Ross Lonsberry obit

Ross Lonsberry dies at 67; former hockey player for Kings, Flyers

 

He was not on the list.

Ross Lonsberry, who played for the Kings from 1969 until early 1972 and went on to be part of the Philadelphia Flyers’ Stanley Cup-winning teams in 1974 and 1975, died of cancer Sunday in Santa Clarita. He was 67 and had lived in Southern California since he retired from the NHL in the early 1980s.

His brother-in-law, Rex Moore, said Lonsberry had been ill for about two years. “He enjoyed playing here. He loved L.A.,” Moore said Monday. “He didn’t want to live anywhere else.”

Lonsberry sold corporate insurance for many years in the Los Angeles area, Moore said.

Born Feb. 7, 1947, in the town of Humboldt in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan, Lonsberry had a stellar junior hockey career and signed with the Boston Bruins. He was traded to the Kings on May 14, 1969, with Eddie Shack for Ken Turlik and two first-round draft picks. He had a 20-goal season and a 25-goal season with the Kings, but the team traded him to the Flyers on Jan. 28, 1972, with Bill Flett, Eddie Joyal and Jean Potvin for Serge Bernier, Jim Johnson and Bill Lesuk.

He was a key member of the Flyers’ “Broad Street Bullies” teams, contributing 32 goals in the 1973-74 season — plus four in the playoffs — and 24 goals in the 1974-75 season, also with four more in the playoffs. He finished his career with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

A family friend, Robert Sheahen of Sherman Oaks, said he played hockey with Lonsberry in local beer leagues for many years.

“Even when he was 55 he was the best player on the ice, even with some very good 22-year-olds on the ice,” Sheahen said. “And he was a fabulous person. Very self-effacing, very soft-spoken.”

Moore said Lonsberry would be cremated and that the family would hold a private celebration of his life in the near future. Moore said Lonsberry is survived by his wife, Wahnita, two daughters, a son and nine grandchildren.

 

Career statistics

                         Regular season              Playoffs

Season Team            League            GP            G            A            Pts            PIM            GP            G            A            Pts            PIM

1962–63            Estevan Bruins   SJHL            1            0            1            1            0            —            —            —            —            —

1963–64            Estevan Bruins   SJHL            61            18            26            44            55            11            6            9            15            23

1963–64            Estevan Bruins   MC            —            —            —            —            —            5            1            1            2            8

1964–65            Estevan Bruins   SJHL            56            40            56            96            130            6            3            5            8            15

1964–65            Minneapolis Bruins            CPHL            2            0            0            0            0            5            1            0            1            4

1964–65            Estevan Bruins   MC            —            —            —            —            —            19            20            10            30            23

1965–66            Estevan Bruins   SJHL            59            67            77            144            109            12            13            6            19            26

1965–66            Estevan Bruins   MC            —            —            —            —            —            13            10            9            19            17

1965–66            Edmonton Oil Kings            MC            —            —            —            —            —            6            2            1            3            6

1966–67            Oklahoma City Blazers            CPHL            46            12            10            22            83            11            3            2            5            31

1966–67            Buffalo Bisons  AHL            7            1            1            2            4            —            —            —            —            —

1966–67            Boston Bruins   NHL            8            0            1            1            2            —            —            —            —            —

1967–68            Oklahoma City Blazers            CPHL            19            2            2            4            12            7            3            3            6            22

1967–68            Boston Bruins   NHL            19            2            2            4            12            —            —            —            —            —

1968–69            Oklahoma City Blazers            CHL            65            28            39            67            169            12            4            8            12            21

1968–69            Boston Bruins   NHL            6            0            0            0            2            —            —            —            —            —

1969–70            Los Angeles Kings            NHL            76            20            22            42            118            —            —            —            —            —

1970–71            Los Angeles Kings            NHL            76            25            28            53            80            —            —            —            —            —

1971–72            Los Angeles Kings            NHL            50            9            14            23            39            —            —            —            —            —

1971–72            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            32            7            7            14            22            —            —            —            —            —

1972–73            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            77            21            29            50            59            11            4            3            7            9

1973–74            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            75            32            19            51            48            17            4            9            13            18

1974–75            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            80            24            25            49            99            17            4            3            7            10

1975–76            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            80            19            28            47            87            16            4            3            7            2

1976–77            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            75            23            32            55            43            10            1            2            3            29

1977–78            Philadelphia Flyers            NHL            78            18            30            48            45            12            2            2            4            6

1978–79            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            80            24            22            46            38            7            0            2            2            9

1979–80            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            76            15            18            33            36            5            2            1            3            2

1980–81            Pittsburgh Penguins            NHL            80            17            33            50            76            5            0            0            0            2

CPHL/CHL totals    154            56            67            123            368            35            11            13            24            78

NHL totals            968            256            310            566            806            100            21            25            46            87