Bill Flett
Encyclopedia
William Mayer "Cowboy" Flett (July 21, 1943 in Vermilion
, Alberta
, – July 12, 1999 in Edmonton
, Alberta
) was a professional ice hockey
player who played in the National Hockey League
for the Los Angeles Kings
, Philadelphia Flyers
, Toronto Maple Leafs
, Atlanta Flames
and Edmonton Oilers
.
of the SJHL
. From 1963 through 1967, he played for various minor league teams. Finally, in 1967, the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams and Flett was drafted by the expansion Los Angeles Kings. In his rookie season, playing on right wing, he scored 26 goals and was named The Sporting News
NHL West Division rookie of the year.
Flett was nicknamed "Cowboy" because in addition to being a hockey player, he owned a cattle ranch in Alberta and he was also a rodeo
performer. Flett's rodeo career ended when the Los Angeles King's Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke
threatened to fine him $1000 for every rodeo he appeared in. He was well known throughout his career for being one of the few hockey players at the time to sport a full beard, and for being one of the last players to play without a helmet.
Flett scored 24 goals in his sophomore season. His goal production declined significantly in his next two seasons. Fed up with his dwindling production, the Kings traded Flett, along with Eddie Joyal
and Ross Lonsberry
to the Philadelphia Flyers
where he had his best season in 1972–73 with 43 goals. Flett was a member of the Flyers 1974 Stanley Cup
champion team. After the season ended, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs
where he reverted to his indifferent play, and as a result, the Leafs put him on waivers. The Atlanta Flames
picked him from waivers, and Flett had one last productive year in the NHL when he scored 23 goals in 1975–76. In 1976–77, the Flames sold him to the Edmonton Oilers
of the WHA
where he contributed nicely to the Oilers offence. When Edmonton joined the NHL, he found he had little left and retired after 20 games. He scouted for the Oilers after that.
In May 1999, Flett entered the hospital due to a gall bladder condition which eventually contributed to liver failure. Flett received a liver transplant; however, his body rejected the transplant. Flett died on July 12, 1999 due to liver failure. Flett is survived by his wife Doreen and three sons, Cody, Dean and Shane.
Vermilion, Alberta
Vermilion is a town in Vermilion River County, central Alberta, Canada. It is located along Highway 41 and Highway 16 .The economy is largely service industry to agriculture....
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
, – July 12, 1999 in Edmonton
Edmonton
Edmonton is the capital of the Canadian province of Alberta and is the province's second-largest city. Edmonton is located on the North Saskatchewan River and is the centre of the Edmonton Capital Region, which is surrounded by the central region of the province.The city and its census...
, Alberta
Alberta
Alberta is a province of Canada. It had an estimated population of 3.7 million in 2010 making it the most populous of Canada's three prairie provinces...
) was a professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
player who played in the National Hockey League
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
, Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
and Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
.
Playing career
Flett began his career with the Melville MillionairesMelville Millionaires
The Melville Millionaires are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Melville, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. They play their home games in the Melville Stadium which has a seating capacity of 2,100. The Melville Millionaires and the Yorkton Terriers are...
of the SJHL
Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League
The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of age or younger, the SJHL's 12 teams play in two divisions: the Bauer and Sherwood conferences...
. From 1963 through 1967, he played for various minor league teams. Finally, in 1967, the NHL expanded from six to twelve teams and Flett was drafted by the expansion Los Angeles Kings. In his rookie season, playing on right wing, he scored 26 goals and was named The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
NHL West Division rookie of the year.
Flett was nicknamed "Cowboy" because in addition to being a hockey player, he owned a cattle ranch in Alberta and he was also a rodeo
Rodeo
Rodeo is a competitive sport which arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain, Mexico, and later the United States, Canada, South America and Australia. It was based on the skills required of the working vaqueros and later, cowboys, in what today is the western United States,...
performer. Flett's rodeo career ended when the Los Angeles King's Kings owner Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke
Jack Kent Cooke was a Canadian entrepreneur and former owner of the Washington Redskins , the Los Angeles Lakers , and the Los Angeles Kings , and built The Forum in Inglewood, California and FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland.-Early career:Born in Hamilton, Ontario, Cooke moved with his family to...
threatened to fine him $1000 for every rodeo he appeared in. He was well known throughout his career for being one of the few hockey players at the time to sport a full beard, and for being one of the last players to play without a helmet.
Flett scored 24 goals in his sophomore season. His goal production declined significantly in his next two seasons. Fed up with his dwindling production, the Kings traded Flett, along with Eddie Joyal
Eddie Joyal
Edward Abel "Jet" Joyal is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played in the National Hockey League with the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings, and Philadelphia Flyers...
and Ross Lonsberry
Ross Lonsberry
David Ross Lonsberry is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins...
to the Philadelphia Flyers
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
where he had his best season in 1972–73 with 43 goals. Flett was a member of the Flyers 1974 Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
champion team. After the season ended, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League...
where he reverted to his indifferent play, and as a result, the Leafs put him on waivers. The Atlanta Flames
Atlanta Flames
The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the...
picked him from waivers, and Flett had one last productive year in the NHL when he scored 23 goals in 1975–76. In 1976–77, the Flames sold him to the Edmonton Oilers
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
of the WHA
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
where he contributed nicely to the Oilers offence. When Edmonton joined the NHL, he found he had little left and retired after 20 games. He scouted for the Oilers after that.
