Don Head



Donald Charles Head (born June 30, 1933 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a former professional ice hockey player.

Amateur Career
Head, a goaltender, played junior hockey for the Toronto Marlboros where he won the Dave Pinkney Trophy for outstanding goaltender in the 1952-53 season.

From 1954-60, Head played in the Ontario Hockey Association senior series with the Stratford Indians and the Windsor Bulldogs.

He was the goalie for the Canadian ice hockey team at the 1960 Winter Olympics, which was expected to take home gold, but settled for silver behind the United States.

Professional Career
Following the Olympics, Head signed with the expansion Portland Buckaroos of the Western Hockey League. The Buckaroos would go on to win the league championship, and Head was named to the league all-star team, and was chosen the league's Rookie of the Year and outstanding goalkeeper.

The next year, Head was called up to the NHL Boston Bruins, but did not fare as well, winning only 9 of the 38 games he played as the Bruins finished last in the league. He returned to the WHL and won two more outstanding goalkeeper awards with the Buckaroos and was named to two more all-star teams. He also played for the Seattle Totems before ending his career with the Buckaroos in 1975, the same year the franchise folded.

Legacy

 * Head was named to the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.

Trivia

 * Head was a noted scrapper and had two fights during his brief NHL career. During the 4-0 over Detroit on October 26, 1961, Head had a fight with former Bruin Vic Stasiuk in the first period. During the 5-2 win over Montreal on November 2, 1961, Head had another scrap, this time with Marcel Bonin.
 * During the 4-3 win over Toronto on November 12, 1961, a delayed penalty was called on the Maple Leafs. Instead of going to the bench, Head raced to the Leafs blue line and played point on the power play. This led to the league instituting a rule forbidding goalies to skate back the center red line.