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| Jean Beliveau |
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| Gordie Howe |
The
Beginning.
About a week
or so ago I watched a video of a rant by American political and sports
commentator Keith Olbermann. Keith got his knickers in a twist because he
didn’t like the term “Original 6” being applied to the 6 hockey NHL teams that
were in existence prior to the NHL expanding in 1967. Technically Keith was
right in that those 6 teams weren’t all the original NHL hockey teams.
The NHL was
founded in 1917. From 1942 to 1967 there were 6 NHL hockey teams, The Montreal
Canadiens, The Toronto Maple Leafs, The New York Rangers, The Boston Bruins, The
Chicago Blackhawks, and The Detroit Red Wings. Between 1917 and 1942 there were a number of other teams in the NHL
that folded their tents at one time or other including The Montreal Maroons
(1924-38), The Montreal Wanderers (1917-18), The Quebec Bulldogs (1919-20), The
Ottawa Senators (1917-34), The Pittsburg Pirates (1925-30), The Philadelphia
Quakers (1930-31), The Hamilton Tigers (1920-25), The St. Louis Eagles
(1934-35), and The Brooklyn Americans (1925-42).
The Stanley
Cup was donated by Canadian Governor General Lord Stanley in 1893. Between 1893
and 1917 when the NHL was founded, all the teams that competed for the Stanley
Cup were considered amateurs although they received some money. In those years
before 1917 a team from Montreal won the cup a total of 26 times including The
Montreal Shamrocks and The Montreal Victorias. A team from Ottawa won the cup 11
years in a row. There is nobody alive now who played for the cup before 1917.
As a matter of fact there is nobody alive now who saw those players play.
Players like Joe Malone and Art Ross are mostly forgotten.
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| Joe Malone |
It wasn’t
until 1926 that the Stanley Cup was awarded exclusively to an NHL team. In fact
in the NHL’s first year the Stanley Cup was awarded to the Seattle
Metropolitans of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The Stanley Cup wasn’t
awarded to anyone in 1919 because of the flu epidemic that killed thousands in
Canada and the US. The last team not in the NHL to win the Stanley Cup was the
Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League in 1925.
Yes Keith
Olbermann was right about “the original 6” not being the original 6 but is it
really that important? “The 6 teams that were in the NHL before they expanded
in 1967” is quite a mouthful. Older hockey fans know what it means and most
younger fans don’t have a clue who Howie Morenz, Newsy Lalonde, or Aurel Joliat
were.
 |
| Newsy Lalonde |
As far as I’m
concerned the first three years of the “original 6” should have an asterisk
beside any statistics from 1942-1945. A lot of the best players were in the
armed services during WW2. Maurice “the Rocket” Richard was a great player but
his 50 goals in 50 games in the 1944-45 season was certainly played against
inferior opposition.
The
Bastards Who Used To Run The NHL
In the 25
years between 1942 and 1967 when the NHL expanded either the Toronto Maple
Leafs or the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup about 4 fifths of the time.
Detroit won the cup 5 times in that period and the Chicago Black Hawks once. For
most of those years the league was not very well balanced.
Detroit Red Wings
James Norris
owned the Detroit Red Wings from 1932 until 1952. The Norris Trophy which is
awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman each year was named after him. There was a
period of time where James Norris had an interest in 3 NHL teams at the same
time, The Detroit Red Wings, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers.
He built the Chicago Stadium and owned shares in Madison Square Gardens in New
York. When he died in 1952 his daughter, Margeurite, became president of the
Red Wings. Her name is on the Stanley Cup. In 1955 she sold her shares to her
brother James Norris Jr. Norris Jr. died in 1966 of a heart attack. Before he
died he made sure that St. Louis was awarded one of the 6 new NHL franchises in
the expansion of 1967. Nobody had applied for a St. Louis franchise at the time
but James Norris Jr. owned the St. Louis Arena.
Notable
Detroit Red Wings hockey players who played before the Orginal 6 include Sid Abel, Mud Bruteneau, Charle
Conacher, Cec Dillon, Happy Emms, Syd Howe, Eddie Goodfellow, Bucko McDonald,
Jimmy Orlando, Jack Stewart, Tiny Thompson, and Cooney Weiland.
Chicago Blackhawks
In 1944 when
team owner Frederick MacLaughlin died the Chicago Blackhawks were sold to James
Norris, the owner of the Detroit Red Wings. His ownership was kind of disguised
because a man named Bill Tobin who was an ex hockey player acted as president.
From 1945 through 1958 the Blackhawks only made it to the playoffs twice. It
was almost like the only reason they were part of NHL at all was because a 6th
team was needed.
Notable
Chicago Blackhawks hockey players who played before the Original 6 include Max
Bentley, Doug Bentley, Lionel Conacher, Cully Dahlstrom, Red Hamill, Dick
Irvin, Alex Kaleta, Mush March, Howie Morenz, Bill Mosienko, Vic Ripley. and
Art Weibe.
Boston Bruins
The Boston
Bruins are the 3rd oldest NHL team. The team started playing in 1924
and the owner was Charles Adams. He was born in Newport, Vermont not far from
Montreal. In 1926 he bought the entire Western Canada Hockey League and stocked
his Bruins team with their best players. In 1936 Adam’s son, Weston, took over
as president of the team. The Bruins were sold to a consortium in 1951. In 1964
Weston became president of the team again and in 1969 Weston Junior became the
new president.
Notable
Boston Bruins hockey players who played before the Orioginal 6 include Bobby
Bauer, Dit Clapper, Spraque Cleghorn, Bun Cook, Bill Cowley, Woody Dumart,
Flash Hollett, Art Jackson, Terry Reardon, Milt Schmidt, Babe Seibert, Eddie
Shore, Nels Stewart, Tiny Thompson, and Cooney Weiland.
