coaching several of the Canadiens' minor-league affiliates, he was named head coach of the Canadiens in 1955, replacing Dick Irvin. Blake was fluent in French (his mother was a Franco-Ontarian), and Canadiens management also felt that Blake was best-suited to control Richard's explosive temper (which had led to a riot the past spring).

Blake coached the Canadiens for 13 years, winning eight Stanley Cups – the most for any coach in the team's history and second in the NHL. He is still the winningest coach in Canadiens' history. He was known for his tough, but fair coaching style; his players always knew he was on their side.

Blake turned down Jacques Plante's request to wear a mask during games for fear that it would impair his vision. However, after a shot broke Plante's nose on November 2, 1959; Blake finally relented.

Blake was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966 and was made a Member of the Order of Canada in 1982. A park located next to his Montreal West home is named in his honor.

In the end, it was Alzheimer's Disease, which Blake had for more than eight years, that ended his life. When respected writer Red Fisher visited him in the nursing home in 1989, Toe could not recognize his old friend. Toe Blake died of pneumonia, typical of Alzheimer's patients, on May 17, 1995, at the age of 82.

Career statistics

                                 Regular Season
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM
1934-35 Montreal Maroons NHL 8 0 0 0 0
1935-36 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 1 2 3 28
1936-37 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 10 12 22 12
1937-38 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 17 16 33 33
1938-39 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 24 23 47 10
1939-40 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 19 36 48
1940-41 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 12 20 32 49
1941-42 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 17 28 45 19
1942-43 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 23 36 59 26
1943-44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 41 26 33 59 10
1944-45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 49 29 38 67 25
1945-46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 29 21 50 2
1946-47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 21 29 50 6
1947-48 Montreal Canadiens NHL 32 9 15 24 4
                  NHL Totals         577  235 292  527  272

See also

• Captain (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players
• Stanley Cup
• List of members of the Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of NHL seasons

References

External links