Armstrong officiated his first National Hockey League game on November 17, 1957, when he was 24. In the game, which was between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs, the two teams got into a brawl near the end of the game. Armstrong broke up a fight involving Fern Flaman, who later skated up to him with his arm dangling and proclaimed "you broke my arm!". However it turned out that Flaman was only kidding.
During his career, he had only been seriously injured once and had never missed any games, which helped him gain the nickname "ironman". His one major injury came in 1971 when Philadelphia Flyers player Gary Dornhoefer fell along the boards, and knocked Armstrong up against the glass. Dornhoefer's stick cut Armstrong's hand and broke a bone, forcing him to wear a cast for three months. On October 16, 1973, Armstrong was honoured in a ceremony at the Detroit Olympia for officiating his 1,314th game, which broke the previous record set by George Hayes.[3]
In total, Armstrong officiated a total of 1,744 games and retired in 1978.[4] After retiring, he became a scout for the Montreal Canadiens. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as an official in 1991.
Personal life
Armstrong has two children, daughter Lezleigh and son, Doug Armstrong, who became general manager of the Dallas Stars. Following his tenure with Dallas, Doug became the executive vice president and general manager of the St. Louis Blues and won the Stanley Cup in 2019.[5]
^The hockey world mourns the passing of Hall of Fame linesman Neil Armstrong
^"SPORTS PEOPLE: PRO HOCKEY; Two Named to Hall". New York Times. 1991-03-28. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
^. Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2004-08-28. Retrieved 2009-03-29.
^McGourty, John (2004-10-22). . NHL.com. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2007-12-30.
External links
Biographical information and career statistics from Legends of Hockey
August 22, 2023
neil, armstrong, hockey, other, people, named, neil, armstrong, neil, armstrong, disambiguation, david, neil, armstrong, december, 1932, december, 2020, canadian, professional, hockey, linesman, honoured, member, hockey, hall, fame, neil, armstrongborndavid, n. For other people named Neil Armstrong see Neil Armstrong disambiguation David Neil Armstrong December 20 1932 December 6 2020 was a Canadian professional ice hockey linesman and an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame 1 2 Neil ArmstrongBornDavid Neil Armstrong 1932 12 20 December 20 1932Plympton Ontario CanadaDiedDecember 6 2020 2020 12 06 aged 87 Sarnia Ontario CanadaOccupationNHL linesmanYears active1957 1978HonorsHockey Hall of Fame 1991 Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 References 5 External linksEarly life EditArmstrong was born in Plympton Ontario He began playing minor hockey in Galt Ontario and was offered a chance to officiate games Armstrong accepted and later earned his Ontario Hockey Association certification Career EditArmstrong officiated his first National Hockey League game on November 17 1957 when he was 24 In the game which was between the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs the two teams got into a brawl near the end of the game Armstrong broke up a fight involving Fern Flaman who later skated up to him with his arm dangling and proclaimed you broke my arm However it turned out that Flaman was only kidding During his career he had only been seriously injured once and had never missed any games which helped him gain the nickname ironman His one major injury came in 1971 when Philadelphia Flyers player Gary Dornhoefer fell along the boards and knocked Armstrong up against the glass Dornhoefer s stick cut Armstrong s hand and broke a bone forcing him to wear a cast for three months On October 16 1973 Armstrong was honoured in a ceremony at the Detroit Olympia for officiating his 1 314th game which broke the previous record set by George Hayes 3 In total Armstrong officiated a total of 1 744 games and retired in 1978 4 After retiring he became a scout for the Montreal Canadiens He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as an official in 1991 Personal life EditArmstrong has two children daughter Lezleigh and son Doug Armstrong who became general manager of the Dallas Stars Following his tenure with Dallas Doug became the executive vice president and general manager of the St Louis Blues and won the Stanley Cup in 2019 5 References Edit Neil Armstron s obituary The hockey world mourns the passing of Hall of Fame linesman Neil Armstrong SPORTS PEOPLE PRO HOCKEY Two Named to Hall New York Times 1991 03 28 Retrieved 2007 12 30 Neil Armstrong Legends of Hockey Hockey Hall of Fame Archived from the original on 2004 08 28 Retrieved 2009 03 29 McGourty John 2004 10 22 Armstrong learned from the masters NHL com Archived from the original on 2008 07 06 Retrieved 2007 12 30 External links EditBiographical information and career statistics from Legends of Hockey Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Neil Armstrong ice hockey amp oldid 1146730567, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