New York Rangers
The New York
Rangers joined the NHL in 1926. The original owner of the team was a man named
Tex Rickard. He was born in Kansas but spent most of his youth in Texas. The
Rangers got their name from the Texas Rangers. Rickard is probably the most
interesting owner ever in the NHL. He was elected marshal of Henrietta, Texas
at the age of 23. He was a prospector in the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897. He was
a poker dealer, a gambler and a bartender. He was also good friends with Wyatt
Earp. In 1920 he secured the rights to promote live events at Madison Square
Garden in New York. Rickard formed a partnership with boxer Jack Dempsey and
his manager Jack Kearns. Together they grossed over 8 million dollars in profits
in only 5 fights. One of his other partners back then was Jess McMahan whose
grandson is Vince McMahan of World Wrestling Entertainment fame. Rickard died
in 1929 at the age of 59.
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| Tex Rickard with Jack Dempsey |
The New York
Rangers have never had one owner. The Madison Square Garden Corporation owned
the team until they sold it to Gulf & Western in 1977. William Jennings was
the president of the Rangers from 1962 to 1981.
Notable New
York Rangers hockey players who played before the Original 6 include Frank
Boucher, Bill Cook, Bryan Hextall Sr., Phil Watson, Ching Johnson, Dave Kerr,
Lorne Chabot, Neil Colville, Bun Cook, Muzz Patrick, Babe Pratt, Earl Siebert,
Alex Shibicky, and Clint Smith.
Toronto Maple Leafs
Conn Smythe
was a veteran of both WW1 and WW2. As an
airborne observer in the army in WW1 he was shot down and captured by the
Germans. After returning from WW1 he started a sand and gravel business in
Toronto. One of his employees was Frank Selke Sr. He also coached the
University of Toronto varsity hockey team. Smythe was hired by The new New York
Rangers to recruit players and was promised the job of managing the team.
Before the Rangers played their first game in 1926 Smythe was fired and
replaced by Lester Patrick.
In 1927
Smythe put together a group that bought the existing Toronto NHL team which was
called the Toronto St. Patricks at the time and changed the team name to the
Toronto Maple Leafs. In their first year of operation the maple leaf logo was
actually green and white before becoming blue and white. In 1931 Smythe and his
partners built Maple Leaf Gardens. He was a colonel in the Canadian army in WW2
and was badly wounded in France. He would walk with a limp for the rest of his
life.
After WW2
there was a power struggle between Frank Selke Sr. and Smythe as to who would
have control over the Toronto Maple Leafs. Not long after Selke left Toronto
and became the head of hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. Older
hockey fans will remember Frank Selke Jr. doing in between periods interviews
on CBC TV in the 1950s and early 1960s. Smythe secured a controlling interest
in the Leafs and in 1947 installed himself as president of Maple Leaf Gardens.
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| Conn Smythe |
The Maple
Leafs won 6 Stanley Cups between 1942 and 1951. Smythe supervised the building
of Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961 in Toronto. The Hockey Hall of Fame would later
move to its present site, an old Bank of Montreal Building on the corner of
Front Street and Yonge Street. Smythe was the chairman of the Hockey Hall of
Fame but resigned when former Maple Leaf Busher Jackson was inducted into the
Hall in 1971 5 years after Jackson’s death. Smythe didn’t believe that an
alcoholic like Jackson should receive such a prestigious award.
In the
mid-1950s a group of seven men were running Maple Leaf Gardens and the Toronto
Maple Leafs. One of them was Conn Smythe’s son Stafford Smythe. Eventually John
Bassett, Harold Ballard, and Stafford
Smythe became the 3 main principals. Bassett sold out, Stafford died at the age
of 50 in 1971 and Ballard became the majority owner in 1972 and held that
position until his death in 1990. Conn Smythe severed his ties with the hockey
team in 1966 but it was pretty obvious where Stafford Smythe had gotten the
money to have shares in the Maple Leafs. Conn Smythe claimed that the reason he
sold his last shares was because of Maple Leaf Gardens showing heavyweight boxing
matches on a big screen of boxing
champion Mohammad Ali. He thought that Ali was nothing more than a draft
dodger. (I went to most of those fights on the big screen at Maple Leaf
Gardens.)
Notable
Toronto Maple Leaf hockey players who played before the Original 6 include Syl
Apps, Ace Bailey, Lorne Chabot, Murph Chamberlain, Hap Day, Gordie Drillon,
Hank Goldup, George Hainsworth, Red Horner, Busher Jackson, Nick Metz, Sweeny Shriner,
Gabe Stewart, and Turk Broda.
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal
Canadiens are one of the most storied North American professional sports franchises
in history. Over the years in The Canadiens team have won 24 Stanly Cups. The
Toronto Maple Leafs have won 13 cups. The Montreal Forum on Ste. Catherine
Street was built in 1924 and would be the home of The Canadiens for the next 72
years.
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| Montreal Forum |
The Montreal
Canadiens were originally owned by a man named George Kennedy. His real name
was George Kendall and Kennedy was the name he chose as an alias because he was
a wrestler and his family frowned on that sports activity. In 1919 he contacted
the Spanish Flu and he died in 1921. The team was sold by his widow to a group
headed up by Leo Dandurand.
For a number of
years Montreal had two teams in the NHL, the Canadiens and the Maroons. The
Maroons folded in 1938. One of their best players was Nels Stewart. The Maroons won the Staley Cup in 1926 and
1935. The Montreal Forum was actually built specifically for the Montreal Maroons.
In 1935 Leo Dandurand sold the Canadiens to the Canadian Arena Company. For 3
years this company owned both the Maroons and the Canadiens. The Maroons tended
to have more English speaking fans and the Canadiens more French speaking fans.
