| Position: | Goaltender |
| Catches: | Left |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 8 |
| Weight Lb: | 150 |
| Played For: | St. Louis Blues |
| Birth Date: | November 19, 1946 |
| Birth Place: | Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Career Start: | 1967 |
| Career End: | 1981 |
Robert Richard Irons (born November 19, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey goaltender. He played one game in the National Hockey League with the St. Louis Blues during the 1968–69 season. The rest of his career, which lasted from 1967 to 1981, was mainly spent in the International Hockey League.
He was born in Toronto, Ontario. He played for two minutes and 59 seconds of one game in the NHL with the St. Louis Blues during the 1968–69 season. This occurred only because the Blues' starting goaltender, Glenn Hall, was ejected from a game before his replacement, Jacques Plante, was prepared to enter. Irons tended the net until Plante was able to take over.[1]
Irons shared with Christian Soucy the NHL record for the fewest career minutes by a goaltender.[2] He was surpassed on December 31, 2016 when Jorge Alves played 7.6 seconds in his only NHL game.
Irons played 11 seasons in the IHL with the Fort Wayne Komets, earning six selections to the All-Star team. His jersey number 30 is retired by the team.[1]
After he retired as an active player, Irons went on to a long-time career as an analyst with the Komets' legendary play-by-play announcer, Bob Chase. Chase and Irons were a team that stayed together for 33 years before Chase's death in 2016.[3]
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | MIN | GA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||||
| 1964–65 | Etobicoke Indians | MetJBHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1965–66 | Etobicoke Indians | MetJBHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1966–67 | Kitchener Rangers | OHA | 33 | — | — | — | 1940 | 95 | 3 | 2.94 | — | 13 | — | — | 780 | 49 | 0 | 3.77 | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 43 | — | — | — | 2398 | 134 | 1 | 3.35 | — | 5 | 1 | 3 | 262 | 19 | 0 | 4.35 | — | ||
| 1968–69 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Kansas City Blues | CHL | 24 | — | — | — | 1309 | 83 | 0 | 3.80 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1969–70 | Kansas City Blues | CHL | 30 | 10 | 16 | 4 | 1800 | 104 | 2 | 3.47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Kansas City Blues | CHL | 6 | — | — | — | 360 | 23 | 0 | 3.83 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 31 | — | — | — | 1811 | 80 | 1 | 2.25 | — | 4 | 0 | 4 | 240 | 22 | 0 | 5.50 | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 21 | — | — | — | 1251 | 83 | 1 | 4.00 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 46 | — | — | — | 2737 | 132 | 2 | 2.89 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 1 | 0.00 | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 47 | — | — | — | 2701 | 148 | 2 | 3.29 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 46 | — | — | — | 2713 | 146 | 2 | 3.27 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 63 | — | — | — | 3321 | 199 | 1 | 3.60 | — | 9 | 5 | 4 | 530 | 39 | 0 | 5.44 | — | ||
| 1976–77 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 41 | — | — | — | 2248 | 141 | 1 | 3.70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 39 | — | — | — | 2152 | 129 | 0 | 3.60 | — | 7 | — | — | 319 | 20 | 0 | 3.76 | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 54 | — | — | — | 2490 | 193 | 1 | 3.90 | — | 13 | 7 | 6 | 780 | 56 | 0 | 4.29 | — | ||
| 1979–80 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 41 | — | — | — | 2188 | 147 | 1 | 4.03 | — | 14 | — | — | 806 | 44 | 1 | 3.28 | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Fort Wayne Komets | IHL | 51 | — | — | — | 2719 | 168 | 0 | 3.71 | — | 11 | — | — | 633 | 47 | 0 | 4.45 | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.000 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||