Earl “Dutch” Reibel

Earl “Dutch” Reibel was born in Kitchener. He played minor hockey with and was the leading scorer of the Kitchener Greenshirts Jr. “B” Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) champions in 1948-49. In 1949-50, he led the OHA Jr. “A” scoring with the Windsor Spitfires where he became the first player in OHA history to break 100 points in a season with 129 points in just 48 games.

Reibel was Rookie of the Year in the American Hockey League in 1952 and a first team All-Star in the Western Hockey League in 1953 when he won the scoring title.

Reibel started his National Hockey League (NHL) career with a flourish when he assisted on all four of the Detroit Red Wings goals – a record for players in their first NHL game that still stands today. He played as center for six seasons, winning two Stanley Cup Championships with the Detroit Red Wings in 1954 and 1955. He finished in the NHL’s top ten in scoring in his first three seasons.

In the 1954-55 season, Reibel led Detroit in scoring. Reibel played in the 1954 and 1955 NHL All-Star games. And in the 1955-56 season he was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the player adjudged to have exhibited the best type of sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability.

Reibel was traded to the Chicago Black Hawks in 1957, and finished his NHL career with the Boston Bruins in 1959, having amassed 245 scoring points. He completed his professional hockey career with the Providence Reds in the American Hockey League in 1961.

Photograph courtesy of the Detroit News Pictorial Magazine.