Bob Plager, the hard-hitting NHL defender who worked with the Blues for over 50 years as a player, coach, scout and ambassador, died Wednesday after a two-vehicle collision on a St. Louis freeway, according to multiple reports. He was 78.
An unidentified woman in the other car involved in the accident on Interstate 64 was treated in a hospital for minor injuries, police told CBS subsidiary KMOV.
Details about the crash were scarce.
“It’s inconceivable to imagine the St. Louis Blues without Bobby Plager,” the Blues said in a statement.
Known for his signature hip check and jokes off the ice, including once sending a teammate’s dentures home on a long road trip, the one she “Mr. Blue” grew up in Ontario, Canada and began his career with the Rangers in 1964.
In his first game with the Rangers, at the old Madison Square Garden, Plager endeared himself to fans after delivering a smashing hit to the Chicago Blackhawks’ Hall of Famer Bobby Hull.
“For the next game, the fans will have Bob Plager banners hanging from the balcony,” Plager remembers PuckStruck.com in 2017.
But his time in New York lasted only 29 games before he was traded to the Blues as part of the 1967 NHL expansion release, in which St. Louis and five other franchises joined a six-team league.
The 5-foot-11, 195-pound powerhouse immediately became a staple of a Blues team making the first three seasons of the Stanley Cup finals, losing every time.
He also played four of his 11 seasons in St. Louis with brothers Bill and Barclay – in 1972, the three took to the stands in Philadelphia after Flyers fans doused their head coach, the legendary Al Arbor, with beer.
Plager, whose No. 5 was born in 2017, retired from the NHL in 1977 after 645 NHL games, including 20 goals, 126 assists and 800 penalty minutes.
He worked in a lower professional hockey league for a few years and joined the Blues front office where he would work for the rest of his life.
After years of success as a scout, he became a minor league coach and was named head coach of the Blues in 1992, but resigned after just 11 games because he was unhappy in his new role. He returned to his position as vice president of player development.
Plager has since served as the team ambassador, seeing the Blues win their first Stanley Cup in 2019.