As part of the American Hockey League’s 70th anniversary this season, theahl.com will be taking a look at some of the legendary careers that have been carved in the AHL over the last seven decades.
Defenseman Pete Backor had a very successful career as a defenseman with the AHL’s Pittsburgh Hornets, becoming one of the top blueliners in the league during his nine seasons.
Backor, a native of Fort William, Ont., played the 1944-45 season in the NHL with the Toronto Maple Leafs, and made his AHL debut in Pittsburgh the following season. He recorded 31 points for the Hornets in 1945-46 and was named a First Team AHL All-Star, the first of five such selections Backor would receive over the next six seasons. He is tied with Frank Mathers for the most First Team nods by a defenseman in AHL history.
Backor was a key member of the Hornets’ 1952 Calder Cup championship team, and left the AHL in 1954 with 60 goals and 218 assists for 278 points in a franchise-high 534 career games.
| Career AHL Statistics – Pete Backor | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||||||
| Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1945-46 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 61 | 5 | 26 | 31 | 65 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 |
| 1946-47 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 48 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 30 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 1947-48 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 68 | 14 | 39 | 53 | 63 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1948-49 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 68 | 10 | 42 | 52 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1949-50 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 63 | 8 | 29 | 37 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1950-51 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 71 | 7 | 33 | 40 | 80 | 13 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| 1951-52 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 57 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 49 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1952-53 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 53 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 36 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 1953-54 | Pittsburgh Hornets | 45 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| AHL Totals | 534 | 60 | 218 | 278 | 442 | 51 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 48 | |