Times were
tough in the Great Depression and The Montreal Canadians often had as few as 3,
000 fans turn up to their games. There was talk about moving the team to
Cleveland, Ohio. Things were so tough that The Canadiens sold their star, Howie
Morenz, to The Chicago Black Hawks in 1934. Morenz returned to Montreal to play
but died in 1937 after catching his skate on the ice and breaking his leg in 4
places. He died of a coronary embolism and over 50,000 Montrealers filed past
his casket at center ice at the Montreal Forum.
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| Howie Morenz |
In 1957
Hartland Molson and his brother Thomas bought The Montreal Canadiens from The
Canadian Arena Company. In 1964 they sold the team to 3 of their cousins for 5
million dollars. They in turn sold the team in 1971 to a group headed up by the
Bronfman brothers Peter and Edward for 150 million dollars. In 1978 Molson
Breweries acquired The Canadiens and In 2001 Molson’s sold the team to
businessman George Gillett Jr. for 275 million while retaining a 20% interest.
Notable
Montreal Canadiens hockey players who played for the team before the Original 6
include Toe Blake, Butch Bouchard, Murph Chamberlain, Sprague Cleghorn, Billu
Coutu, George Hainsworth, Aurel Joliat, Elner Lach, Battleship Leduc, Joe
Malone, George Mantha, George Vezina, Newsy Lalonde, and Cecil Hart.
Why
Were A lot Of The Old Time Owners Bastards?
The NHL
Players Association was formed in 1957 but the players never really had any
real rights before 1967. Up until then the players were basically slaves to the
owners. There was no negotiating in player’s contracts. All of the players were
the property of the owners. If a player was traded they were required to play
for their own moving expenses.
Most professional
hockey players up until the 1970s didn’t have a complete high school education.
Many of them were from small towns in Canada, mining and mill towns, farming
areas. The prospect of playing hockey for a living seemed a lot more attractive
than getting stuck in some mill for most of their working lives. They might not
have agreed with the conditions of their employment but most knew that they
could lose their NHL jobs in a heartbeat if they tried to form a union. The
owners had all the money and high priced lawyers.
The
implementation of the NHL players first pension plan occurred in 1947. The deal
included the players contributing 900 dollars a year to the plan. The owners
were also supposed to kick in some money. The owners came up with their
contributions in 2 ways. The first was to not pay the players any money for
playing in the annual All Star game. The 2nd was to take the
advertising profits from the Beehive Honey hockey cards and other advertising
resources and apply it to the pension fund.
With only 6
teams in the NHL between 1942 and 1967 there were only about 120 jobs available
for players in the league. Unless they were a superstar players could easily be
replaced by someone else. Most of them could be sent down to the minors at any time.
For years the worst place to end up in the minors was playing for the
Springfield Indians who were owned by Eddie Shore. He treated his players like
dirt and even had some of them do cleaning work around the hockey arena.
Up until the
1970s hockey wasn’t that great of a way to make a living. Most players had off
season jobs. Very few of them owned houses and had to rent. Most NHL players in
the 1950s made less than 10 thousand dollars a year. In his last year in the NHL in 1959-60
Maurice Richard was paid 25 thousand dollars.
During the
Original 6 era there were only 6 coaches and 6 general managers in the NHL at
one time. Mostly they were hardnosed ex-players. They got their instructions
directly from the owners and always towed the line. Most of them thought it was
never a good idea to be on their player’s side about anything. Doing so would
certainly mean the end of their careers.
Back in the
Original 6 era, hockey players travelled by train during the hockey season.
Players were told not to associate with anyone on another team. If two teams
were on the same train they would take turns eating in the dining car to avoid
fraternization.
In 1957
Detroit player Ted Lindsay attended an annual meeting on the player’s pension
plan as the Detroit Red Wings representative. He soon discovered that the pension
plan’s assets and value was not available to the players. Later that year he
attended a promotion for football and baseball professionals and found out that
conditions for players were much better in those leagues than the NHL.
Lindsay got
together with Canadien’s star defenseman, Doug Harvey, and discussed forming a
player’s union. They decided to call it an association instead of a union
because in the 1950s a lot of people, particularly the owners, associated
unionism with communism. In secret all of the NHL players at the time were
contacted and forming a player’s association was nearly unanimously supported.
New York’s Bill Gadsby, Chicago’s Gus Mortson, Toronto’s Jim Thomson were also
active in forming The Player’s Association.
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| Ted Lindsay |
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| Doug Harvey |
The owners
were furious when they found out what had gone on behind their backs. They
started to try and convince the players that forming a union would be a
disaster and bad for hockey. Jack Adams was the general manager of the Detroit
Red Wings at the time. He was known as Trader Jack. He waved a fake contract
about for Detroit reporters that said Ted Lindsay was making 25 thousand
dollars a year when fact he was only making 13 thousand. Adams also spread
rumours that Lindsay was criticizing his teammates.
Ted Lindsay
was at the peak of his career in the 1956-57 hockey season. He scored 30 times
and had 55 assists that year. Doug Harvey won the Norris Trophy which was
awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman 7 times in his career including the
1956-57 season.
Jack Adams
would often try to intimidate his players. Sometimes he would wave a couple of
train tickets to Detroit’s farm team around to keep the players on their toes.
Because of Lindsay’s involvement in the player’s organization Jack Adams
stripped him of his Red Wings captaincy. A bit later Lindsay was shipped off to
the lowly Chicago Blackhawks along with goalie Glenn Hall. A few years later
Doug Harvey was shipped off to the New York Rangers by the Montreal
Canadiens.
Unlike most
other NHL players at the time Lindsay was a partner in a successful business
supplying auto parts to Detroit car makers and wasn’t soley dependent on The
NHL. His teammates Red Kelly and Gordie Howe relied totally on hockey for their
incomes and sadly they were not very supportive of Lindsay when the owners
turned on him.
