Dutch Reibel

#14 in white in the photo above is Detroit Red Wings center Earl "Dutch" Reibel. The image is of 1954-55 Parkhurst Hockey card #97. Beckett hockey card price guides list this card, if in near mint condition, at around $100.

Dutch Reibel was born on July 21st, 1930 in Kitchener, Ontario. He was a scoring star all through youth hockey. The Red Wings were quick to add him to their protected lists. In the season of 1949-50 Reibel was added to the Wings OHA junior team the Windsor Spitfires where he put together one of junior hockey's most amazing seasons. In just 48 games he scored 53 goals, 76 assists and 129 points!

He would spend the next three seasons apprenticing in the minor leagues, playing in Omaha, Indianapolis and Edmonton. He would finally join the Wings for the 1953-54 season.

What a debut impression Reibel made. He assisted on all four Red Wings goals as Detroit knocked off the New York Rangers by a score of 4-1. That mark still stands as a NHL record for most assists by a player in his first NHL game (equalled by Roland Erksson of Minnesota in 1976).

The playmaking centerman found a home on a line with none other than Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay.

"They were two of the greatest players. You couldn't beat them, not only as players but as gentlemen, too."

The now long forgotten Reibel was pretty good in his own right. He helped the Wings win Stanley Cups in 1954 and 1955. He was the winner of the 1956 Lady Byng trophy. He finished in the NHL's top ten in scoring in his first three seasons. And in 1954-55 he was the only player between 1950 and 1964 to lead the Red Wings in scoring not named Gordie Howe.

In 1957 Reibel was part of an eight player mega-trade that sent him to Chicago. The move devastated Reibel, who had bled Wings' red for all his hockey career. He had a tough time moving on, feeling betrayed by the team he was so loyal to.

He finished the season in Chicago and played the next in Boston, but his game was lost.

"Once I left Detroit, things just went downhill," he told author Frank Pagnucco. "It just wasn't the same. I enjoyed Detroit . . . you play with an organization for so long."

Reibel finished his career with two seasons with the AHL Providence Reds, hanging up the blades for good in the summer. He returned to Kitchener and worked for Brewer's Retail.