Norm Ullman

Ullman was born on December 26, 1935, in Provost, Alberta, Canada.^[1] He was one of seven children born to parents John and Madeline Ullman. John worked as a janitorial supervisor for the Edmonton Separate School Board.^[2] His eldest sister died in 1961,^[3] while his youngest brother Gordie died of cancer at the age of 13.^[4]

Growing up in Edmonton, Ullman learned to skate on a rink built by the United States Army before World War II. He began his minor hockey career playing for the Edmonton Oil Kings of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League (WCJHL).^[4] Due to his committment to hockey, Ullman dropped out of high school before Grade 11.^[5] He then skated with the Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League before turned pro with the Detroit Red Wings of the National Hockey League in the 1955–56 NHL season.^[6] Ullman spent the majority of his rookie season on Detroit's fourth line with fellow former Flyer Bronco Horvath.^[7] He scored his first career NHL goal on October 16, 1955, against the Toronto Maple Leafs.^[8] Ullman finished his rookie season with nine goals and nine assists for 18 points through 66 games.^[9]

Ullman improved upon returning to the Red Wings for his sophomore season. He credited his improvement to following the advice of his former coach, Ken McAuley.^[9] Through his first five games of the 1956–1957 season, Ullman tied for second in scoring with five points.^[10] He was also promoted to center the Red Wings' Production Line between Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe.^[11][12] By the end of October, Ullman ranked among the top five scorers in the NHL with seven points.^[13] Coach Jimmy Skinner credited the Production Line for Detroits improvements from the previous season.^[14] By mid-November, all three members of the Production Line ranked among the top of the NHL in scoring and points.^[15][16]

Ullman led Detroit in goals in 1961, 1965, and 1966 and led the league in 1964–65 with 42 goals. In that same season, he missed the overall scoring title by 4 points, second to Stan Mikita, and was voted a first team All-Star.

He appeared in eleven All-Star games during his 20-year career scored 30 goals and added 53 assists during Stanley Cup Playoff action in 106 games played. Ullman was twice the playoff-scoring leader.

He was part of a six-player blockbuster transaction in which he was traded along with Paul Henderson and Floyd Smith from the Red Wings to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Frank Mahovlich, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger and Carl Brewer on March 4, 1968. The Maple Leafs and Red Wings were in fifth and sixth place respectively at the bottom of the East Division standings at the time of the deal.^[17] Ullman finished his NHL career with Toronto and ended his hockey career after two seasons with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers.

Ullman was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.^[18] In 1998, he was ranked number 90 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.^[19]

• 1965: Most goals (Later called Maurice 'Rocket' Richard Trophy)