Toronto owner
Conn Smythe was enraged when he found out that the players had secretly decided
to form an association. Toronto sportswriter Milt Dunnell quoted Smythe as
saying “The rules are simple. Aside from what you wear, what you say, what you
eat, what you drink, who you are with, where you are going, how much you weigh
and what you think, the club has little, if any, interest in the hired help,
outside of business hours.” For his role in trying to form a player’s
association Toronto defenseman Jim Thompson was shipped off to Chicago. Leafs
Tod Sloan was also sent to Chicago for the same reasons.
The owners
made allowances for most of the player’s demands and the first attempt at
forming a player’s association fell by the wayside. In 1989 it was discovered
that the NHL pension plan had a surplus of 25 million dollars. A permanent
player’s union didn’t come about until 1967. After he retired Ted Lindsay made
one more contribution to the NHL players. He refused to attend the dinner when
he was inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame in 1966 because wives weren’t
invited. That rule was changed in 1967.
Up until the
1970s the NHL was like a private fiefdom. The Norris brothers had interests in
3 NHL teams for starters. The owners controlled almost all of hockey, including
the junior leagues and a lot of the minor professional leagues.
In 1967 when
the NHL added 6 new American based teams the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto
Maple Leafs management made sure that Vancouver didn’t get one of the new teams.
Their reasoning was that they didn’t want to share any of the Canadian market.
In 1970 Vancouver finally got an NHL franchise. Expansion saw windfall profits
for each of the Original 6 teams. Selling franchises was very profitable.
From 1946
until 1977 Clarence Campbell was the president of the NHL. In 1976 he was
convicted of bribing a man named Louis Giguere in something called “The
Skyshops Scandal”. The NHL paid his fine and Campbell didn’t serve any jail
time because of his health and age.
Alan Eagleson
was a lawyer and player agent who was friends with Toronto Maple Leafs hockey
players Bob Pulford, Carl Brewer, Bobby Baun, and Billy Harris. He negotiated
Bobby Orr’s first NHL contract. Eagleson was the catalyst in forming The NHL
Players Association in 1967 and held the
position of executive director for 25 years. He also represented a number of
NHL players including Lanny MacDonald and Daryl Sittler of the Toronto Maple
Leafs. In 1980 Punch Imlach was the coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs and wasn’t
happy with Sittler’s influence in the dressing room. Imlach wanted to trade
Sittler but Eagleson pointed out that he had a no-trade contract. Eagleson said
Sittler would wave the no-trade clause if the Leafs gave him $500,000.00.
Instead Imlach shipped Sittler’s best friend Lanny MacDonald off to Colorado.
If Imlach was
a prick, Eagleson was a super prick. He became a powerful force in The NHL in
the 1970s. Eventually in the 1990s Eagleson was charged with 34 counts by the
FBI including fraud, embezzlement and racketeering. It would take 3 more years
for the Canadian RCMP to lay charges against Eagleson. He would end up being
disbarred in two counties and received a sentence of 3 years of which he served
about 6 months in a jail near Toronto. He was supposed to be representing the
NHL players but wasn’t.
What Eagleson
was doing was working in collusion with the NHL president at the time John
Ziegler and the NHL Board of Governors. Eagleson was thrilled about
international hockey and basically traded away free agency to the owner’s to
get their OK for players to play in these international tournaments. He was
also syphoning off some of the profits for himself.
Eagleson also
worked to get some teams from the upstart WHA admitted into the NHL which
killed one of the player’s bargaining chips. Bobby Orr claims he was broke when
he retired because of injury. Eagleson was his agent. Eagleson’s time with NHL
was sad. He was one greedy bastard without ant ethics at all it seems.
1900-1930
Two of the
more noticeable things about the early years of North America hockey were that
you didn’t have to be very big in size to play the game and it seemed like every
second player had a nick name. Hockey seasons were much shorter back then. When
the NHL was founded in 1917 they only played 24 games in a hockey season. By
1928 the season was increased to 44 games.
1926 was the last year that a team outside of the NHL competed for the
Stanley Cup. That team was the Victoria Cougars who had won the cup the year
before. In the 1928-29 season Montreal Canadiens goalie George Hainsworth had
22 shutouts in 44 games. Not long after that feate the league introduced
forward passing. Up until that time players could only pass the puck backwards
or laterally. The new rule increased scoring by about 2-1/2 times. The Ottawa
Senators won the Stanley Cup 4 times in the 1920s. In 1928 New York Rangers
coach, Lester Patrick, played part of an NHL game in goal after his goalie was
injured Patrick was 44 years of age at the time.
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| Lester Patrick |
There were
some great players in the 1920s that never played in the NHL including Lester
Patrick, Cyclone Taylor and Hap Holmes. Some of the NHL stars of the 1920s were
Howie Morenz, Lionel Conacher (later voted Canada’s best athlete of the first
50 years of the 20th century) Dit Clapper, Sprague Cleghorn, Aurel
Joliat, Newsy Lalonde, Nels Stewart, Frank Boucher, Red Dutton, Hap Day, George
Hainsworth, Punch Broadbent, George Vezina (Vezina Trophy named after him), Joe
Primeau, Frank Nighbor, Hooley Smith, and Red Horner.
1930-1940
Most of the
1930s was about The Great Depression. Pretty well all NHL teams found
themselves in financial difficulty at one time or another. The Montreal
Canadiens almost moved to Cleveland, Ohio at one point. NHL hockey players
weren’t paid a lot in the 30s but it sure beat the hell out of not having a job
at all.
In 1933,
Boston Bruin’s defenseman Eddie Shore ended Toronto Maple Leafs star Ace
Bailey’s career with a hit from behind. In 1937 one of NHL’s first superstars
who had already spent 14 years in the NHL, died as a result of an on ice
injury. His name was Howie Morenz. He was playing for the Montreal Canadiens
and chased the puck into the corner where he tripped and hit the boards and
Chicago defenseman Earl Seibert fell on top of him. Morenz’s leg was broken in
4 places. While recuperating in the hospital his heart stopped because of a
blood clot. Over 50,000 fans filed past his casket as he lay in state at the
Montreal Forum.
