BRONCO HORVATH: 1930-2019

A veteran of the Original Six battles, Bronco Horvath passed away last week.

Horvath, a left-shooting center, made his NHL debut with the New York Rangers on October 7, 1955. On that night, the Rangers went up against the Chicago Black Hawks at Chicago Stadium. In a 7-4 victory over the Hawks, Horvath scored his first NHL goal when he beat netminder Jerry Rollins.

He made his first appearance at Madison Square Garden on October 19. Horvath scored his first goal on home ice in front of 11,658 thrilled fans. He got the puck past Harry Lumley for the Rangers fifth tally in a 6-2 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Horvath's most successful times in the National Hockey League were with the Boston Bruins. He was claimed by Boston in the 1957 Intra-League Draft.

In Boston, Horvath was reunited with his former teammates - Vic Stasiuk and Johnny Bucky - on the 1954-55 Edmonton Flyers of the Western Hockey League. The Flyers were a farm team of the Detroit Red Wings. As members of the Bruins, this trio became known as "Uke Line" due to their Ukrainian heritage. And it took little time for them to reconnect.

In an early season contest in 1957, Horvath, Bucky, and Stasiuk scored four of Boston's five goals in a 5-1 crushing of the Red Wings. Three of the goals were scored in 41-seconds.

Horvath's most productive NHL season was in 1959-60. He tied Chicago's Bobby Hull for most goals with 39. His 80 points left him one behind Hull for the scoring title. Hull finished the year with 80 points.

Hockey writer, Scott Young, described what the individuals on Boston's top line brought to the table: "... Bronco Horvath, who scored 39 goals last season; the cannonballing Vic Stasiuk, who skates through many a man he can't go around; and perpetual motion Johnny Bucky."

On January 23, 1963, Horvath was claimed on waivers by the Toronto Maple Leafs from the New York Rangers. He was on his second go-around with the Rangers. The move to Toronto resulted in Horvath seeing action with five of the Original Six clubs. The only team he didn't dress for was the Detroit Red Wings. However, he was property of the Red Wings, and as previously noted, played with their minor league team in Edmonton (1954-55).

His time in Toronto was limited to ten games. He skated on a line with Bob Pulford and Eddie Shack. Horvath was assigned to the AHL Rochester Americans.

While with the Americans, Horvath was loaned to the Minnesota North Stars on January 23, 1968. This turned out to be his final stop in the National Hockey League. He was acquired by the Stars to replace the late Bill Masterson. Earlier in the month, Masterson died as a result of an injury suffered in a game.

The stats on Horvath reveal that he participated in 434 regular season NHL games. He scored 141 times and recorded 326 points. In the playoffs, he scored 12 goals and 9 assists in 36 contests.

In the American Hockey League, Horvath is considered to be a superstar. In 2015, he was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame. Below is a summary of his career posted on the AHL website:

Bronco Horvath was a gifted offensive player over his 20-year professional career, starring in both the American Hockey League and the National Hockey League.
A native of Port Colborne, Ont., Horvath recorded 38 points in 43 games as a rookie with the AHL’s Springfield Indians in 1950-51, then bettered his offensive output in each of the next three years while skating with the Syracuse Warriors. He was later voted a First Team AHL All-Star at center in 1956-57 after leading the Rochester Americans with 81 points in just 56 contests.
Horvath spent most of the next six seasons in the NHL, where he was an All-Star in 1960 and 1961, but would return to Rochester to anchor one of the AHL’s most impressive dynasties. With Horvath totaling 303 points in 258 games from 1964-68, the Amerks reached an unprecedented and unmatched four consecutive Calder Cup Finals and won three championships. Horvath earned Second Team AHL All-Star nods in 1964 and 1965.
Horvath continued to produce until his retirement in 1970, and finished his AHL career with 263 goals and 484 assists for 747 points in 666 regular-season games. He recorded 542 of those points in a Rochester Americans uniform, ranking third all-time in franchise scoring.

 On their Twitter account, the Boston Bruins Alumni wrote, "We are sad to report the passing of Bronco Horvath, perhaps best remembered for playing on the Bruins' famous "Uke Line" with fellow Ukrainian-Canadians Johnny Bucky and Vic Stasiuk. A 2-time All Star, Horvath tied Bobby Hull for the 1959-60 goal-scoring lead, with 29."

A native of Port Colborne, Ontario, Joseph "Bronco" Horvath was born on March 12, 1930. He passed away on December 17, 2019, in Massachusetts.