Red Storey, 88, NHL Official Who ‘Choked’
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Red Storey, who refereed seven straight Stanley Cup finals during the 1950s and was later elected to hockey’s Hall of Fame, died yesterday. He was 88.
Storey also played on two Grey Cup winners for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League.
He officiated all the Stanley Cup finals between 1952 and 1958, but abruptly resigned in 1959 after NHL president Clarence Campbell said Storey “choked” while calling a game in Chicago.
Stung by the criticism, Storey never worked for the league again, despite fielding calls from people around the NHL asking him to return.
Born in Ontario, Roy Alvin Storey grew up playing sports including hockey, lacrosse, baseball and football. Football was his first love and he turned professional at the age of 18, signing with the Argonauts. He won Grey Cups with the Argos in 1937 and 1938.
Storey was scouted by the Chicago Bears and New York Giants, but his football career ended when he suffered a serious knee injury in 1941.
He was hired by the NHL in 1950.
After his resignation, Storey did radio and TV commentary and participated in old-timers’ games across North America. He was inducted into Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1967.
