A forward who spent most of his playing career with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Pulford was considered ìone of my greatest headachesî by Gordie Howe because of his great forechecking ability.

Pulford played two seasons of junior hockey with Toronto of Ontario Hockey Association Junior A (1954-56), where he and the Marlboros won back-to-back Memorial Cup titles in 1955 and 1956.

He joined the Maple Leafs in 1956 and played 14 seasons with them, helping them win the Stanley Cup in 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967. He spent his final two NHL seasons playing for the Los Angeles Kings (1970-72). Pulford had 643 points (281 goals, 362 assists) in 1,079 NHL games, including 563 points (251 goals, 312 assists) in 947 games with the Maple Leafs.

After his playing career ended, Pulford spent five seasons coaching the Los Angeles Kings (1972-77). He was 178-150 with 68 ties, leading the Kings to the Stanley Cup Playoffs four straight seasons. He then joined the Chicago Blackhawks in 1977, where he would spend the next 30 seasons in various capacities, including coach, general manager or senior vice president. As coach of the Blackhawks (1977-79, 1981-82, 1984-87 and 1999-2000), Pulford was 185-180 with 68 ties, leading the Blackhawks to the playoffs in six of seven seasons. On Oct. 11, 2007, Pulford was named vice president of Wirtz Corporation.

Pulford was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. He is father-in-law to Dean Lombardi, who was general manager of the Los Angeles Kings during their Cup championships in 2012 and 2014.