Emile Percival Francis was a Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and general manager in the National Hockey League.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982 and received the Wayne Gretzky International Award in 2015.
Francis was born on September 13, 1926, in North Battleford, Saskatchewan, Canada. He was raised by his mother, Yvonne Francis after his father died when he was eight years old. One of his uncles who played for a senior hockey team taught him how to play ice hockey.
Francis played for the Chicago Black Hawks and New York Rangers from 1946 to 1952. After playing minor league hockey until 1960, he became the Rangers assistant general manager in 1962, and later general manager of the Rangers and St. Louis Blues from 1965 to 1983.
Emile Francis was married to Emma until his demise. Together, they had two sons; Bobby and Rick.
Francis died on February 19, 2022, at the age of 95.
Who is the cat in hockey?
Emile Percival Francis was nicknamed “The Cat” in hockey.
Why was Emile Francis called the cat?
Emile Francis began his junior career from 1943 to 1944 with the Philadelphia Falcons of the Eastern Hockey League.
He later acquired his nickname “the Cat” while playing for the Moose Jaw Canucks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League from 1945 to 1946, when a sportswriter impressed with his goal score described him as “quick as a cat”.
Francis joined the N.H.L.’s Black Hawks midway through the 1946-47 season and played in 73 games with them over two seasons.