Earl Ingarfield Sr.
Hockey Athlete - Inducted 2007
Earl Ingarfield Sr. has been active in hockey for more than 50 years. He played in the NHL for 13 seasons from 1958 to 1971. Earl was a solid center iceman who was very strong on his feet, a great face-off man, penalty killer, and could score goals in clutch situations. A durable player, he missed only seven of 490 games from 1960-1967. Earl is best known as a playmaker for the New York Rangers, setting up his wingers, Andy Bathgate and Dean Prentice. He was assistant captain for five seasons with the Rangers and in 1961-62 he was awarded the NYR Players Player Award - for zeal and effectiveness in the best interests of the Rangers Hockey team on and off the ice.
Earl Ingarfield Sr. was the first player drafted in the 1967 expansion draft by the Pittsburgh Penguins and was their captain for 1½ seasons. He was traded to the Oakland Seals in 1968 and played with them until he retired in 1971. During his career, Earl scored 179 goals and 226 assists for 405 points in 746 regular season games. He played 21 playoff games and had a record of 9 goals, 8 assists for 17 points.
After retiring from the NHL, Earl Ingarfield Sr. moved to the WHL and coached the Regina Pats before becoming the Assistant General Manager, Coach and part owner of the Lethbridge Broncos. He then worked for the New York Islanders organization as a coach, Director of Scouting and as Western Canadian scout. He was instrumental in drafting future Stanley Cup champions Bob Nystrom, Clark Gillies, Bryan Trottier, Duane Sutter, and Brent Sutter. He was a mentor and role model for many of the young players he drafted and coached.
Earl Ingarfield Sr. was also an excellent semi-pro baseball player from 1954-1961. He led the league with homeruns while with Granum and was offered a tryout with the Seattle Raniers of the Triple A Pacific Coast League. Earl Ingarfield was inducted into the Lethbridge and Southern Alberta Sports Hall of Fame in 1985, the New York Rangers Alumni Hall of Fame in 2002, and honoured by the New York Islanders in 2006.
