Rudy Pilous
Encyclopedia
Rudy Pilous was a Canadian
ice hockey
player and coach, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pilous won a Stanley Cup
coaching the Chicago Black Hawks
in 1960–61, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 1985 in the builder category.
in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League
before becoming a New York Rangers
prospect. During 1937–38, Pilous played minor professional hockey with the New York Rovers of the Eastern Hockey League. Unable to reach the National Hockey League
, Pilous transferred the St. Catharines Saints, a senior ice hockey
in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior division
from 1938 to 1941.
, a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association
. Pilous left the Falcons in 1946, spending the 1946–47 season as a scout for the nearby Buffalo Bisons
. Pilous spent the 1947–48 season in Houston, Texas, winning the USHL Championship. In 1948–49, Pilous led the San Diego Skyhawks
to the Pacific Coast Hockey League
title.
After the PCHL, Pilous returned to the team he founded in St. Catharines, now known as the St. Catharines Teepees
. He coached the team to a Memorial Cup
championship in the 1954 Memorial Cup
, and was its general manager for the 1960 Memorial Cup
victory.
Pilous coached the Chicago Black Hawks from 1958 to 1963. In the 1961 Stanley Cup Finals
, he led the Hawks to Stanley Cup victory.
Pilous coached the Denver Invaders
in 1963–64 to the Western Hockey League
's Governor's Trophy. After a brief stint with the Hamilton Red Wings
, Pilous was hired to be the initial general manager of the expansion Oakland Seals in 1967. Pilous was quickly dismissed by team owners, and joined the Denver Spurs
of the WHL, building them into a first place team by 1972.
Pilous returned to his childhood home in Manitoba, with the Brandon Wheat Kings
and subsequently coaching the Winnipeg Jets. Pilous later became general manager, and led the Jets to Avco World Trophy
championships in 1976, 1978 and 1979.
Pilous' coaching career ended where it started in St. Catharines 43 years earlier, at the helm of the St. Catharines Saints
from 1983 to 1986.
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
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 and coach, born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Pilous won a 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...
coaching the Chicago Black Hawks
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . They have won four Stanley Cup championships since their founding in 1926, most recently coming in 2009-10...
in 1960–61, and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
Hockey Hall of Fame
The Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1985 in the builder category.
Playing career
Pilous played junior ice hockeyJunior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...
in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League
Manitoba Junior Hockey League
The Manitoba Junior Hockey League is a Junior 'A' ice hockey league operating in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The MJHL is one of eleven Junior 'A' Hockey Leagues in Canada and is a member of the Canadian Junior Hockey League ....
before becoming a New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
prospect. During 1937–38, Pilous played minor professional hockey with the New York Rovers of the Eastern Hockey League. Unable to reach 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...
, Pilous transferred the St. Catharines Saints, a senior ice hockey
Senior ice hockey
Senior hockey refers to amateur or semi-professional ice hockey competition for players too old to play junior ice hockey. The top senior amateur teams in Canadian leagues compete annually for the Allan Cup....
in the Ontario Hockey Association Senior division
OHA Senior A League (1929–1979)
The Ontario Hockey Association Senior A League was a top tier Canadian Senior ice hockey league in Ontario from 1890 until 1979. The league was sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Association and the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association and its clubs competed for the Allan Cup.-History:The league was...
from 1938 to 1941.
Coach and team builder
In 1943, Pilous cofounded the St. Catharines FalconsSt. Catharines Falcons
The St. Catharines Falcons were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1943 to 1947. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
, a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League is one of the three Major Junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 15-20.The OHL also operates under the Ontario Hockey Federation of Hockey Canada....
. Pilous left the Falcons in 1946, spending the 1946–47 season as a scout for the nearby Buffalo Bisons
Buffalo Bisons (AHL)
The Buffalo Bisons were an American Hockey League ice hockey franchise that played from 1940 to 1970 in Buffalo, New York. They replaced the original Buffalo Bisons hockey team, which left the area in 1936 after its arena collapsed...
. Pilous spent the 1947–48 season in Houston, Texas, winning the USHL Championship. In 1948–49, Pilous led the San Diego Skyhawks
San Diego Skyhawks
The San Diego Skyhawks were a professional ice hockey team in San Diego, California. They were a member of the Pacific Coast Hockey League from 1948 to 1950. They played their home games in the Glacier Gardens....
to the Pacific Coast Hockey League
Pacific Coast Hockey League
The Pacific Coast Hockey League was an ice hockey minor league with teams in the western United States and western Canada that existed in several incarnations: from 1928 to 1931, from 1936 to 1941, and from 1944 to 1952.-PCHL 1928-1931:...
title.