In 1938 the
Montreal Maroons folded. They had been a part of the NHL for 14 previous years.
The attendance at some NHL games in the 1930s was as low as 2,000 spectators.
Montreal just couldn’t afford 2 NHL teams. The Chicago Black Hawks won 2
Stanley Cups in the 1930s and wouldn’t win another one until 1961.
Some of
bigger NHL stars of 1930s were Mud Brutaneau, Jack Stewart, Cooney Weiland,
King Clancy, Charlie Gardiner, Tiny Thompson, Harvey Jackson, Frank Boucher,
Bill Cook, Babe Seibert, Ching Johnson, and Howie Morenz.
 |
| #8 Eddie Shore |
1940-1950
Canada went
to war in 1939 and a number of NHL players joined the armed services. The
Toronto Maple Leafs won 5 Stanley Cups in the 1940s. The Maple Leafs were led
by players like Ted “Teeder” Kennedy, Syl Apps, Babe Pratt, Sweeney Shriner,
Gord Drillon, Bud Poile, Harry Watson, Gaye Stewart, Howie Meeker won the Calder Trophy as rookie
of the year in the 1946-47 season beating out Gordie Howe. It was one of the
few things Howe didn’t win in his career.
 |
| Howie Meeker |
In the
1942-43 season Maurice “The Rocket” Richard joined the Montreal Canadiens. In
the 1944-45 hockey season he became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in
50 games. For most of the 1940s Richard played on a line with Elmer Lach and
Toe Blake who would later become the coach of the team. Montreal won 2 Stanley
Cups in the 1940s. Bill Durnam was the Montreal goalie for 7 years during the
1940s. Montreal’s best defenseman during that decade was Butch Bouchard.
Gordie Howe
was only 17 when he started playing professional hockey for The Omaha Knights.
He played his first NHL game at the age of 18 in 1946 for The Detroit Red
Wings. Howe played on a line with Ted Lindsay and Sid Abel. In 1949 the trio
finished 1, 2, and 3 in NHL scoring. Red Kelly joined The Red Wings in the
1947-48 season. He was one of only a few NHL players who played both defense
and forward. Harry Lumley was the Detroit goalie for 6 years in the 1940s.
The New York
Rangers steadiest goal scorer in the 1940s was Bryan Hextall. His sons Bryan
Jr. and Dennis had long NHL careers as did his grandson goaltender Ron Hextall.
The Rangers had a tough time of it in the 40s usually finishing close to the
bottom of league. A few of their brighter lights in the 40s were Buddy
O’Connor, Edgar Laprade, Tony Leswick, Ab Demarco, Grant Warwick, and goalie
“Sugar” Jim Henry.
The Chicago
Black Hawks were cellar dwellers for most of the 1940s. Their best players in
that decade were the Bentley brothers, Doug and Max, and Bill Mosienko.
The Boston
Bruins won 1 Stanly Cup in the 1940s in 1940. They finished 2nd in
the league 3 times in that decade. Among their best players in those 10 years
were Bill Cowley, Milt Schmidt, Bobby Bauer, Woody Dumart, and goalie Frank
Brimsek.
In 1949 the
NHL decided to paint the ice white for the first time so that it was easier to
follow the puck.
 |
| Bill Mosienko |
1950-1960
The Montreal
Canadiens played in 9 out of 10 Stanley Cup finals in the 1950s, winning the
cup 5 times. From 1942 until 1969, a period of 27 years, the only teams to win
The Stanley Cup other than The Chicago Blackhawks in 1961 were The Toronto
Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, and The Detroit Red Wings.
Saturday
night televised hockey became an institution on CBC Television starting in
1952. NHL president Clarence Campbell didn’t like the idea of televising hockey
because he thought it would affect attendance at The Montreal Forum and Maple
Leaf Gardens.
Up until the
1950s a 2 minute penalty didn’t end if a goal was scored. That was changed when
Montreal’s power play would often score 2-3 goals in those 2 minutes. Hockey
was changing dramatically in the 1950s as to how the game was played. Doug
Harvey became one of the first dominating rushing defenseman, Bernie “Boom
Boom” Geoffrion perfected the slap shot (If that’s possible?), and in 1959
Jacques Plante was allowed to wear a goalie mask despite some protestations
from his coach Toe Blake.
The
Richard Riot
 |
| Rocket Richard |
Maurice “The
Rocket” Richard was a hero to many Quebecers with French backgrounds. Back in
the 50s most commerce in Montreal was controlled by English speaking Canadians
and many French Canadians resented that. Richard was a fiery individual who
stood up to a lot of harassment from opposing players. There wasn’t a more
determined hockey player than Richard in his era. Richard wouldn’t take crap
from anyone which endeared him to French Canadian hockey fans.
In 1955
Richard was involved in a violent confrontation with Boston Bruin’s defenseman
Hal Laycoe who had previously played for The Canadiens. Laycoe high-sticked
Richard when the Canadiens were on a power play. Richard would later require 5
stitches on his head. Laycoe and Richard squared off to fight and Richard hit
Laycoe in the head and shoulders with his stick. Linesman Cliff Thompson tried
to coral Richard but he got away and broke his stick hitting Laycoe again.
Richard then punched lineman Thompson twice in the face and Thompson fell to
the ice unconscious.
It was the
second time Richard had assaulted an on-ice official that season. The Boston
police tried to arrest Richard but the Canadien’s players wouldn’t let them in
their dressing room. The police were convinced to let the NHL handle the situation.
A few days later Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season and the
play-offs by NHL president Clarence Campbell. The general consensus around the
league was that, if anything, Richard’s punishment wasn’t severe enough.
