Referee Lloyd Gilmour saw a lot of changes during his almost two decades
as an NHL official, in fact he played a direct role in a few of those
changes.
Born in Vancouver in 1928, Gilmour first dreamed about making it to the
NHL as a player. His decision to become a referee came about by
accident, literally. He was injured in a logging accident in the early
1950s, when he was a 19-year-old player in the New York Rangers'
organization. Those injuries prevented him from pursuing a career as a
player.
Turning his attention to refereeing, Gilmour spent several years
officiating in the Okanagan Senior League, before progressing to the
Western Hockey League and then on to the National Hockey League in the
early 1960s. At that time the NHL was a six-team league, but growth was
right around the corner.
|
During his career Gilmour saw the league expand
from six to 18 teams.
One of the highlights of his illustrious career was the now-infamous
1976 exhibition game between the Philadelphia Flyers and the Moscow Red
Army team from the Soviet Union. During that game the Soviets left the
ice for 15 minutes to protest a Gilmour call. Gilmour's call stood, the
Red Army team returned to the ice, and the Flyers went on to win the
game 5-1.
Lloyd Gilmour was also on the ice in Buffalo in the 1975 playoffs, when
the heat and humidity resulted in a layer of fog covering the ice
surface during the later stages of the third period and into overtime.
During his 19-year NHL career, Lloyd Gilmour was also instrumental in
the introduction of the 'third man in' rule during fights.
Lloyd Gilmour retired as an official in 1976, settling with his wife and
family in Nanaimo.
|
