Syl Apps CM
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1961
Apps with theToronto Maple Leafs in 1942
Born	(1915-01-18)January 18, 1915 Paris, Ontario, Canada
Died	December 24, 1998(1998-12-24) (aged 83) Kingston, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1936–1948
Medal record Men'sathletics British Empire Games 1934 London Pole vault
Minister of Correctional Services
In office 1971–1974
Premier	Bill Davis
Preceded by	Allan Grossman
Succeeded by	Richard Potter
Ontario MPP
In office 1963–1975
Preceded by	William McAdam Nickle
Succeeded by	Keith Norton
Constituency	Kingston, 1963–1967 Kingston and the Islands, 1967–1975
Personal details
Political party	National Government (Federal) Progressive Conservative (Provincial)
Military service
Allegiance	Canada
Branch/service	Canadian Army
Years of service	1943–1945
Battles/wars	World War II

Charles Joseph Sylvanus AppsCM (January 18, 1915 – December 24, 1998),^[1] was aCanadian professionalice hockey player for theToronto Maple Leafs from 1936 to 1948, an Olympicpole vaulter and aConservativeMember of Provincial Parliament inOntario. In 2017 Apps was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Apps was a strong athlete, six feet tall, weighing 185 pounds, and won the gold medal at the1934 British Empire Games inthe pole vault competition. Two years later he represented Canada at the1936 Olympics inBerlin, Germany, where he placed sixth inthe pole vault event. After watching him playfootball atMcMaster University (where Apps was majoring in Economics),Conn Smythe signed Apps to play hockey with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Apps playedcentre position with the Toronto Maple Leafs for his entire professional hockey career. Hisjersey number was 10. He was the winner of the firstCalder Memorial Trophy in1937, and the1942Lady Byng Memorial Trophy. Apps served as theMaple Leafscaptain during the firstNational Hockey League All-Star Game October 13, 1947, atMaple Leaf Gardens. He also played for an all-star team competing inMontreal on October 29, 1939, to raise money forBabe Siebert's family.

Apps was in the prime of his career when he joined the Canadian Army during World War II at the end of the 1943 season. He served two years until the war was over, whereupon he returned to captain the Leafs, winning 2 more Stanley Cups in 1947 and 1948.^[3]

Apps contemplated retirement following the 1947 Stanley Cup win, but returned in order to reach the 200 career goals milestone. With 196 career goals heading into the final weekend of theregular season, Apps scored 5 goals in the two weekend games to surpass his goal.^[4] Despite scoring 53 points in 55 games and setting a career high in goals, Apps retired from the NHL at the age of 33 and took a marketing job with theSimpson's department store. At the same time, he also served as the Ontario Athletic Commissioner.

While still playing hockey, Apps ran for parliament in the1940 federal election. He was a candidate in the riding ofBrant for theNational Government Party but lost to incumbentGeorge Wood of the Liberals by 138 votes.

Apps was aProgressive Conservative member of theLegislative Assembly of Ontario from 1963 to 1975. He represented the riding ofKingston from 1963 to 1967 andKingston and the Islands from 1967 to 1975. He served as the Minister of Correctional Services from 1971 to 1974.

On December 24, 1998, Apps died from aheart attack and was buried in Mountview Cemetery inCambridge, Ontario. After his death, the Maple Leafs honoured his jersey number andGeorge Armstrong's number, who both wore the number 10. Their numbers were not retired, as the Maple Leafs had apolicy of only retiring numbers for players "who have made a significant contribution to the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and have experienced a career-ending incident while a member of the Maple Leaf team". However, this policy was changed for the Maple Leafs' centennial season, with Apps' number, along with 15 others, officially being retired on October 15, 2016.

