Tim Horton
From Free net encyclopedia
Image:Tim horton.jpg Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton (12 January 1930 - 21 February 1974) was a Canadian professional hockey player and a businessman who founded what is today Canada's largest coffee and doughnut store chain.
Contents |
Hockey career
Tim Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario and grew up playing in the small leagues of northern Ontario at the age of five.
In 1949 he was drafted into the National Hockey League (NHL) by the Toronto Maple Leafs, with whom he played for seventeen years, winning four Stanley Cups. Horton later played with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Tim was known for his considerable strength and calmness under pressure. Horton was a hard working, durable Defenceman who was named three times to the NHL's First Team All-Star line-up which was in, 1964, 1968, and 1969, and three times to the Second Team in, 1954, 1963, 1967 . He also participated in seven National Hockey League All-Star Games.
Awards and recognition
Besides his participation in Stanley Cup victories for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Horton was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.
Horton wore the number 7 when playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, the same number worn by King Clancy during his 1931-37 career with the Leafs. The team gave honour to both Tim Horton and King Clancy on 21 November 1995.
Donut industry
In 1964, Horton opened his first Tim Horton's Donut Shop in Hamilton, Ontario. He even added a few of his culinary creations to the initial menu. By 1965, Horton had partnered with investor Ron Joyce, who quickly took over operations and expanded the chain into a multi-million dollar franchise. Template:Main
Death
Early in the morning of 21 February 1974, while driving the Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto to Buffalo in his De Tomaso Pantera sports car, (a gift from Sabres' GM George "Punch" Imlach), Horton was involved in an infamous accident. He was negotiating a curve on the QEW where it crosses over Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines when he lost control, and crashed into the Martindale Road overpass; he was killed instantly. A police officer pursuing Horton's vehicle said that he had been travelling at over one hundred miles per hour. There were also reports Horton had consumed a considerable amount of vodka, and was rumoured to have been taking Analgesic pain killers due to a jaw injury suffered in a practice the day before. An autopsy report released 31 years after his death showed Horton had a blood-alcohol level of twice the legal limit. The blood test also showed signs of amobarbital (A barbiturate used as a chronic or a hypnotic), possibly a residue from the Dexamyl amphetamine pills that were found on Horton's body. The autopsy showed no indication he was taking painkillers.
The entire NHL went into mourning after his death, especially the Buffalo Sabres, a group of young players for whom Horton had played a crucial role in maturing them into a group of stars who would reach the Stanley Cup finals the following season. Horton left behind a wife, four daughters and a son.
Horton's daughter later married the son of his former business partner and they currently run a Tim Hortons franchise in Ontario.