Keith Magnuson

Without doubt, Keith Magnuson is one of the most memorable Chicago defensemen of all time.

Keith Magnuson was born on April 27, 1947, in Wadena, Saskatchewan, the son of an insurance salesman. He grew up dreaming of playing in the National Hockey League, which made his chosen route all the more unlikely. Magnuson played college hockey at the University of Denver, where he helped the Pioneers to the NCAA championship in 1968 and 1969.

At that time it was extremely rare for a college player to make the NHL. The best bet was through the junior hockey systems. One of the reasons Keith chose Denver was because childhood best friend Cliff Koroll was also going there. Both would graduate to the become mainstays with the Chicago Blackhawks. Jim Wiste, briefly a Hawk, also played at the U of D.

"I brought Maggy to the University of Denver the year after I got there and I was responsible for keeping him there," Koroll said. "We knew each other for 45 years."

The fiery and emotional Magnuson was a mainstay on defense for the Blackhawks from 1969 to 1979, signing as a free agent. He was probably best known for his willingness to drop the gloves at any time, and with anybody. He still holds the Blackhawks team record for penalty minutes in a career, with 1,442.

He was hulking aggressor, almost too proud to be the Blackhawk's chief.

"That symbol, the Indian warrior, meant more to Maggy than to anyone else I've ever known," Troy Murray, a longtime Hawk from a more recent era.

The "Red Headed Barbarian" would take on all comers, no matter how many times he was beaten down. He had memorable battles with Bobby Orr and Dave "The Hammer" Schultz.

"Maggy told me about the time we were playing Philadelphia," said Murray. "The Flyers were a pretty bad bunch and we were winning big. 'Every Flyer who came over the boards wanted to fight Maggy. Back in those days, you could go from fight to fight. Anyway, Maggy would fight one guy, get through, and there would be another guy waiting for him. He would finish and it would be 'Next.' ''

But as tough as Keith was on the ice, off the ice he was always a gentleman. He would often stay late after games to sign autographs for anybody who wanted one.

"Maggie typified the spirit of Blackhawk hockey, which the Chicago fans appreciated. He was not a dirty player who took cheap shots, even though he piled up penalty minutes that would amount to a total of more than two dozen games in his career," wrote Harvey Wittenberg, author of "Tales From The Chicago Blackhawks."

In his first season, 1969-70, Magnuson and fellow collegiate stars Koroll, Jim Wiste, and Tony Esposito, helped turn the last place Hawks to 1st place. Magnuson set a Hawk record for penalty minutes in his rookie campaign. He never scored a goal that year, and would only score 14 in his career.

The Hawks fortunes continued to rise dramatically in the early 1970s. In both 1971 and 1973 the Hawks advanced to the Stanley Cup finals, finishing just short each time.

Keith played all of his 589 games for the Blackhawks before retiring due to knee injuries in 1979. But his career with the Blackhawks didn't end there. Magnuson went on to become an assistant coach under Eddie Johnston, before being hired as the Hawks' head coach in 1980. Keith had limited success as a head coach, compiling a 49-57-26 record in 132 games, but there was little doubt that he gave everything he had to the Blackhawks organization.

Upon retirement he continued to live in the Chicago area and worked as an executive for Coca-Cola. He helped establish the Blackhawks alumni association, and made frequent guest appearances at hockey events and various functions.

On December 15th, 2003, at the early age of 56, Keith Magnuson died in an automobile accident in Vaughan, Ontario. Magnuson was returning from the funeral of former NHL player Keith McCreary, when his car, driven by former NHLer Rob Ramage, was part of a three car collision just south of Toronto. Ramage faced three charges, including impaired driving causing death, which had a maximum sentence of life imprisonment. Ramage still awaits trial.

"His death was the worst thing to happen -- not just to me, but everybody who knew this wonderful, funny, unselfish man, husband and parent," says Koroll. "I spent 15 hours at Cindy's house with her, son Kevin and daughter Molly after the accident. Not an hour goes by that I don't think of him."