Phil Hergesheimer

Who was Phil Hergesheimer?

Philip "Nip" Hergesheimer was a professional ice hockey right winger.

A native of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Hergesheimer was the brother of fellow NHL player Wally Hergesheimer. Phil played for teams in the Canadian Amateur Hockey League, International Hockey League, National Hockey League, American Hockey Association, American Hockey League and the Ontario Secondary Hockey League.

Among the minor league teams he played for were the Winnipeg Falcons, Boston Cubs, London Tecumsehs, Minneapolis Millers, Cleveland Barons, Ottawa Commandos, St. John's Navy, Philadelphia Rockets, Cincinnati Mohawks, Kelowna Packers, and Kamloop Elks. He played four seasons with the Chicago Black Hawks of the NHL.

Hergesheimer was a five-star American Hockey League All-Star Game Champion, and the winner of the Calder Cup Trophy in 1946. By 1951 his career had totaled 288 goals and 265 assists for 553 points in 548 games. He retired in 1955 as the second-leading goal scorer of his era, and today still ranks 20th on the league's all time list. On March 6, 2004, Hergesheimer died in Kelowna, British Columbia, shortly before he was inducted into the Cincinnati Hockey Hall of Fame. He was pre-deceased by his wife of 66 years, Mary and is survived by his daughter, Jo-Ann and grandson, Neil.