In May 1999, Flett entered the hospital due to a gall bladder condition which eventually contributed to liver failure. Flett received a liver transplant; however, his body rejected the transplant. Flett died on July 12, 1999 due to liver failure. Flett is survived by his wife Doreen and three sons, Cody, Dean and Shane.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1960–61 | Melville Millionaires Melville Millionaires The Melville Millionaires are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based out of Melville, Saskatchewan. They play out of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. They play their home games in the Melville Stadium which has a seating capacity of 2,100. The Melville Millionaires and the Yorkton Terriers are... |
SJHL Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League The Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League is a Junior A ice hockey league under Hockey Canada, a part of the Canadian Junior Hockey League. Open to North American-born players 20 years of age or younger, the SJHL's 12 teams play in two divisions: the Bauer and Sherwood conferences... |
27 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 14 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1961–62 | Melville Millionaires | SJHL | 24 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1962–63 | Melville Millionaires | SJHL | 53 | 31 | 54 | 85 | 80 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 40 | ||
| 1962–63 | Estevan Bruins Estevan Bruins The Estevan Bruins are a junior ice hockey team playing in the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League. The team is based out of Estevan, Saskatchewan and plays at the brand new Spectra Place. Radio station CJSL AM 1280 broadcasts Bruins games.-History:... |
M-Cup 1963 Memorial Cup The 1963 Memorial Cup final was the 45th junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada competed against the Abbott Cup champions Edmonton Oil Kings... |
— | — | — | — | — | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1963–64 1963–64 AHL season The 1963–64 AHL season was the 28th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Quebec Aces finished first overall in the regular season... |
Rochester Americans Rochester Americans The Rochester Americans are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League, and a top affiliate of the Buffalo Sabres. The team plays its home games in Rochester, New York, at the Blue Cross Arena at the War Memorial... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1963–64 | Charlotte Checkers Charlotte Checkers (1956–1977) The Charlotte Checkers were an American ice hockey team in Charlotte, North Carolina, playing in the Eastern Hockey League and Southern Hockey League.-Franchise history:... |
EHL Eastern Hockey League -Eastern Amateur Hockey League :The league was founded in 1933 as the Eastern Amateur Hockey League . The league was founded by Thomas Lockhart, who served as its commissioner from 1933 to 1972... |
41 | 26 | 21 | 47 | 48 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1963–64 | Denver Invaders Denver Invaders The Denver Invaders were a minor pro ice hockey team that played in Denver, Colorado in the Western Hockey League during the 1963-1964 season. They were the Spokane Comets before they moved to Denver. They played their regular season games at the Denver Coliseum, and their playoff games at the... |
WHL Western Hockey League (minor pro) The Western Hockey League was a minor pro ice hockey league that operated from 1952 to 1974. Managed for most of its history by Hockey Hall of Fame member Al Leader, it was created out of the merger of the Pacific Coast Hockey League and the Western Canada Senior Hockey League... |
— | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1964–65 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 39 | 8 | 22 | 30 | 58 | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1964–65 | Victoria Maple Leafs Victoria Maple Leafs The Victoria Maple Leafs were a minor pro ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League that played three seasons in Victoria, British Columbia, beginning in 1964. The previous season they had played as the Invaders in Denver, Colorado, winning the regular season with the best record in the Western... |
WHL | 23 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 55 | 23 | 23 | 46 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Tulsa Oilers | CPHL | 62 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 108 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Los Angeles Kings Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
73 | 26 | 20 | 46 | 97 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 | ||
| 1968–69 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 72 | 24 | 25 | 49 | 53 | 10 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 11 | ||
| 1969–70 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 69 | 14 | 18 | 32 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 1969–70 AHL season The 1969–70 AHL season was the 34th season of the American Hockey League. Nine teams played 72 games each in the schedule. The Montreal Voyageurs became the second Canadian-based team in the league, and finished first overall in the regular season... |
Springfield Kings Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existence for a total of 60 seasons from 1926 to 1994, with... |
AHL | 5 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 64 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 45 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Philadelphia Flyers Philadelphia Flyers The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 31 | 11 | 10 | 21 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 69 | 43 | 31 | 74 | 53 | 11 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 1973–74 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 67 | 17 | 27 | 44 | 51 | 17 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 21 | ||
| 1974–75 | Toronto Maple Leafs Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League... |
NHL | 77 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 38 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | Atlanta Flames Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, USA from 1972 to 1980. The team, a member of the National Hockey League , was relocated to Calgary, Alberta, Canada for the start of the 1980–81 NHL season and were re-named the Calgary Flames. The NHL returned to the... |
NHL | 78 | 23 | 17 | 40 | 30 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Atlanta Flames | NHL | 24 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Edmonton Oilers Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League .... |
WHA World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926... |
48 | 34 | 20 | 54 | 20 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 74 | 41 | 28 | 69 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 73 | 28 | 36 | 64 | 14 | 10 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 20 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 689 | 202 | 215 | 417 | 501 | 52 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 42 | ||||
| WHA totals | 195 | 103 | 84 | 187 | 68 | 15 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 4 | ||||