This article is about Sam Pollock, hockey manager. For Sam Pollock, the American labor leader, see Sam Pollock.
Samuel Patterson Smyth "Sam" Pollock, OC , CQ (December 25, 1925 – August 15, 2007) was a legendary general manager in the National Hockey League.
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, Sam was a terrific evaluator of talent. In 1950, with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and in 1958, with the Ottawa Junior Canadiens, he won the Memorial Cup.
The Montreal Canadiens saw the talent in Sam and quickly hired him to be the successor to Frank J. Selke. In 1963, Selke finally retired and Sam took over his job as general manager of the Habs. Among one of his biggest moves, was a series of trades in which the Canadiens obtained the first overall pick in the 1971 NHL Entry Draft. [1] Pollock then selected Guy Lafleur who became one of the greatest players during the 1970s and contributed to the Canadiens success during that decade. In his 14 years with the club, the team won 9 Stanley Cups.
In 1976, he was the General Manager for the 1976 Chapions at the Canada Cup.
In 1978, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder and later into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame.
In 1985, he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Knight of the National Order of Quebec in 2002.
He was also Chairman and CEO of Major League Baseball's Toronto Blue Jays from 1995 - 2000.
He died on August 15, 2007 at the age of 81 in Toronto, Ontario. [2]