Pat Stapleton

Patrick James "Whitey" Stapleton (July 4, 1940 – April 8, 2020) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks. He began in Junior B hockey with the Sarnia Legionnaires, where he won two Western Jr. 'B' championships and a Sutherland Cup as all-Ontario champion; despite playing defence, he led the Legionnaires in scoring in his second season. He then spent two seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association, winning the Memorial Cup in 1960. His first full professional season came with the Sault Thunderbirds of the Eastern Professional Hockey League in 1960–61. Stapleton had signed with the Chicago Black Hawks but was claimed by the Boston Bruins in the intra-league draft in June 1961, and he began his NHL career with Boston in the 1961–62 season. The following year he split his time between the Bruins and their EPHL affiliate, the Kingston Frontenacs. He was the father of Mike Stapleton, who went on to a lengthy career in the NHL.