Many
Canadiens fans were furious particularly French Canadian ones. Many of them
considered Campbell’s decision to suspend Richard as an English person unfairly
dealing with a French Canadian. Montreal’s next home game was against Detroit
at The Forum. President Campbell let it be known that he would attend the game.
Meanwhile bomb threats were being phoned into the Canadiens office.
Before the
game an angry crowd gathered across the street from The Forum. An attempt was
made by some of them to rush the ticket gate but they were blocked by the
police and Forum staff. By now the crowd outside of The Forum who didn’t have
tickets to the game had grown to about 6,000 people. Some of them smashed store
windows and threw stuff at passing streetcars.
Campbell
turned up midway through the first period with 3 secretaries, one who would
later become his wife. In hindsight it was kind of brave of him to face an
angry crowd but it was also cowardly that he exposed his secretaries to the
crowd’s wrath. For several minutes Campbell and his group were pelted with
eggs, vegetables, and other stuff. At the end of the first period Detroit was
winning the game 4-1.
A fan managed
to get by security and held out his hand as if he wanted to shake Campbell’s
hand. He then slapped Campbell across the face and punched him. While the fan
was being dragged away he tried to kick Campbell. Shortly after a smoke bomb or
2 went off. The Montreal Fire Chief
suspended the game and bit later the game was forfeited to The Red Wings.
All hell
broke loose on Ste. Catherine Street outside of The Forum. More stores had
their windows broken, bystanders were attacked, and some cars were set on fire.
The riot didn’t end until 3 a.m. in the morning. About 100 people were
arrested.
At the time
Montreal was competing for 1st place in the league and Maurice
Richard was vying for the scoring title. When Richard’s teammate Bernie “Boom
Boom” Geoffrion passed Richard in the scoring race in the last game of the
season many of the Montreal fans booed him.
1950-1960
The Montreal Canadiens
Montreal was
a powerhouse in the 1950s. One of those teams had 12 players who would later be
inducted into The Hockey Hall of Fame. Arguably they had the best center in
Jean Beliveau, the best defenseman in Doug Harvey, and the best goalie in
Jacques Plante.
 |
| Jacques Plante |
Other
exceptional players in the 1950s who were on the Canadiens teams include the
Richard bothers Maurice and Henri, Bernie Geoffrion, Dickie Moore, Tom Johnson,
Butch Bouchard, Gerry McNeil, Ralph Backstrom, Phil Goyette, Jean-Guy Talbot,
Claude Provost, Floyd Curry, Don Marshall, Bert Olmstead, Ken Mosdell, and
Elmer Lach.
The Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit
Red Wings were in 5 Stanley Cup finals in the first seven years of the 50s and
won the cup 4 times. At the beginning of the decade the trio of Ted Lindsay,
Gordie Howe, and Sid Abel were Detroit’s big scoring threats. Sid Abel retired
and Alex Delvecchio became the center on that line. Delvecchio would go on to
play 22 seasons for The Red Wings.
 |
| Lindsay, Howe, and Delvecchio |
Red Kelly
started his NHL career as a defenseman and won the Norris Trophy in 1954 as the
best player at that position. He later became a forward. Goaltender Terry
Sawchuk was the Detroit goalie for most of the 1950s other than the 2 years he
played for The Boston Bruins. Norm Ullman joined The Red Wings in the 1955-56
season and played over 1400 games in the NHL. Reliable defensemen Marcel Pronovost spent
almost the entire decade of the 50s with The Red Wings.
The Boston Bruins
In the early
50s Milt Schmidt was probably the best known Boston Bruin’s player. He had been
with the team since 1937 other than the 2 years he was in the Canadian Air Force.
At one time Schmidt had been a part of the “Kraut Line” along with Woody Dumart
and Bobby Bauer. The line name came about because of their German ancestry. In
1942 the trio joined The Canadian Air Force on the same day.
 |
| Milt Schmidt |
For the first
several years in the 50s The Bruins weren’t a very good team although they did
have some decent players including Schmidt, Fleming Mackell, Fern Flaman , Real
Chverefils, Leo Labine, and defensemen
Doug Mohns and Bill Quackenbush.
In 1956-57
and 1957-58 The Bruins reached The Stanley Cup finals twice and lost both
times. Don Mckenney had become the team’s star and a couple of young guys,
Bronco Horvath and Johnny Bucyk, had joined the team. The first black player in
the NHL was Willie O’Ree. He played 2 games for The Bruins in the 57-58 season
and 43 more in 60-61.
 |
| Willie O'Ree |
The Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago
Blackhawks were the doormats of the NHL for almost all of the 1950s. In the
1950-51 season the team only had two 20 goal scorers, Bill Mosienko and the 34
year old Roy Conacher. Al Rollins was
the Chicago goalie for much of the 50s and he didn’t get a lot of defensive
support.
Things were
so bad in Chicago that they kind of became a charity case getting some players
from other NHL teams including The Montreal Canadiens for a nominal price.
Litzenberger had 3 seasons with over 30 goals in the 50s. Chicago also got
forward Ab MacDonald and defensemen Dollard St. Laurent and Bob Turner from
Montreal. In the 1957-58 season The Detroit Red Wings had to make a decision
between goalies Terry Sawchuk and Glen Hall
was sent to Chicago. Back then NHL teams only carried 1 goalie.
 |
| Eddie Litzenberger |
In the late
50s Chicago added 3 players that would change the team’s fortunes for years to
come. Those players were Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita, and Pierre Pilote.
