WHAT WOULD'VE BEEN A SPECIAL BIRTHDAY

Today marks the 100th birthday of former Leaf great Wally Stanowski, who passed away on June 28, 2015.

In junior hockey, Stanowski won the Memorial Cup with the St. Boniface Seals in 1938. He joined the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1939 and quickly became known for his skating ability. In an interview with Boston Bruins legend Milt Schmidt, he talked to me about what skills Stanowski brought to the table in terms of Toronto's defencemen. "I would say as far as skating is concerned, Stanowski was the fastest skater."

Due to his talent to effortlessly glide up and down the ice, Stanowski earned the nickname of "The Whirling Dervish."

Conn Smythe described his prized rookie's style as follows:

He plays defence as though he was swivelled at the hips. He skates sweepingly with legs spread out. You can rock him but he is harder to knock down than Joe Lewis.

After winning the Stanley Cup in 1942, Stanowski returned to his hometown of Winnipeg and joined the Air Force. He made a triumphant return to the Leafs in 1944-45 and won his second Stanley Cup. Stanowski would go on to capture two more Cups with Toronto in 1947 and 1948. In 1941, he was named to the NHL First All-Star Team.

I had the great pleasure and honour of meeting Wally at the monthly Original Six Alumni lunch. Later, I interviewed him for several projects, including my book on Bob Goldham. Being the last living teammate of Goldham on the historic 1942 Stanley Cup team, Wally's insights were most valuable. The '42 Leafs are the only NHL club to lose the first three games in the Cup final, then bounce back to win the next four.

The interview was conducted at Wally's home on a cold February afternoon. The image of Wally sitting in his favourite chair wearing a blue plaid shirt with a steady stream of smoke billowing from his pipe, remains with me to this day.

BACK IN THE SPRING OF '59

Toronto Maple Leafs, who consider accomplishing miracles as part of a day's work, catapulted their way into the Stanley Cup final here tonight with a dramatic 3-2 win over the crippled Boston Bruins.
-The opening paragraph in Rex MacLeod's game story on game 7 in 1959.

It was in the spring of 1959 that the Toronto Maple Leafs last won a playoff series against the Boston Bruins. Currently, the two are embroiled in the opening round of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs.

The semi-finals in '59 went the distance with game 7 taking place April 7, 1959, at Boston Garden. The Bruins extended the series when they defeated the Leafs 5-4 in game 6 at Maple Leaf Gardens.

After forty-minutes of play in the deciding contest, Boston held a narrow 2-1 lead over the visitors. Their second tally was scored by Leo Boivin. The Bruins defenceman went full steam up the ice and beat Toronto goalie Johnny Bower for an unassisted goal.

In the third period, the Leafs took over the game. Writing in the Globe and Mail, Rex MacLeod described the two goals that gave Toronto a come-from-behind, series-winning victory. The equalizer was scored by Bob Pulford at the 8:36 mark.

Bobby Pulford, an outstanding, hurtling rusher for the Leafs in this game, tied the score at 8:36 of the third period when he barged down the centre and fired at Bruins' gallant goalkeeper, Harry Lumley, from the Boston blueline.
Lumley stretched forward to stop the shot but Pulford streaked in and knocked the puck out of his grasp and into the net.

Leafs' forward, Gerry Ehman, continued his hot-hand by scoring his sixth goal of the series at the 17:27 mark of the final frame.

Then came a series of agonizing close calls at each end until Ehman caressed a rolling puck which Frank Mahovlich had dealt him and drilled it into the far side how the net from about 25 feet out on the right wing. Mahovlich, who specialized in some amazing rushes that did not pay off earlier, took care of the Boston defence of Fernie Flaman and Jim Morrison, so that Ehman could concentrate on his shooting chores.

 The game 7 triumph enabled the Leafs to advance to the Stanley Cup final against Montreal. The Canadiens were gunning for their fourth straight championship and had no difficulty retaining the Cup with a 5-3 win in game 5 on home ice. The lone Maple Leaf victory was in game 3 at the Gardens on April 14, 1959. Dick Duff's overtime goal on Jacques Plante gave Toronto a 3-2 win.

Although the Leafs couldn't pull off an upset against the Habs, they benefitted greatly from the experience. Since Bill Barilko's overtime, Cup-winning goal in the 1951 final, Toronto hadn't made a Cup final appearance until eliminating Boston in 1959. Between 1951 and 1959, the Leafs failed to make the playoffs twice and were bounced in the semi-finals four-times by Detroit.

