Andy Van Hellemond is a former National Hockey League referee and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame since 1999. His NHL officiating career began in 1969 and included 20 Stanley Cup Finals. In 1984, he became the first NHL on-ice official to wear a helmet. Subsequently, several officials followed his lead and beginning with the 2006?07 NHL season, all NHL on-ice officials were compelled to wear helmets. He also officiated 1,557 regular season games and 227 playoff games. Van Hellemond has been the NHL's #1 referee 14 consecutive times. He also officiated in two All-Star games, the 1979 Challenge Cup, and Rendez-vous '87. From the 1994?95 NHL season until his retirement in 1997, Van Hellemond wore uniform number 25, which is now worn by Marc Joannette. Prior to the 1994-95 season, NHL officials' uniform shirts displayed their last names on the back. After retiring, Van Hellemond went to the East Coast Hockey League, where he held a management position there until being hired by the NHL in 2000 to replace Bryan Lewis as Director of Officiating. Van Hellemond remained director of officiating until July 2004 when he resigned to pursue other interests. [More at Wikipedia]

February 16th, 1948 in Winnipeg (Age 76)