Former Red Wing Bob Probert dead at 45
By HELENE ST. JAMES
FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER
Former Detroit Red Wing Bob Probert has died.
He was on a boat on Lake St. Clair at about 2:30 p.m. when he began experiencing chest pains, said Windsor Regional Hospital spokeswoman Gisele Sullens.
He collapsed on the boat and his father-in-law, Dan Parkinson, administered CPR, Sullens said. Windsor EMS transported him to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The news of Probert’s passing was especially sad for senior vice president Jimmy Devellano, who drafted Probert in 1983.
“It’s very sad, very, very sad,” Devellano said. “He was a pretty popular player in Detroit in the '80s, and certainly one tough guy with a lot of ability. But unfortunately we never got 100% out of him because of his off ice problems.”
Probert died Monday afternoon from unspecified causes. As first reported by CKLW-AM 800, Probert was on a boat in Lake St. Clair when he an emergency call was made. EMS and fire personnel met the boat and started CPR, but the Ontario Provincial Police has confirmed Probert died.
Probert was 45 and leaves behind four children.
In his heyday in the late '80s, Probert was known around the NHL as one of its top heavyweight fighters, and together with Joe Kocur, they were known as the “Bruise Brothers.”
What made Probert so special, though, was what else he could do: Skate, shoot, score – in ‘87-88, he had 398 penalty minutes, but was also third on the team with 62 points.
After being selected by the Wings in the third round in the same draft that netted Steve Yzerman, Probert played for Detroit from 1985-86 to ’93-94, when the team cut ties with him after numerous problems because of his drinking. Probert’s career hit a low in 1989 when he was arrested for cocaine possession while crossing the Detroit-Windsor border, resulting in his being sent to federal prison.
In July 1994, he was in a motorcycle crash in West Bloomfield, and police determined he had both alcohol and trace amounts of cocaine in his system. That led the Wings to decide against offering a new contract to one of their most popular players.
“We did everything,” Devellano said. “I don’t think there was a player I ever worked harder on, tried harder on to get his off ice life turned around.”
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Originally Posted by Grace
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