The Fort William product was born back on December 18, 1938.
At six-foot-three, Szura played his junior hockey for the powerhouse Fort William Canadians between 1956-59, winning league Rookie of the Year laurels in 1957 while pacing the local junior loop in scoring with 57 points.
In all, he racked up 134 points on 50 goals and 84 assists.
He also chipped in with nine points, including four tallies in 15 appearances on the Memorial Cup trail over a pair of campaigns.
From there, he moved to the six-team Eastern Professional Hockey League where he would skate with the Montreal Royals, Hull-Ottawa Canadians, Montreal-Hull/Ottawa and the North Bay Trappers.
In the EPHL, he dressed for 199 contests from 1959-62, putting up 49 markers and 78 helpers.
From there, his efforts earned him the opportunity to move up to the Cleveland Barons (AHL) where he would remain for the next five seasons.
In the AHL, Szura scored 140 times and helped set-up 175 for the Barons in 351 games played.
He also helped Cleveland win a Calder Cup championship in 1964 and went on earn AHL 1st All-Star team laurels the following year.
In 1967-68, the skilled forward would get his initial NHL experience, appearing in 20 games with the Oakland Seals.
Moving to 1968-69, Szura competed in his first and only full season in the NHL.
He suited up in 70 games that season and notched nine goals and 12 assists for 21 points.
Szura’s 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee No. 175, can be found today for anywhere between $2-$20, depending on condition.
The following year he returned to the AHL, signing with the Providence Reds, accumulating 42 goals and 99 Assists 141 points through a pair of campaigns.
Even though he wasn’t an active NHL player at this point in his career, he still appeared in NHL hockey cards during the 1970-71 season with both Topps and O-Pee-Chee.
Those cards are presently worth between $1 and $5.
After a stint with the AHL’s Baltimore Clippers, Szura would ink a deal in the fledgling World Hockey Association’s Los Angeles Sharks.
From there, he helped the Houston Aeros win a WHA Avco Cup crown in 1974.
In 115 WHA contests, he scored 21 times and collected 39 assists.
His last hockey card, No. 313 in the O Pee Chee 1972-73 set, can be found for anywhere between $4-$14.
Joe Szura was inducted into the Northwestern Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 2007.
