[1] Gadsby began his outstanding hockey career in Calgary playing for several minor league teams including the Alberta Midget champions in 1942.

He played two years for the Edmonton Junior Canadians before joining the Chicago Black Hawks in 1946.

Gadsby contracted polio in 1952 but fought back without interrupting his hockey career,[2] although he spent three weeks in the hospital.

He came closest to winning the Cup in 1964, when the Detroit Red Wings lost a seven-game final series to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

He would also return to Canada in the Hockey Offseason to play Baseball for the Calgary Buffalo for parts of three seasons from 1950 to 1954.