Red Wings ‘Terrible Ted’ Dies At 93 [Video]

Ted Lindsay was a terror on the ice, a gentleman off of it. If Detroit is Hockeytown, it's because of Ted and the Production Line.

Ted Lindsay passed away this weekend. He was 93.

Before the Russian Five and the 'Hockeytown' claims of the late '90s/early '00s, there was the 'Production Line' and 'Terrible Ted'.

Lindsay played tough and dirty, 'old school hockey' as they say. He led the Red Wings to four Stanley Cups in the 1950s, when the Wings played in the old barn, the Olympia Auditorium, which literally shook from the rafters every time the Red Wings lit up the goal.

In their obituary, the Detroit Free Press put it this way:

On the ice, Lindsay was cocky and abrasive and would do anything to win. He was a highly unusual player in the post-World War II National Hockey League, a brainy boat-rocker who repeatedly challenged the conservative league establishment. Those qualities — plus his enormous talent — made him one of the most memorable and controversial players in NHL history and a fan favorite for decades in metro Detroit, where he lived for more than 70 years.

But Lindsay was a nice guy off the ice, and he was the captain for those great Wings teams.

Away from the game Lindsay was patient, generous and even tender. Despite his super-star status, he drove through winter nights to appear at countless sports banquets across Michigan and Ontario, and thought nothing of driving even to Sault Ste. Marie for the night to make a speech about hockey. He devoted a lot of time to charity. When the 9-year-old son of a friend was diagnosed with autism, Lindsay established a foundation to raise money for autism research.

“Terrible Ted had a face only a hockey mom could love,” John Finley, the Red Wings’ longtime physician who had stitched up Lindsay many times, wrote in his memoir. “I have many fond memories of the grace, respect, and special effort he took with all those close to him.”

Here's a look a why Lindsay was called 'Terrible Ted'.