Another Person Who Stutters Wins Stanley Cup

Blog by Jane Fraser
Oct. 9, 2018

A recent article in the Washington Post profiled Washington Capitals star Nicklas Backstrom, who is a person who stutters.

While the article mentioned Backstrom's pivotal role in helping the Capitals win their first ever Stanley Cup in 2018, we want to bring to your attention that Backstrom is the latest NHL player who stutters to win a Stanley Cup.

In 2017 Bryan Rust, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017, was profiled in a Celebrity Corner article in a Stuttering Foundation newsletter.

In 2015, the Stuttering Foundation website posted a tribute article on New York Islanders legend Gord Lane, who anchored the Islanders defense when the team won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1980-1983.

One hockey legend who did not win a Stanley Cup in his career, Los Angeles Kings perennial all-star Dave Taylor, was also profiled in a Celebrity Corner article. Stuttering does not stand in the way of a Stanley Cup!

CELEBRITY FOCUS

Bob Love

Bob Love has dreamt about being a great public speaker since his early days in Bastrop Louisiana, even though, as a young man, he could barely put two words together, let alone speak a full sentence.

In spite of his severe stuttering disability, Bob Love, the son of a sharecropper, rose to become a Chicago Bulls NBA superstar, whose records were eventually surpassed by Michael Jordan. Throughout his entire athletic career, Bob Love kept his stuttering a secret from the fans who adored him, thinking he could do his “talking” on the basketball court.

Alan Rabinowitz

Alan Rabinowitz, Ph.D., who passed away in 2018, was an explorer, wildlife conservationist, and author. He established the Hukawng Valley Tiger Reserve in northern Myanmar, which is about the size of the state of Vermont.

His love for animals began when he was very young.

Dave Taylor

Dave Taylor has been on the Stuttering Foundation's list of Famous People Who Stutter for many years, but probably few people know all of the unique accomplishments of this former hockey great who was born on December 4, 1955, in Levack, Ontario.

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin, the basketball sensation who was named to the NBA’s All Star Team in 2004, joins other famous people who stutter in a new brochure. The brochure - which unfolds into a small poster - is available free of charge from The Stuttering Foundation.

The poster is intended to give children and adults who stutter inspiration as they grapple with their speech disorder.

Jack Paar

While Jack Paar is among the most prominent of the entertainers on the Stuttering Foundation’s list of Famous People Who Stutter, he deserves special recognition as he was among the first to openly address his stuttering in public. As host of The Tonight Show from 1957-1962, he spoke of his difficulties as a stuttering child and teenager, giving hope to young people.