About Ralph Backstrom
Ralph Gerald Backstrom was a Canadian professional ice hockey centre and later a coach, entrepreneur and hockey executive. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings, and Chicago Black Hawks between 1956 and 1973. He also played in the World Hockey Association with the Chicago Cougars, Denver Spurs/Ottawa Civics, and New England Whalers from 1973 to 1977. With the Canadiens, he won the Stanley Cup six times, and won the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's rookie of the year in 1959. After retiring he served as head coach of the University of Denver Pioneers for several years in the 1980s. In his first season, he led the Cougars in scoring with 33 goals and 83 points in 70 games. Since the Seals' first draft pick had been traded to the Canadiens, this enabled the Canadiens to draft first and acquire superstar Guy Lafleur as a reward for sending Backstrom to the Kings. He was captain of the team that won the George Richardson Memorial Trophy in 1957 and the Memorial Cup in 1958.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.