The New York Rangers
The New York
Rangers had only 1 winning season in the 1950s and were out of the play-offs
almost every year. At the beginning of the decade Wally Hergensheimer was their
best forward. By the mid-1950s The Rangers seemed to have a decent team with
forwards like Andy Bathgate, Dean Prentice, Camille Henry, Andy Hebenton, Red
Sullivan, defensemen Harry Howell and Bill Gadsby, and goaltender Gump Worsley,
but they just couldn’t get it done.
 |
| Andy Bathgate |
The Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto
Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1950-51 led by players like Teeder Kennedy,
Max Bentley, Tod Sloan, Harry Watson, and Cal Gardiner. They wouldn’t make it
back to the finals until 1959 when they lost to The Canadiens. That year they
had six 20 goal scorers, Dick Duff, Billy Harris, Frank Mahovolich. Bob
Pulford, George Armstrong, and Ron Stewart. They had a pretty good back end too
with players like Allan Stanley, Carl Brewer, Bob Baun, and Tim Horton. Johnny
Bower was the goalie. Punch Imlach took over the coaching duties in the 58-59
season.
 |
| Tim Horton, Jean Beliveau, Johnny Bower |
1960-1967
In the 60s
most goalies were now wearing masks a few players started wearing helmets like
Montreal defenseman J.C Termblay. The last goalie to not wear a mask was
Pittsburg Penquin Andy Brown in 1974.
Montreal won
their 5th Stanley Cup in a row in 1960. Chicago won its first
Stanley Cup in 23 years in 1961. For the rest of the decade it was either
Toronto or Montreal that would win the cup.
In 1967 6 new
teams became a part of the NHL, The Philadelphia Flyers, The Pittsburg
Penguins, The Minnesota North Stars, The St. Louis Blues, The Oakland Seals, and
The Los Angeles Kings. The St. Louis
Blues were the first expansion team to play in the Stanley Cup finals losing to
The Montreal Canadiens in 4 straight games in 1968 and 1969. Expansion meant
longer NHL careers for number of hockey players, many of them who had been
stuck in the minors.
The Montreal Canadiens
Montreal was
continually adding players to their exceptional line-up in the 60s, many of
them French Canadiens, including J.C. Trembay, Gilles Tremblay, Bobby Rouseau,
Yvan Cournoyer, Claude Larose, and Jacques Laperriere. Two of their tougher
English speaking players in that decade were John Ferguson and Terry Harper.
 |
| Yvon Cournoyer |
The Chicago Blackhawks
In the early
60s Chicago had its “Skooter Line” of Stan Mikita, Kenny Wharam, and Ab
MacDonald. MacDonald would later be replaced by Doug Mohns. Bobby Hull played
on the “Million Dollar Line” along with Bill
“Red” Hay and Murray Balfour. Pierre Pilote spent 13 years with The
Blackhawks and won the Norris Trophy as the league’s best defenseman 3 times in
the 60s and was runner up 3 times. In 1967 The Blackhawks made one of the worst
trades in hockey history sending Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, Fred Stanfield, for
Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte and goalie Jack Norris.
 |
| Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita |
Pit Martin
and Gilles Marotte were actually pretty decent hockey players. Norris only
played 10 games for The Hawks. Other notable players who played for The Hawks
in the 60s were Glen Hall, Elmer “Moose Vasko, Pat Stapleton, Dennis Hull, and Eric Nesterenko.
The Boston Bruins
It wasn’t
until The Boston Bruins made the trade with Chicago in 1967 that Boston stopped
being the league doormats. Up until the trade Johnny Bucyk and Tom Williams
were the stars of the team in the early part of the 60s. The team also had a
pretty decent defenseman in Ted Green. Superstar Bobby Orr joined The Bruins in
the 66-67 season. The team had a couple of competent goalies in Eddie Johnston
and Gerry Cheevers.
 |
| Johnny Bucyk |
The New York Rangers
In the 1960s
The Rangers started to clean house trading away a lot of their veterans. Andy Bathgate and Don Mckenney were
sent to Toronto, Dean Prentice went to Boston, Gump Worsley ended up in
Montreal, and Andy Hebenton and Camille Henry were also traded away. The new
stars on the team were Rod Gilbert, Jean Ratelle, and Vic Hadfield who played
on the same line. Other goal scorers were Earl Ingerfield and Bob Nevin. 2
steady blueliners for most of the 60s were Jim Nielson and Rod Seiling. In the
1965-66 season Ed Giacomin became the #1 goalie for the rest of the decade.
The Detroit Red Wings
In 1961 The
Red Wings somehow made it to The Stanley Cup Finals despite having a losing
record that season. They were led by the veteran line of Norm Ullman, Alex
Delvecchio, and Gordie Howe. Detroit also made it to The Stanley Cup Finals in
both the 1962-63 season and the 1963-64 season losing both times to The Leafs.
Parker MacDonald became one of the
team’s leading scorers.
 |
| Norm Ullman |
In the
1964-65 season long time Detroit goalie Terry Sawchuk was shipped off to
Toronto in a trade. Roger Crozier became the main guy in goal. Gary Bergman
became Detroit’s best defenseman.
The Toronto Maple Leafs
The Leafs won
The Stanley Cup 4 times in the 1960s, in 1962-63-64 and 67. The nucleus of
those teams were forwards like Frank Mahovolich, Dave Keon, George Armstong,
Bon Nevin, Bob Pulford, Red Kelly, and Ron Stewart and on defense players like
Tim Horton, Allan Stanley, Bob Baun, and Carl Brewer. Johnny Bower was The
Leafs goalie for most of the 60s.
 |
| Frank Mohovlich and Red Kelly |
1967
Expansion
In some ways
the addition of 6 new teams to the NHL in 1967 was similar to The Dodgers and
The Giants moving to California in the 1950s. Of the Original 6 four NHL teams
were in the east and 2 were in the mid-west. California was and is the most
populous state in the US and the NHL wanted teams there. Oakland was a terrible
choice for one of those teams.
The expansion
fee was 2 million dollars and each of those teams had to pay an additional
$50,000.00 for each player they drafted from the Original 6 teams. It was
windfall profits for the Original 6 team owners. A lot of Canadians were pissed
off that none of the new teams were in Canadian cities.
