Miles Gilbert "Tim" Horton - Born January 12, 1930 in Cochrane, Ontario – Died February 21, 1974 in St. Catharines, Ontario was a Canadian ice Hockey defenceman and right winger.

For most people today, the name Tim Horton means coffee & doughnuts at the fast-food franchise he co-founded in 1964. The chain's first doughnut store opened on May 17, 1964, in Hamilton, Ontario, under the name "Tim Horton Donuts". The name was later abbreviated to "Tim Horton's" and then changed to "Tim Hortons".

But for more than two decades, Tim Horton's name meant tough Hockey, skill, mobility, effective puck carrier, and a rock solid defenseman that forwards feared.

Gordie Howe (Mr. Hockey), tough in his own right, once said about Horton "the strongest player in Hockey." and Bobby Hull declared, "There were defencemen you had to fear because they were vicious and would slam you into the boards from behind, for one, Eddie Shore. But you respected Tim Horton because he didn't need that type of intimidation. He used his tremendous strength and talent to keep you in check."

- Calder Cup Champion 1952 with Pittsburgh Hornets.
Calder Cup finalist 1951 with Pittsburgh Hornets.

- Stanley Cup Champion 1962, 1963, 1964, 1967 with Toronto Maple Leafs.
Stanley Cup finalist 1959, 1960 with Toronto Maple Leafs.

Horton was runner-up for the James Norris Memorial Trophy twice - 1964 & 1969.

Horton made his NHL debut with the Toronto Maple Leafs on March 26, 1950 vs the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden in a 5-3 Rangers win. Horton did get a 2 minute roughing penalty.

Horton scored his 1st NHL goal vs Al Rollins of the Chicago Black Hawks at 7:35 of the 2nd period at Chicago Stadium on October 19, 1952 in a 3-2 Toronto win.

Horton was named to NHL First All-Star Teams in 1964, 1968, 1969 and NHL Second All-Star Teams in 1954, 1963, and 1967.

Horton played 1,446 NHL regular season games, scoring 115 goals, 403 assists and 126 NHL playoff games, scoring 11 goals, 39 assists.

Horton was killed after losing control of his De Tomaso Pantera sports car on the Queen Elizabeth Way in St. Catharines, Ontario, in the early morning of February 21, 1974. He had played a game in Toronto the previous evening against his former team, the Maple Leafs, and was driving alone back to Buffalo, 100 mi (160 km) south. In 2005, Horton's autopsy was made public and revealed that Horton's blood alcohol level was twice the legal limit, and that a half-filled vodka bottle was amongst the crash debris.

Tim Horton was inducted (posthumously) into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1977.

Tim Horton was inducted (posthumously) into the Buffalo Sabres Hall of Fame in 1982.

While playing for the Maple Leafs, Horton wore the number 7, the same number worn by King Clancy from 1930 to 1937. The team declared both Horton and Clancy honoured players at a ceremony on November 21, 1995, but did not retire the number 7 from team use; despite this, it became an honoured jersey number, abiding by Leafs honours policy. In 2016, the Maple Leafs changed their retirement policy and, on October 15, retired the number 7 in honour of both Horton and Clancy.

Horton wore number 2 in Buffalo (as Rick Martin already had the number 7). Both numbers have since been retired.

In January 2017, Horton was part of the first group of players to be named one of the "100 Greatest NHL Players in history"