Tim Horton was born in Cochrane, Ontario on January 12, 1930 and became one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history. Growing up in Cochrane and a mining community near Timmis Ontario, Horton was signed by the Toronto Maple Leafs organization in 1948 and moved to Toronto to play junior hockey while attending St. Michael’s College School.

Overcoming severe career-threatening injuries in 1955 when he was checked into the boards and suffered a broken leg and broken jaw, Horton appeared in 486 consecutive games between 1961 and 1968. In his almost two-decade career with the Maple Leafs as a 7-time all-star, Horton was instrumental in helping Toronto 4 Stanley Cups. Horton later played with the New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres, who he played with when he was killed in a tragic automobile accident in 1974.

Horton had a reputation for enveloping players fighting him in a crushing bear hug.

While playing, Horton was generally acknowledged as the strongest man in the game; injuries and age were little more than minor inconveniences. Chicago Black Hawks left wing Bobby Hull declared, “There were defencemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind…but you respected Tim Horton because he didn’t need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check.”

In 1964 Horton opened his first Tim Horton Doughnut Shop in Hamilton, Ontario. By 1967 Tim Horton Doughnut Shop had become a multi-million dollar franchise, Tim Hortons.

Horton was a member of Kroy Lodge No. 676 in Toronto, Ontario.