Born in what is now the ghost town of Victoria Mine, Ontario, he was raised playing outdoor hockey in the town of Coniston, Ontario near the city of Sudbury in Northern Ontario. Blake played junior and senior hockey in the Sudbury area and was part of the 1932 Memorial Cup champions, the Sudbury Cub Wolves. He played for the Hamilton Tigers of the Ontario Hockey Association before joining the NHL club with which he won his first Stanley cup, the Montreal Maroons in 1934, then playing for the Montreal Canadians until his retirement in 1948.