With "Punch" Imlach, hired in the summer of 1958, making the hockey decisions for the organization, there was a renewed optimism that the Leafs were heading in the right direction. The nucleus for future success was in-place. Toronto's roster included goalie Johnny Bower and a solid defence that included Baun, Horton, Stanley and Brewer. Up front, there was Harris, Mahovlich, Pulford, Stewart, Armstrong and Duff. Waiting in the wings was one of the greatest Leafs of all-time, Dave Keon. Veteran "Red" Kelly would be acquired in a 1960 trade and make the switch from defence to forward. Also, Imlach assembled a supporting cast that made important contributions.

The accomplishments in the '59 playoffs were the first steps to regaining their winning ways and having success in the playoffs. Everyone had a role and Imlach drove them to meet his expectations. There was no room for passengers on the Imlach express.

Another important factor was having Bert Olmstead in Toronto. He was acquired on June 4, 1958, at the Intra-League draft. Olmstead won four Cups with Montreal and this made him attractive to Imlach as leader for his young team in Toronto. Olmstead established himself in this role and as the photo below shows, he didn't hesitate to stand at the chalkboard and formulate plays for his teammates.

The next year, 1960, the Leafs once again faced the Canadiens in the final, but were swept by their rival. In 1961, Toronto was ousted by the Detroit Red Wings in the semi-finals. Everything came into place for the Leafs when they captured the first of their four Cup wins in 1962 at Chicago Stadium on April 22.

 And for many, the climb back to respectability and Stanley Cup parades began in the 1959 playoffs.

THE GREATEST COMEBACK

The Toronto Maple Leafs miracle recovery in the 1942 Stanley Cup final against Detroit is considered to be one of the greatest comebacks in hockey history. Coach Hap Day and his club lost the first three games and found themselves in a deep hole. The only way out was to win the next four in the best-of-seven showdown.

Game 5 took place on April 14, 1942, at Maple Leaf Gardens. The Leafs took a deep breathe and didn't exhale until a 9-3 victory was in the books. Toronto took a 2-0 lead in the first period and Bob Goldham scored an unassisted goal at the 1:59 mark of the middle frame.

In his rookie season on the Leafs defence, Goldham, who was called-up from the American Hockey League in January of '42, scored his most important NHL goal in game 6 on April 16, 1942.

On the road, the Leafs knew the Red Wings would be eager to close out the final and win the Cup in front of their fans at the Olympia. Also, Detroit wanted to avoid a game 7 in Toronto's barn. For Toronto, it was win or wait until next year. In a high stakes battle for both clubs, it was no surprise game 6 turned out to be a hard fought battle.

After a scoreless first period, the Leafs struck first when Don Metz put Toronto on the board early in the second period. His goal came at the :14 mark.

It remained a close contest with neither team being able to score in the second period following Metz's tally. The game was up for grabs and too close to call as the final twenty-minutes of regulation time got underway. The next goal would be crucial.

At 13:32 of period three, Bob Goldham took centre stage. His goal gave Toronto a 2-0 advantage and took the wind out of Detroit's sails. Billy Taylor closed out the scoring at the 14:04 mark and the Leafs were successful in their attempt to force a game 7 at the Gardens.

While researching my book - Bob Goldham Outside the Goal Crease - I found a recording in the CBC Archive of Goldham's goal in game 6 as described by Foster Hewitt. Here is a shortened version of what I wrote in the book regarding Hewitt's call:

