George Francis "Duke" Harris (February 25, 1942 – August 2, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 26 games in the National Hockey League during the 1967–68 season with the Minnesota North Stars and Toronto Maple Leafs. He also played in the WHA from 1972 to 1975 with the Chicago Cougars and Houston Aeros. He died in 2017, six months after heart surgery.[1]
| Duke Harris | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
February 25, 1942 Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Died |
August 2, 2017 (aged 75) Sarnia, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Minnesota North Stars Toronto Maple Leafs Chicago Cougars Houston Aeros | ||
| Playing career | 1961–1975 | ||
Early life edit
Harris grew up in Point Edward, Ontario. He played 5 seasons with the St. Catharines Teepees, starting his first season in 1958 at the age of 16. In the 1960 season with the Teepees Harris helped the team win the Memorial Cup against the Edmonton Oil Kings. In the 1961–62 season he played with the Guelph Royals
Professional career edit
In 1961–62 Harris played his first professional games, appearing in 7 games with the Sault Thunderbirds of the Eastern Professional Hockey League (EPHL). in 1962–63 he scored 28 goals as an EPHL's St. Louis Braves.
NHL career edit
Harris played 26 NHL games in 1967–68, 22 with the Minnesota North Stars. He was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the season, where he played 4 more games. The rest of the season was spent in the minor leagues.[2]
Post-NHL career edit
After the NHL Harris played two seasons with the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League. In the 1968–69 season Harris scored 23 goals and had 17 assists for a total of 40 points. He also played 3 non-consecutive seasons with the Rochester Americans in the [[American Hockey League, 1967–68, 1970–71, and 1971–72.
World Hockey Association edit
In 1972 Harris joined the Houston Aeros of the newly founded World Hockey Association (WHA). He scored 30 goals for Houston during the 1972–73 season. He then played two seasons with the Chicago Cougars before retiring in 1975.
Personal life edit
Harris was married for 55 years, until his death, to Eleanor Marie Harris. They had two children, Kimberly Marie Harris and Robert Harris.
After retiring from professional hockey Harris worked as a crane operator in Sarnia, Ontario.
Career statistics edit
Regular season and playoffs edit
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1958–59 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 51 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 26 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1959–60 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 48 | 16 | 26 | 42 | 19 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 30 | ||
| 1959–60 | St. Catharines Teepees | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 14 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 4 | ||
| 1960–61 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 48 | 15 | 22 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1961–62 | St. Catharines Teepees | OHA | 9 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Guelph Royals | OHA | 39 | 23 | 37 | 60 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Sault Thunderbirds | EPHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | St. Louis Braves | EPHL | 72 | 28 | 31 | 59 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | St. Louis Braves | CHL | 72 | 21 | 41 | 62 | 16 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1964–65 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 72 | 19 | 31 | 50 | 16 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1965–66 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 72 | 18 | 23 | 41 | 12 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1966–67 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 70 | 27 | 27 | 54 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1967–68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 22 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Fort Worth Wings | CHL | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 38 | 10 | 27 | 37 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1968–69 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 74 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 18 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1969–70 | Vancouver Canucks | WHL | 71 | 20 | 21 | 41 | 23 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 4 | ||
| 1970–71 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 70 | 29 | 25 | 54 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 74 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Houston Aeros | WHA | 75 | 30 | 12 | 42 | 14 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1973–74 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 64 | 14 | 16 | 30 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 2 | ||
| 1974–75 | Chicago Cougars | WHA | 54 | 9 | 19 | 28 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| WHA totals | 193 | 53 | 47 | 100 | 52 | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 6 | ||||
| NHL totals | 26 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||||
References edit
- ^ "Harris, George (Duke) Francis of Sarnia".
- ^ "Legends of Hockey -- NHL Player Search -- Player -- Duke Harris". www.hhof.com. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2019-03-09.
External links edit
- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database