Charlie Burns (ice hockey)

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Charles "Charlie" Burns (born February 14, 1936 in Detroit, Michigan) is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played 749 games in the National Hockey League. He played for the Detroit Red Wings, Boston Bruins, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars. Burns was mainly known for being an excellent skater and defensive player. His trademark was the heavily padded helmet that he was forced to wear after suffering a serious head injury while playing junior hockey in 1954–55.

In 1959 he was the only US-born player in the NHL. Although Burns was born in Detroit, he was raised in Toronto and chose Canadian citizenship when he turned 21 (Ref. The Pappy Line, Time Magazine, March 2 1959) and later played for the 1958 World Champion Whitby Dunlops.