Manipulating his voice to reach different stages of emotion, Hewitt's approach is similar to a boxing announcer. His tone when the puck is dropped reflects the call of two opponents landing punches, but not causing damage. "From the faceoff it goes to the blueline, here's a shot, Broda kicked that one out," Hewitt states into his microphone.
He maintained his business-like style as Sweeney Schriner and the Red Wings played catch. "Schriner rolled it, but not out. Shriner then rolled it to centre ice and Detroit shoot it back in." They resembled two fighters, keeping just enough distance to exchange routine jabs.
When Detroit blinked, Schriner found an opening and Bob Goldham dove in for the kill. "Schriner gets it, shoots it ahead," is how Hewitt voiced the next move by Schriner. At this point, Detroit flinched.
Foster Hewitt, as though stopping on a dime and changing direction, went from calling harmless jabs, to describing wicked left-right combinations, followed by nasty upper-cuts. Not only did he kick the intensity level into overdrive, Hewitt held his listeners in spellbinding suspense.
"Here's a breakaway," opened Hewitt. "Goldham going right in," he cried as the Leaf charged into Detroit's zone. "He's right in," Hewitt said, adding to the drama. His sound level and pitch increasing with every word.
The fast developing play left little time for details. Those would come later. "He shoots, he scores," blasted Hewitt in his customary fashion, when Goldham deked Mowers with his clutch move.
"Goldham scores for the Maple Leafs, going right down on Schriner's pass to draw Mowers right out of his net and bang it home to make it 2-0 for the Maple Leafs," he said, putting the final brush stroke in place. Saluting Goldham, Hewitt mentioned he "went in there like a veteran."

On a roll, the Leafs took game 7 on April 18, 1942, to complete their historic comeback. They defeated Detroit 3-1. It was the first and only time an NHL team roared back from losing the first three games in a Stanley Cup final to win the next four and capture Lord Stanley's Cup. Goldham earned an assist on Pete Langelle's game-winning goal. In July of 1942, Goldham joined the Royal Canadian Navy and didn't return to the Leafs' line-up until the 1945-46 season.

Bob Goldham's contributions to the Leafs stunning comeback cannot be underestimated. In June of 1942, hockey writer, Elmer Ferguson, wrote the following about Goldham's performance in game 6:

It was Goldham who fought back, savagely, effectively, impatiently brushing aside the mop of hair dangling in his eyes, his mouth set in hard, fighting lines, Goldham met the surgingWings drives, snared the puck time after time, (and) fought his way out. Wings are specialist on the ganging attack plan. They beat (the) Canadiens that way, they swept the jaded Leafs off their feet in the opening games of the final series. But Goldham refused to be swept. He was the one Leaf player able to carry the puck out, foil the Detroit smashes, help protect Broda strong-hold a defence so well executed that the Leafs won the game 3-0, and forty-eight hours later, took the series.

FOR THE FIRST TIME: BOSTON & TORONTO 1933

Tonight, the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs will play game one in their first round series of the 2019 Stanley Cup playoffs. The opening contest will take place at the TD Garden in Boston.

To discover the first time the Bruins and Maple Leafs played against each other in a playoff series, you have to go way back to 1933.

On March 25, 1933, the two teams faced-off for the first time in hockey's second season at Boston Garden. And the initial game set the tone for future battles between the two clubs.

A newspaper report summed up the intense competition:

It was the first game of the best three-in-five between the Leafs and the Bruins for the National Hockey League championship. And what a bitterly fought, gruelling, nerve-wracking game it was! For 74 minutes and some seconds, the crippled Leafs (with "Ace" Bailey and "Red" Horner out of the line-up) - conceded slight chance here to even hold the powerful and full-strength Bruins in check - looked every bit as good as their opponents. They even outplayed this much-fancied Boston team in the first period; held them on even terms through two more bruising periods, and, then, in overtime, gave such a display of sheer grit and courage that it seemed impossible to beat them.

Despite the glowing review of the Leafs' performance, Boston prevailed in overtime by a 2-1 score. At the 14:14 mark of extra-play, Marty Barry ended the game. On the play, Dit Clapper picked-up a loose puck and fired a shot on Toronto goalie Lorne Chabot. The rebound landed on Barry's stick and his backhander found the back of the net.

Of interest, the skirmishes weren't restricted to the ice:

During the second intermission, Frank Selke (the Leafs assistant general manager), who was rooting strongly for the Leafs, was attacked by a Boston fan. "Ace" Bailey attempted to help Selke and he, too, was attacked. However, quick interference by the police and the ejection of the two fans who started the trouble prevented it from spreading. Selke was bruised over the eye, but he gave as good as he received and so did Bailey.

The tradition continues this evening.

LIGHTS, CAMERA...

The first public screening of Derek Williams' short film on the renaming of the rink at Christie Pits after former Leaf great, Sid Smith, took place at the April Original Six Alumni lunch. It was my honour to comment in the film about the process behind the renaming and why Sid Smith was worthy of such a tribute.

Here are some screen-grabs from the film.