On This Day January 19th.

January 19:  On this day in 1932, Charlie Conacher became the first Toronto player to score five goals in one game (versus New York’s Roy Worters) since the NHL's Toronto team became the Maple Leafs in 1927. The Leafs trounced the New York Americans 11-3. Altogether, Conacher had 14 three-or-more goal games in his NHL career as a Leaf. Only Darryl Sittler had more.

The Kid Line - Charlie Conacher, Joe Primeau, and Busher Jackson - Conacher Showcased

Baldy Harold Cotton

January 19:  On this day in 1933, Leafs Hap Day and Baldy Cotton set a team record when they each scored powerplay goals only 9 seconds apart. It was in an era when players served their entire penalty time regardless of whether or not the other team scored. The Leafs defeated the Bruins 3-0. Lorne Chabot picked up the shutout in goal for the Leafs. He is also the man credited with first discovering Bobby Orr when Number Four was just 13 years old, playing in a midget tournament for Parry Sound in a tournament in Unionville, Ontario in 1962 with players two and three years older than him.

Doug Baldwin

January 19:  On this day in 1946, Leaf defenseman Doug Baldwin made his NHL debut in a 3-1 victory over the New York Rangers. He played 15 games for Toronto, recording one assist, before being forced out of the lineup due to an emergency appendectomy. He was traded to Detroit the following September. Baldwin had short stints with Chicago (five games) and Detroit (four games) in the NHL over the next two years before beginning a successful minor-league career that lasted until 1959. He was twice a USHL all-star and later became player-coach of Toledo. Doug Baldwin passed away on July 10, 2007 at the age of 84.

1974/75 - 1992/93 Campbell and Prince of Wales Conference Logos

January 19:  On this day in 1991, the old Chicago Stadium hosted the 42nd NHL All-Star game. The Campbell Conference beat the Wales Conference 11-5. The lone Leaf at the game was Vincent Francois Damphousse and he

Vincent Francois Damphousse

ended up scoring four goals while being named the game's MVP. It was the fourth time in All-Star game history that a Leaf player captured the honor. On October 14, 2000, Damphousse recorded his 1,000th career NHL point and was one of the most consistent players on the Sharks for the better part of six seasons, before signing as a free-agent with the Colorado Avalanche in the summer of 2004. Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Damphousse announced his retirement from the game of hockey during the summer of 2005.

On This Day January 8th.

Walter "Babe" Pratt

January 8:  On this day in 1944, Leaf defenseman Babe Pratt set an NHL record that has since been tied but never beaten. Pratt became the first NHL defenseman to record six assists in one game as the Leafs hammered the Boston Bruins 12-3. Pratt shares the record with five other Hall-of-Fame defensemen, including Bobby Orr. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966, the year before his son, Tracy, entered the National Hockey League for his first of 10 seasons in the league.

Irvine "Ace" Bailey insisted that Ellis wear his retired number 6 because he admired his high-caliber yet clean style of play.

January 8   On this day in 1945, Ron Ellis was born in Lindsay, Ontario. Ellis spent his entire career as a Leaf between 1964 and 1981. In 1980, he became just the fourth Leaf in team history to play over 1,000 games in a Leaf uniform. Ellis was on the Leaf's Cup winning team of 1967. He started his Leaf career wearing #11. Then after a few seasons wearing jersey number 8, Ellis was bestowed a great honour when Hall-of-Fame Leaf Ace Bailey suggested the Leafs unretire his jersey number 6 and let Ellis wear it. In all, Ellis played 1,034 NHL games as a Leaf and scored 332 goals. He added 308 assists for a career total of 640 points. Along with Paul Henderson, Ron Ellis represented the Leafs on Team Canada for the Canada-Russia Summit series of 1972 and he was one of only 7 players to play in all 8 games.   

Howie Meeker

January 8:  On this day in 1947, Howie Meeker of Toronto became the first rookie in NHL history to score 5 goals in one game as the Leafs trounced the Chicago Black Hawks 10-4. Former Leafs goaltender Paul Bibeault was his victim. As of 2008, the feat has been equalled only once, by rookie Don Murdoch of the New York Rangers in 1976.

Miroslav "Opava" Frycer

January 8:  On this day in 1986, the Leafs and the Edmonton Oilers combined to come within 1 goal of an all-time NHL record for most goals by both teams in one game. The final score was 11-9 in favour of the Leafs. Miroslav Frycer netted four goals for the Blue and White. Gretzky had 3 goals and 3 assists. Chronic injuries affected his game in Detroit and his days in the NHL were clearly numbered. But one last trade to Edmonton postponed the inevitable for a while. He retired from the NHL in 1989.