Apps was known for his athleticism, character, skating and play-making abilities (alongside a scoring touch, six times reaching the 20 goal plateau).^[4] He has been praised by Maple Leafs alumni, authors, historians and even competitors. Maple Leafs ownerConn Smythe called Apps the greatest player in franchise history, with teammateHowie Meeker noting his strong, consistent play.Ted Kennedy often spoke of his character.Jack Adams, famous for his managerial roles with theDetroit Red Wings, stated that Apps was the greatest centre he had ever seen.Boston Bruins legendMilt Schmidt called Apps the greatest player he ever played against, as didTed Lindsay in relation to the centre position and gentlemanly characteristics.^[4]

In 1975, he was elected toCanada's Sports Hall of Fame and two years later Apps was made a Member of theOrder of Canada.

Several institutions are named for him, including theSyl and Molly Apps Research Centre inKingston, Ontario, and theSyl Apps Youth Centre inOakville, Ontario. The sports arena in his home town of Paris is named theSyl Apps Community Centre.

In 1997, Syl Apps was inducted into theOntario Sports Hall of Fame.^[5] Unveiled by theOntario Sports Hall of Fame on January 13, 1998, the Syl Apps Award is emblematic of Ontario's Athlete of the Year.^[6]

In 2001,Canada Post included Apps in aseries of NHL All-Star 47-centpostage stamps.

The National Hockey League itself listed Apps as one of the 100 Greatest Players to ever play in the league as part of the league's centennial celebrations in 2017.^[4]

Apps and wife Mary Josephine had five children, Joanne, Robert, Carol, Janet and sonSyl Apps Jr. (the latter also played in the NHL). His granddaughter (and daughter of Syl Jr.)Gillian Apps won the gold medal in the2006 Winter Olympics, the2010 Winter Olympics, and the2014 Winter Olympics for Canada's women's ice hockey team, and his grandsonSyl Apps III was a college hockey star atPrinceton University and played four years in the minor leagues. His grandsonDarren Barber won a gold medal at the1992 Barcelona Olympics in the men's 8 in rowing. Barber is now a family doctor inPeterborough, Ontario.^[7]Another cousin, whose grandparents had settled in Manitoba, wasMurray Dryden; his sonsDave Dryden andKen Dryden were NHL Goalkeepers.

• Calder Memorial Trophy winner in1937.
• Selected to theNHL Second All-Star Team in1938,1941, and1943.
• Selected to theNHL First All-Star Team in1939, and1942.
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner in 1942.
• Stanley Cup champion in1942,1947, and1948.
• Inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1961.
• Inducted intoCanada's Sports Hall of Fame in 1975.
• In 1998, he was ranked number 33 onThe Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
• #10 jersey retired by theToronto Maple Leafs.^[8]
• In January 2017, Apps was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Note: "National Government" vote is compared to Conservative vote in 1935 election.

Note: Apps appeared on Provincial election ballots as his legal first, middle, and last name.

• List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise

• Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Ontario Legislative Assembly parliamentary history
• Charles J. Sylvanus Apps atOlympics.com
• Sylvanus Apps atTeam Canada
• Syl Apps atOlympedia

• 1915 births
• 1998 deaths
• Apps family
• Canadian Army personnel
• Canadian military personnel from Ontario
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1934 British Empire Games
• Athletes (track and field) at the 1936 Summer Olympics
• Calder Trophy winners
• Canadian ice hockey centres
• Canadian men pole vaulters
• Canadian Army personnel of World War II
• Canadian people of English descent
• Canadian sportsperson-politicians
• Commonwealth Games gold medallists for Canada
• Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
• Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winners
• McMaster Marauders football players
• Members of the Executive Council of Ontario
• Members of the Order of Canada
• Conservative Party of Canada (1867–1942) candidates for the Canadian House of Commons
• Olympic track and field athletes for Canada
• Progressive Conservative Party of Ontario MPPs
• Stanley Cup champions
• Toronto Maple Leafs players
• Sportspeople from the County of Brant
• Ice hockey people from Kingston, Ontario
• Medallists at the 1934 British Empire Games
• 20th-century members of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen
• Commonwealth Games gold medallists in athletics

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from September 2017
• Use Canadian English from September 2017
• All Wikipedia articles written in Canadian English