Often referred to as "Terrible Ted",[2] Lindsay helped to organize the first attempt at a Players' Association in the late 1950s, an action which led to his trade to Chicago.

His father, Bert Lindsay, had been a professional player himself, playing goaltender for the Renfrew Millionaires, Victoria Aristocrats, and Toronto Arenas.

Playing left wing with centre Sid Abel and right winger Gordie Howe, on what the media and fans dubbed the "Production Line", Lindsay became one of the NHL's premier players.

Although small in stature compared to most players in the league, he was a fierce competitor who earned the nickname "Terrible Ted" for his toughness.

Over the next five years, he helped Detroit win three more championships and appeared with Howe on the cover of a March 1957 Sports Illustrated issue.

Lindsay and star defenceman Doug Harvey of the Montreal Canadiens led a small group to organize the first National Hockey League Players' Association.

Lindsay worked doggedly for the cause and many fellow players who supported the association were benched or sent to obscurity in the minor leagues.

"[10] Lindsay, one of the league's top players, was first stripped of his captaincy, then was traded to the struggling Chicago Black Hawks.

Rather than face the lawsuit in court, the NHL, in an out-of-court settlement in February 1958, agreed to most of the players' demands, although the pension plan was not exposed until 1989, showing a surplus of $25 million.

The NHLPA had applied, in Canada, to the Ontario Labour Relations Board for certification, but the OLRB had no experience with workers like hockey players.

[11]: 9  The League, and especially Conn Smythe, argued that players were forming a "trade union" and were no better than "commies" and would lose things like individual bonuses.

The OLRB was taking time, and no one knew how this transnational association would work, or how it would be recognized by the US National Labor Relations Board.

[11]: 6  In fact, the NLRB asked the NHLPA to withdraw its unfair labor practices charge on November 20, 1957, arguing it did not have jurisdiction.

[11]: 12  In an out-of-court settlement on February 5, 1958, the NHL promised:[12] "The fundamental question at the root of the NHLPA failure was whether players really were laborers who could form a trade union.

Led by Conn Smythe, the league appealed to cultural bonds of loyalty and tradition as justifications for retaining the existing economic structure of labor-management relations, long after other industries had been forced by the state to move toward formal, union-led collective bargaining arrangements.

Four years later, the 39-year-old Lindsay was enticed into making a comeback by his former linemate, Abel, who was now coach and general manager of the Red Wings.

However, when Maple Leafs owner Stafford Smythe got wind of this gambit, he pressured the league into vetoing it, forcing Lindsay to stay retired.

In 1966 he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but refused to attend the men-only ceremony since he was not allowed to bring his wife and children.

In 1972, NBC paid the NHL for the rights to broadcast games on national TV in the U.S. Lindsay was hired to do the color analysis, along with Tim Ryan, who did the play-by-play.

Lindsay's rough features, the legacy of the many cuts and stitches he accumulated during his playing days, were visible whenever he appeared on camera.

Soon after taking over as general manager, he appeared in television commercials promoting the slogan "Aggressive hockey is back in town".