'TIS THE SEASON FOR HOCKEY TOURNAMENTS

As the World Junior championships got underway this week in Vancouver and Victoria, British Columbia, other competitions are also taking place in North America. Various minor hockey league teams are participating in tournaments during the Christmas break.

While researching my book on Bob Goldham,  I attended the Bob Goldham Memorial Christmas House League Tournament. The trip to Georgetown, Ontario, allowed me to soak up the town Goldham was born in, and in particular, the Georgetown Arena, where he played hockey as a youngster. Also, I was able to view the displays honouring Bob Goldham as a recipient of the Georgetown Hockey Heritage Award. Goldham received this award on March 4, 1985.

Of all the honours that were bestowed upon Goldham by his hometown, the hockey tournament would top the list, as I wrote in the book:

"Perhaps, the one tribute that would have meant the most to Goldham occurred in December 2010. To honour Goldham, the Georgetown Minor hockey Association changed the name of their yearly house league tournament. The 15th annual event became The Bob Goldham Memorial Christmas House League Tournament."

Here are some photos from my visit in December 2011.

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Bob Goldham's daughter, Barb Loynachan and her husband, Rod, passing out awards.

Barb pointing to her dad's Stanley Cup wins with Detroit on the Cup band.

Left to Right: Yours Truly, Doug Wellington, Jim Gregory and Barb.

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

MERRY CHRISTMAS, TO ONE AND ALL!

THE BAND PLAYS ON

It was revealed this week the band covering the Stanley Cup champions from 1953-54 to 1964-65 has been removed from Lord Stanley's gift to hockey and placed in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

In a tweet by Kelly Masse, the Director of Corporate and Media Relations at the Hall, she wrote, "It's the second band to come off, keeping it to the current size. Next time a band comes off will be the year 2030."

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 Above is a photograph I took of the now removed band while researching my book on Bob Goldham. Upon taking a close look, you will discover that for Detroit's 1953-54 Cup win, Goldham's name is engraved as Robert Goldham. The following year, the Red Wings repeated as Cup champions, but Goldham's first name appears as Bob.

This makes for an interesting trivia question when discussing the Cup.

The above two photos show the band that was removed and the display case it will occupy at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Photo Credit: Hockey Hall of Fame.

LANCE HORNBY'S ANNUAL BOOK BONANZA IN THE TORONTO SUN

Thanks to Lance Hornby for including my book - Bob Goldham Outside the Goal Crease - in his annual Book Bonanza. This gift-giving guide for fans of hockey books was in today's print edition of the Toronto Sun. I'm honoured to grace the pages with the likes of Kevin Shea, Dan Robson and all the other authors that had their work featured by Lance.

A CHRISTMAS PLUG FROM NY HOCKEY ONLINE

Thanks to NY Hockey Online and Randy Schultz the Publisher & Managing Editor for the plug of "Bob Goldham Outside the Goal Crease!"

Here is the link to Randy's story... CLICK HERE.

CONACHER FAMILY

In October, I had the pleasure of attending the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame 2018 Induction Ceremony & Awards Gala held at the Westin Harbour Castle Hotel in Toronto.

What made the event special was being in attendance as the Conacher family received the Bruce Prentice Legacy Award. Prentice created the OSHOF in 1994.

Here is a link providing details on the Conacher's and their accomplishments in the game of hockey CLICK HERE.

The family members include Lionel, Charlie, Roy, Murray Henderson, Peter and Brian. All six played in the National Hockey League and another member of the family, Bert, had his career cut short due to an eye injury.

As Pete Conacher stated in the event program, "Murray is a Conacher ... Murray's mom was my dad's sister. Because of that, hockey came naturally."

As noted by Brian Conacher, the female members of the family were just as athletic. Their activities included baseball, track & field and other sports. "The bottom line was they were are all athletic," Conacher told the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. "The family didn't have any luxuries at the time and their recreation was being very active. When the women had free time they were participating and excelling in different sports."

Brian Conacher (top photo) spoke on behalf of the family and Peter joined him on stage. The Original Six Alumni Lunch was well represented at the Gala (bottom photo). Photo Credit: The Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

A STANLEY CUP ALREADY IN SEATTLE'S PAST

On Tuesday, Gary Bettman announced that Seattle will be the NHL's 32nd franchise. "Seattle, the NHL is thrilled to welcome you," Bettman said durning a ceremony. "I know obviously that those words are words that the passionate and patient fans in Seattle have longed to hear."

The new franchise will take flight in the 2021-22 season.

And like the other NHL teams, their goal will be to win the Stanley Cup. However, when they do reach the top of the mountain, it won't be Seattle's first Stanley Cup championship.

Back in 1917, the Seattle Metropolitans were part of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and faced the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association for the Stanley Cup. In a previous post, I wrote about the final game between Seattle and Montreal:

On March 26, 1917, the Metropolitans faced the Montreal Canadiens in game four of the Stanley Cup series. Holmes (Harry "Hap"- Seattle's goalie) opponent at the other end of the rink was George Vezina. Playing in Seattle, the Canadiens took game one by a score of 8-4. The Metropolitans responded by winning games two (6-1) and three (4-1). The series was a best-of-five affair. With Lord Stanley's silverware on the line in game four, Seattle cruised to a 9-1 landslide pasting of Montreal. In a brilliant display of offensive skills, Bernie Morris netted 6 of Seattle's 9 goals. The only Montreal player to beat Holmes was Didier Pitre.

HNiC: THE RETRO LOOK

Last Saturday, Hockey Night in Canada's Retro Jacket (the baby blue blazers) Night campaign kicked off with bids being accepted until mid-week. All the retro jackets from the broadcasts were auctioned off and raised $127,000 for Hockey Fights Cancer.

The on-air talent on HNiC wore the legendary baby blue jackets from 1973 to 1988. Here is a photo of Bob Goldham wearing his jacket.

In my book on Bob Goldham, he recalled how his hiring came about in 1967:

"I was contacted by Bob Gordon, an old friend from my stay with the Goodson family, who I lived with when I was going to Northern Vocational High School. He was a producer with Hockey Night in Canada and asked if I would be interested in working occasionally as an analyst on the Leaf games. This was a tremendous opportunity for me to get back to the game again and made even more attractive by the fact that on the Leaf team at that time were two of my old mates from our great days in Detroit. Marcel Pronovost  and Terry Sawchuk had been resurrected from the scrap pile by "Punch" Imlach and were important parts of a good hockey club. Sawchuk, while not the goalie of the Red Wing days, was still an excellent athlete and teamed with Johnny Bower gave the Leafs super goaltending. As for Pronovost, anyone who knows me, also knows the high esteem he is held in, and was still playing great hockey."

By the 1968-69 season, Goldham became the first permanent analyst hired by Hockey Night in Canada.