Don Gallinger came from a hockey family. Gallinger\'s father, Frank, was a lacrosse player, but also played hockey in the Northern Hockey League. Don Gallinger had two uncles, "Red" and "Shorty" Green, who were considered talented players during the era when players played the full 60 minutes. Don\'s eldest brother, Frank, played senior hockey in Port Colborne. Brother Keith played intermediate hockey.\n', '

In junior hockey, Gallinger was team-mates and friends with future NHL Hall of Fame member Teeder Kennedy. The two were successful in both hockey and football.\n', '

Gallinger was the second-youngest player in NHL history when he broke into the NHL with Boston at age 17, playing on the "Sprout Line" with Bill Shill and Bep Guidolin. The Bruins had lost their high-scoring line of Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer and Woody Dumart to the Canadian Air Force and NHL teams were willing to accept younger players. Gallinger showed natural ability as a goal-scorer and was third in voting for the Calder rookie of the year award. The Bruins finished in second place in the regular season and went to the Stanley Cup finals losing to the Detroit Red Wings in four straight games.\n', '

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