Claude Earl "Chuck" Rayner (Born - August 11, 1920 in Sutherland, Saskatchewan, Canada - Died - October 5, 2002) was a Canadian professional hockey goaltender who played 9 seasons in the National Hockey League for the New York Americans and New York Rangers. He is an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. August 11 is the 223rd day of the year (224th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1920 (MCMXX) was a leap year starting on Thursday. ... Sutherland was a Canadian town in Saskatchewan. ... October 5 is the 278th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (279th in leap years). ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... A professional can be either a person in a profession (certain types of skilled work requiring formal training / education) or in sports (a sportsman / sportwoman doing sports for payment). ... Ice hockey, known simply as hockey in areas where it is more common than field hockey, is a team sport played on ice. ... This article is about the goaltender in ice hockey. ... “NHL” redirects here. ... The New York Americans were a NHL hockey team, the third expansion team in league history and the second to play in the United States. ... The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City, New York, U.S.A.. Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the oldest teams in the National Hockey League, and are part of the group of teams referred... The Hockey Hall of Fame is located at the corner of Front & Yonge in downtown Toronto The Stanley Cup on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame which is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, celebrates the history of hockey with exhibits featuring memorabilia and NHL...

Playing career

Playing his junior career for the Kenora Thistles of the Manitoba junior league, Rayner showed his skill early in backstopping the team to the Memorial Cup championship in 1940. The next season he turned professional for the Americans, spending most of the year with the Amerks' minor league affiliate, the Springfield Indians of the AHL. With the Indians, Rayner led the league in shutouts and goals against average and was named to the Second All-Star Team. The small city of Kenora prides itself on their triumphant win of the Stanley Cup in 1907 by the Kenora Thistles ice hockey team. ... The Memorial Cup is the championship trophy of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL). ... The Springfield Indians was a founding franchise of the American Hockey League, existing (with two interruptions) from 1926 to 1994. ... The American Hockey League (AHL) is regarded as the top professional hockey league in North America outside the National Hockey League (NHL) for which it serves as the primary developmental circuit. ...

The following season Rayner was the leading goalie for the Americans' final season before folding. World War II interrupted Rayner's career, however, and he spent the next three years in the Royal Canadian Navy, where he played two seasons for naval teams based out of Victoria. Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... For history after 1968, see Canadian Forces Maritime Command The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three Canadian armed services were unified to form the Canadian Forces. ... Victoria is the capital of the western Canadian province of British Columbia. ...

After the war, he signed as a free agent in 1945 with the Rangers. Rayner would be the starting goaltender for New York six of the next seven seasons, earning accolades for his play even though the Rangers' teams of the era were weak, and Rayner would never have a winning record. He was noted as a puckhandling goalie, attempting several times throughout his career to score a goal.

Even though he played on poor teams throughout his career, there was little doubt that "Bonnie Prince Charlie" was one of the best goalies of his era. The three years between 1948 and 1951 were his best, and he won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1950, after leading the Rangers to overtime in the seventh game of the Stanley Cup finals. Hart Memorial Trophy on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The Hart Memorial Trophy is presented annually to the ice hockey player who is most valuable to his team in the National Hockey League during the regular season. ... The Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup is the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL), the major professional hockey league in Canada and the United States. ...

Post-NHL career

In 1953, Rayner lost his job as Rangers' starter to future Hall of Famer Gump Worsley. He played one more season in the minors for the Saskatoon Quakers of the Western Hockey League and a couple brief stints in the senior leagues the two seasons thereafter before hanging up his skates for good. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The Saskatoon Quakers were an ice hockey team that was based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. ... The Western Hockey League is one of the three hockey Major Junior Tier I leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. ...

He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973, only the second goaltender in history to be inducted with a losing record. The Hockey Hall of Fame is located at the corner of Front & Yonge in downtown Toronto The Stanley Cup on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame which is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, celebrates the history of hockey with exhibits featuring memorabilia and NHL... 1973 (MCMLXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday. ...

Awards & achievements

• Named to the AHL Second All-Star Team in 1941.
• Named to the NHL Second All-Star Team in 1949, 1950 and 1951.
• Won the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1950.
• Played in the NHL All-Star Game in 1949, 1950 and 1951.
• Led the NHL in shutouts in 1947 with five.