A new
division was created for the new teams. The Original 6 teams were allowed to
protect 11 players and 1 goalie. They were also allowed to protect an
additional player after losing one in the draft. Junior players were not
draftable. Pretty well all the first picks by the expansion teams were goalies.
The first player taken in the draft was Detroit goalie Terry Sawchuk who was
taken by The Los Angeles Kings. LA also chose the first forward in the draft
taking Gord Labossiere from Montreal.
 |
| Terry Sawchuk |
Somehow
Montreal managed to hide young players Danny Grant, Carol Vadnais, Claude
Larose, and Serge Savard in the draft.
Hockey had
changed forever. 5 years later it would change even more with formation of a
new league called The WHA. NHL and WHA players no longer needed summer jobs.
Some
Of My Own Hockey Memories From Years Ago.
#1 Montreal
forward Marcel Bonin once wrestled a bear.
#2 I remember
seeing Montreal defensemen Lou Fontinato crash into the boards in his own end
never to play hockey again.
 |
| Lou Fontinato |
#3 Montreal
defenseman J.C. Tremblay once had the puck on his stick behind his own net and
took off his glove to pick something up off the ice.
#4 Henri
Richard always seemed so predictable. He always went along the boards and not
down the middle of the ice when rushing the puck. I wondered why no one ever
just creamed him into the boards. He wasn’t that fast.
#5 Toronto
defenseman Allan Stanley looked like an old man before his time. Skating wasn’t
his forte.
#6 I remember
Bryan Watson shadowing Bobby Hull not giving Hull a chance to let go his slap
shot.
#7 Boston
goalie Gerry Cheevers once hid behind a defenseman when Bobby Hull was about to
blast away.
#8 I heard a
rumour once that Derek Sanderson was once chased into the stands by Phil
Roberto.
#9 I remember
seeing Bobby Clarke gut Toronto defensemen Rod Seiling while Seiling was on his
knees in front of the net. I never liked Clarke after that.
#10 Eddie
Shack’s nick name “The Entertainer” was very appropriate. He was fascinating to
watch.
 |
| Eddie Shack |
#11 Gordie
Howe was a beast that no hockey player wanted to go in the corner with. Howe
once broke Lou Fontinato’s nose and dislocated his nose in a fight.
#12 Chicago
goalie Glenn Hall would often throw up before a game and almost always turned
up at training camp late.
#13 Chicago
center Stan Mikita went from being one of the most penalized players in the NHL
to winning The Lady Bing Trophy twice.
#14 New York
Ranger forward Camille Henry was only about 5’9” and scored most of his 279
goals in the NHL from within a few feet of the opposing goalie.
#15 I always
liked Howie Young who played defense for Detroit and Chicago. I even painted a
picture of him once with his #2 on his skates.
#16 Is there
a bald NHL Hall of fame? Garry Bergman, Doug, Mohns, and Bill Ezenicki come to mind. Mohns
sometimes wore a toupee.
#17 Al
Rollins played goal for The Blackhawks in the 50s. In the early 70s I did a lot
of hitchhiking across Canada. To let one of my roommates in Toronto know where
I was I would sometimes phone collect asking for Al Rollins and my roommate
would know who was calling and from where.
 |
| Al Rollins |
#18 I
remember going to an exhibition game at The Montreal Forum between Chicago and
Montreal. Montreal goalie Caesar Maniago must have lost his hockey pants
somewhere because he had jeans on behind his pads. I was a huge Chicago fan and
we waited by the Chicago bus after the game. That Moose Vasko was one big
bastard.
#19 I recall
living in Toronto and seeing Bob Baun get carried off the ice only to return
with a fractured ankle and score the winning goal in a game in The Stanley Cup
Finals.
#20 John
Ferguson’s main job was to protect Jean Beliveau. He was probably the toughest
guy in the NHL back then and managed to score 145 goals in his NHL career.
 |
| John Ferguson |
#21 Was it
always snowing on Saturday night when the Hockey Night in Canada game was on?
#22 Bobby
Sheehan could skate like the wind and might have been a great player if alcohol
hadn’t got in the way.
#23 How great
a player would Pittsburg forward Michel Briere have been if he didn’t die so
young?
#24 Doug
Harvey often seemed to control hockey games all by himself.
#26 Maurice
Richard had the strangest eyes particularly when he was coming in on goal with
the puck on his stick.
#27 Frank
Mahovolich often looked lazy as he was coming up the ice but he was moving a
lot faster than it seemed.
#28 It’s a
shame the way Reggie Fleming ended up the way he did.
#29 There
will never be another Bobby Orr.
#30 Al Arbour
who later became coach of The New York Islanders wore eye glasses during his
playing career as a defenseman.
What
memories, what a great game! Hang in there
Gordie!
The
Stars Couldn’t Win All By Themselves.
Hockey is a
team game. If you are an old guy like me you may remember a lot of these names
that may or may not have scored the winning goal in a critical game or thrown a
huge check that got the team going a long time ago. It isn’t a complete list
but you may just remember some of these names if you were a hockey fan back in
the day.
Pete Goegan,
Warren Godfrey, Larry Hillman, Jimmy Roberts, Val Fonteyne, Chico Maki, Bill
Hicke, Wayne Connelly, Gerry Ehman, Nick Mickoski, Glen Skov, Johnny Wilson,
Red Sullivan, Claud Provost, Larry Regan, Bob Turner, Jack Evans, Dollard St.
Laurent, Leo Boivin, Jean Guy Gendron, Al Arbour, Ron Murphy, Fern Flaman,
Charlie Burns, Don Awrey, Forbes Kennedy, Don Simmons, Johnny Peirson, Albert
Langlois, Bob Leiter, and Dick Duff.
RIP
Jean Beliveau.
