Winners: Syl Apps, Ice Hockey
Syl Apps posing in his Toronto Maple Leafs uniform.
Date: 1936-1948
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
1937 - Feature Story
When Toronto Maple Leafs’ owner Conn Smythe was scouting Syl Apps for his hockey team, he could watch him on almost any playing field, including an ice rink. Apps, who finished sixth in the pole vault at the 1936 Olympic Games, in Berlin, caught the eye of the Maple Leaf owner as a speedy two-way football player at McMaster University. Signed to a hockey contract, Apps moved directly from the gridiron to Maple Leaf Gardens and was an immediate star, dominating the 1936-1937 NHL season. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year and by scoring 16 goals and adding a league-best 29 assists in a 48-game season, finished second in the NHL’s scoring race. He centered a line with Charlie Conacher and Busher Jackson, forming the storied Kid Line, but later moved to a line with Gordie Drillon and Bob Davidson that would become known as the DAD line.
Career Highlights
- 1977 Named to the Order of Canada
- 1942, 1947, 1948 Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs
- 1942 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Most gentlemanly player)
- 1937 Calder Trophy (NHL rookie of the year)
- 1937 Lionel Conacher Award (Canada’s male athlete of the year)
Syl Apps (right) being interviewed for a media session by Bobby Hewitson (left).
Date: 1936-1948
Collection: Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
Syl Apps holding the Stanley Cup.
Date: 1940’s
Collection: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
Portrait of Syl Apps.
Date: 1940’s
Collection: Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame
