Tim Horton

Born in Cochrane and raised in northern Ontario mining towns, Tim Horton learned his hockey on community rinks before moving to Toronto as a teenager to play junior with St. Michael's. He was honoured as the Ontario junior league's top defenceman in 1948–49 and turned pro shortly afterward.

Horton began his professional career with the Pittsburgh Hornets in the AHL in 1949 and made his NHL debut in the 1949–50 season. After winning the AHL championship in 1952 and earning All-Star recognition there, he became a regular with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1952 and would spend the bulk of the next two decades in Toronto.

During his time with the Maple Leafs Horton collected four Stanley Cups (1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967). He appeared in seven NHL All-Star Games, was named to the NHL First All-Star Team in 1964, 1968 and 1969, and to the Second All-Star Team in 1954, 1963 and 1967. Between February 11, 1961, and February 4, 1968, he played 486 consecutive regular-season games, a club record for Toronto.

In March 1970 he was traded to the New York Rangers, later claimed by the Pittsburgh Penguins and then by the Buffalo Sabres, where he helped Buffalo reach its first playoffs. Off the ice, Horton opened the first Tim Horton Donut Shop in Hamilton in 1964; by the time of his death in 1974 the chain numbered some 40 stores and his business partner Ron Joyce later took over the company.

Horton combined notable strength with steady puck-carrying and defensive poise. Durable and physical without excessive penalties, he mixed power and skill to control opposing forwards. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977 and left a lasting mark on both the Maple Leafs and the expansion teams he later joined.