His first season with the North Stars was a good one, as he scored 25 goals and 57 points for third place in team scoring. He quite nearly equalled those totals in 1977-78 with 22 goals and 55 points, fourth on the North Stars.
Following the season, Sharpley was named to Team Canada for the 1978 World Championships and scored 4 points in 10 games.
Demonstrating consistency, yet a slight decline each season, he scored 53 and then dipped to 47 points over the next two seasons.
Minnesota then traded Sharpley to the Chicago Black Hawks after a falling out with the North Stars coach for a player and a 2nd round draft pick midway through the 1980-81 season in which he once more hit the 50 point mark with 22 goals and 28 assists combined between the two clubs.
On December 19, 1981 in Washington D.C., Sharpley was forechecking when he was hit in the eye by a Capitals defenseman's stick. The injury caused damage to the muscles which controlled the pupil of his eye, essentially causing it to go dead. He later returned to the Blackhawks late in the regular season with the help of his doctors in time to score 6 goals and 9 points in 15 playoff games.
The Black Hawks did not offer a Sharpley a contract for the 1982-83 season, nor did any other club. After briefly playing in Switzerland, Sharpley returned to the United States before attempting a return to hockey in 1985. The Pittsburgh Penguins took a chance on Sharpley and assigned him to the Baltimore Skipjacks of the AHL. After only 7 games he was released and signed with the Peoria Rivermen of the IHL. There he showed good form, scoring 26 goals and 37 assists for 63 points in just 50 games.
Sharpley signed on with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, also of the IHL for the start of the 1986-87 season. 32 games later, having scored 25 points, Sharpley would join the Dundee Rockets of the British National League, where in 15 games he would score an astounding 31 goals and 40 assists for 71 points, an average of 4.73 points per game! In the playoffs, he would continue his torrid pace with a dominating 19 points in 5 games. With that, Sharpley would retire as a professional player at the age of 31.
Today's featured jersey is a 1980-81 Chicago Black Hawks Glen Sharpley jersey. This Sandow SK jersey features the iconic Black Hawks crest on the front and always ranks at or near the top of "best jersey" lists. This jersey style was originally introduced back in 1955 and has undergone only minor changes as the decades have gone by.
Here Sharpley, then with Chicago, gets into a pretty good scrap with Pat Price of the Penguins.
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