TORONTO -- Francis Michael 'King' Clancy, one of Canada's most beloved sports figures during his more than half century in professional hockey, died Monday. He was 83.
Clancy, vice president of the of the Toronto Maple Leafs and associated with the NHL club for more than 50 years, became ill during a game against the St. Louis Blues last Wednesday. He was taken to Wellesley Hospital Thursday for tests and was released, only to be readmitted Friday. A hospital spokeswoman said the official cause of death was cardiac arrest following septic shock.
Doctors removed his gall bladder Saturday and Clancy suffered septic shock from the gall bladder's poison. He had been on a life-support system in the intensive care unit and died at 2:50 p.m. EST Monday, a Leafs spokesman said.
'He was what I imagine a brother would be to a guy,' said Harold Ballard, onwer of the Maple Leafs. 'He's going to leave a deep hole in hockey.'
Clancy was a player, coach and manager during more than six decades in hockey. He was a small, tough defenseman in the NHL's formative years and helpd spark the Maple Leafs to their first Stanley Cup championship in 1931-32. He was an All-Star three times and was one of the first members of the Leafs to be inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
'It has been just a fantastic experience being involved with him and working with him,' Leafs General Manager Gerry McNamara said. 'We're certainly going to miss him. He's a legend. There isn't anybody who doesn't know King Clancy. He's a legend in hockey, a legend all over North America.'
Clancy commanded the unprecedented price of $35,000 and two players in 1930-31 when Toronto purchased his contract from the Ottawa Senators, one of the NHL's original teams. Conn Smythe, then manager of the Leafs, won $15,000 of the money by betting on a longshot horse named Rare Jewel.
The purchase was described in a 1985 book edited by Dan Diamond - Hockey: The Illustrated History -- as the 'most celebrated hockey transaction of that era.'
Clancy was born in Ottawa Feb. 25, 1903. He joined the Ottawa Senators in 1921 and was popular with fans because of his speed and aggressiveness. Clancy played for the Leafs until 1937 and later became an NHL referee.
He also coached the NHL's Montreal Maroons and the Cleveland Barons and Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League. He rejoined the Leafs to coach three seasons from 1953 to 1956 and became an assistant general manager under Punch Imlach.
He later became vice president of the Leafs and vice president of Ballard's Hamilton Tiger-Cats football club.
Clancy's wife, Rae, died of cancer in 1977. He was a father of four and grandfather of six.
Funeral arrangements were not immediately disclosed.
