Hockey - Bob Whitlock Inducted Date: Oct 01, 2005 Inducted By: Fred MacDonald Prince Edward Island has produced more than its fair share of outstanding hockey players through the years, and in the opinion of many shrewd judges, Charlottetown's Bob Angus Whitlock has been one of the best.

It certainly helps when your father is one of the all-time greats - the Old Lamplighter himself, Roy “Buck”Whitlock would play an important role in the young Bob's development, which was honed around the ponds and rinks of Charlottetown.

At aged 10 he was already a stand-out in the Charlottetown Minor Hockey Association, and his early grounding stood him in great stead for what was to be a very successful junior career.

At 15 young Bob, a powerful left-winger with a rocket shot, was sent off to the mainland, where he his junior career began with the Halifax Canadians. 95 regular season points in 38 games in the 1967-68 season, coupled with a further 20 points in the play-offs hinted that Bob was set for greater things, and after enjoying another successful season with Kitchener and then Edmonton in 1968-69, the big leagues came calling.

In the fall of 1969, Bob signed his first big league contract, for the princely sum of $12,500 with the Minnesota North Stars. His NHL career in the green and gold, however, proved to be fleeting, with just the one appearance, where the record books show that he had a plus/minus of +1 and three shots on goal.

He continued to be a regular contributor though on the pro-circuit, scoring 26 times that season for the Stars farm team in Iowa, before packing his gear and taking his skills to the Cleveland Barons of the American league for the 1970-71 season. A season later Bob found himself in Phoenix, where he enjoyed his most productive season in the pro-leagues, racking up 79 total points for the Roadrunners and winning the Western League's Rookie Of The Year Award.

The fledgling was Bob's next port of call, opening its doors in 1972 and providing a brand of hockey that Bobby thrived in - drafted by the LA Sharks but then traded to Chicago, he notched 23 goals and 28 assists in his first season. His totals for his WHA career, which saw further stops in Los Angeles and finally Indianapolis, were an impressive 81 goals and 179 total points in 244 games.

When his career in the WHA ended in 1976, Bob continued to ply his trade for teams in various leagues, always playing with the same intensity and continuing to put up impressive numbers. In 1978 he called time on his playing career, finishing up with the Trail Smoke Eaters in the Western International Hockey League. It is in Trail, BC, where Bob now makes his home, owning a successful insurance company.

Bob's record of nine successful pro-seasons, in which he broke the 20-goal plateau seven times, does not tell the entire story. He was a true professional, grateful for the fact that hockey allowed him to make a living, and many of his contemporaries consider him to be one of the finest all-round athletes that the Island has ever produced, with a natural ability in many sports that made many green with envy. His slap shot was considered one of the hardest by anybody either inside or outside of the NHL, and he knew his way around the baseball and softball diamonds, representing the Island on two occasions when softball was at its height in popularity.

The name of Whitlock is synonymous with hockey greatness in this province. It is my pleasure tonight to induct into the Sports Hall Of Fame a man who can rightfully take his place alongside that of his father, and the other great hockey players produced by this province - ladies and gentlemen, Mr Bob Whitlock.

Updated: December 2006 http://www.peisportshalloffame.ca/personalities/personalitiy.cfm?ID=143 Bob Whitlock

Bob Whitlock is one of the "one gamers" in the NHL. Players who only played one game in the NHL. He was born in Charlottetown, P.E.I, July 16, 1949. Bob's dad, Roy "Buck" Whitlock was a former star around the Maritime Provinces of Canada Bob enjoyed a successful junior career in the Nova Scotia junior hockey league and the New Brunswick junior hockey league. Bob was signed by Minnesota North Stars on October 2, 1969 and wound up playing for the farm team Iowa Stars in the CHL. He was called up for his only NHL game that season (1969-70) and played very well in the game, but he was sent down to Iowa again and didn't get any more opportunities in the big league. Bob's next two seasons as a pro were split between the Cleveland Barons in the AHL and the Phoenix Roadrunners of the WHL. He had a very fine season in the WHL, winning the rookie of the year award in 1971-72 after a productive season that saw him score 79 pts (33+46). His fine season made the of the WHA sign him after they had bought his negotiation rights from Los Angeles Sharks (also of the WHA). He had a surprisingly strong first season getting 51 pts for the Cougars. In the middle of the following season (1973-74) the Sharks got him back. Bob had a couple of more productive seasons with the and scored a total of 179 pts (81+98) in 244 WHA games. Bob finished his playing career in the North American Hockey League (NAHL) and Western International Hockey League (WIHL). In the NAHL he played for Mohawk Valley Comets, Erie Blades and the Johnstown Jets before playing his last season in 1977-78 for the Trail Smoke

Eaters in the WIHL. Bob's biggest asset was without a doubt his shots that were described as cannon blasts. His slapshot was according to a majority of experts as hard as legendary Bobby Hull's blasts. Nobody unloaded the cannon like Bob. In a pre game warm up during the 1972-73 season one of his powerful slapshots broke the plexiglass that surrounded the ice surface in Chicago's International Amphitheatre Arena. Posted by Joe Pelletier at 10:57 PM Labels: Bob Whitlock http://northstarslegends.blogspot.ca/2011/12/bob-whitlock.htm lNHL Player SearchBob Angus Whitlock Share on facebookShare on twitterMore Sharing Services NHLPA

Bob Whitlock set the precedent for his career when he played for four different Junior teams in three different leagues before turning professional in

1969.

Whitlock signed with the Minnesota North Stars as a free agent that fall, but he spent all but one game in the minor leagues that year. In his one game with Minnesota the center didn't notch any points but he was able to fire three shots on the opposition's net.

Whitlock packed his gear and took his skills to the American Hockey League for the next campaign, which he spent with the Cleveland Barons. After a year there, he then moved on to the Western League to play with the Phoenix Roadrunners the next year. When the World Hockey Association was formed in 1972, Whitlock found a new place to play and spent the next few years bouncing from the Chicago Cougars to the Los Angles Sharks to the Indianapolis Racers. Midway through the 1975-76 season Whitlock left the WHA and joined the Mohawk Valley Comets of the North

American League. He then split the next season between two other NAHL clubs before moving on to yet another team in yet another league for his final season. The journeyman's swansong season was spent in Western International Hockey League with the Trail Smoke Eaters.

Whitlock retired after playing for eleven different pro clubs in nine seasons and breaking the 20-goal plateau seven times.