After the PCHL, Pilous returned to the team he founded in St. Catharines, now known as the St. Catharines Teepees
St. Catharines Teepees
The St. Catharines Teepees were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1947 to 1962. The team was based in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada.-History:...
. He coached the team to a Memorial Cup
Memorial Cup
The Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
championship in the 1954 Memorial Cup
1954 Memorial Cup
The 1954 Memorial Cup final was the 36th junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada competed against the Abbott Cup champions Edmonton Oil Kings...
, and was its general manager for the 1960 Memorial Cup
1960 Memorial Cup
The 1960 Memorial Cup final was the 42nd junior ice hockey championship of the Canadian Amateur Hockey Association. The George Richardson Memorial Trophy champions St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association in Eastern Canada competed against the Abbott Cup champions Edmonton Oil Kings...
victory.
Pilous coached the Chicago Black Hawks from 1958 to 1963. In the 1961 Stanley Cup Finals
1961 Stanley Cup Finals
The 1961 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. Chicago was making its first appearance since in the Final, and Detroit, their first appearance since . The Blackhawks would win the best-of-seven series four games to two to win their third Stanley Cup,...
, he led the Hawks to Stanley Cup victory.
Pilous coached the 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...
in 1963–64 to the Western Hockey League
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...
's Governor's Trophy. After a brief stint with the Hamilton Red Wings
Hamilton Red Wings
The Hamilton Red Wings were a junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey Association from 1960 to 1974. The team was based in Hamilton, Ontario.-History:...
, Pilous was hired to be the initial general manager of the expansion Oakland Seals in 1967. Pilous was quickly dismissed by team owners, and joined the Denver Spurs
Denver Spurs
The Denver Spurs were a professional ice hockey team based out of Denver, Colorado. The Spurs began play in the Western Hockey League in 1968, and played at the Denver Coliseum. The Spurs became the first professional sports team in Colorado to win a championship in 1971–72...
of the WHL, building them into a first place team by 1972.
Pilous returned to his childhood home in Manitoba, with the Brandon Wheat Kings
Brandon Wheat Kings
The Brandon Wheat Kings are a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Brandon, Manitoba. They compete in the Western Hockey League, and joined the league in the 1967–68 season. Prior to that they played in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League and were known as the Brandon Elks for a short time in the...
and subsequently coaching the Winnipeg Jets. Pilous later became general manager, and led the Jets to Avco World Trophy
Avco World Trophy
The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, was the championship trophy of the original World Hockey Association . The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation , a defense contractor who bought the rights to advertise their consumer finance division...
championships in 1976, 1978 and 1979.
Pilous' coaching career ended where it started in St. Catharines 43 years earlier, at the helm of the St. Catharines Saints
St. Catharines Saints
The St. Catharines Saints was a minor league ice hockey team in St. Catharines, Ontario. It played in the American Hockey League from 1982–1986 as the farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs....
from 1983 to 1986.
Awards and achievements
- USHL Championship (1948)
- PCHL Championship (1949)
- Memorial CupMemorial CupThe Memorial Cup is a junior ice hockey club championship trophy awarded annually to the Canadian Hockey League champion. It is awarded following a four-team, round robin tournament between a host team and the champions of the CHL's three member leagues: the Ontario Hockey League , Quebec Major...
Championships (1954 & 1960) - Stanley CupStanley CupThe 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...
Championship (1961) - WHLWestern 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...
regular season Championship (1964) - Avco Cup (WHAWorld Hockey AssociationThe 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...
) (1976, 1978, & 1979) - Inducted into the Hockey Hall of FameHockey Hall of FameThe Hockey Hall of Fame is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it is both a museum and a hall of fame. It holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League records, memorabilia and NHL trophies, including the Stanley Cup...
in 1985 - “Honoured Member” of the Manitoba Hockey Hall of FameManitoba Hockey Hall of FameThe Manitoba Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum was established in 1985 when the first honoured members were named and plaques were erected in their honour. The first group of inductees was large in order to recognize the accomplishments of Manitoba players, coaches, builders and teams at the...