ANOTHER HONOUR FOR JOE PRIMEAU

Last week, former Toronto Maple Leaf legend, Joe Primeau, was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame. The induction ceremony and awards gala took place in the grand ballroom of the Sheraton Centre Hotel in Toronto.

Joe Primeau's son, Bob, took centre stage to talk about his dad.

"On behalf of the Primeau family, many of whom are here tonight, I would like to thank the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame, and its selection committee, for inducting my father into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame amongst such distinguished recipients," Primeau told the packed room. "This induction is a great honour for my father and one that we are delighted to celebrate this evening."

With his niece, Sue Primeau, on stage with him, Primeau concluded his remarks.

"Dad's professional career as a hockey player and as a coach, spanned over 25 years, after which he continued his involvement in the sport in many ways for the rest of his life. Hockey was surely in his veins. I believe my father's induction cements his place in the history of hockey in Ontario and for this, we are forever grateful."

Yours Truly with Sue Primeau & Bob Primeau. Photo Credit: Lora Evans/Hat Trik Pro.

A brief breakdown of "Gentleman Joe" Primeau's career reveals his many accomplishments. On July 17, 1928, Primeau signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs as a free agent. Later, he would join Charlie Conacher and Harvey "Busher" Jackson to form the famed Kid Line. With the opening of Maple Leaf Gardens on November 12, 1931, the Kid Line led the Leafs to a Stanley Cup championship on April 9, 1932. The evidence of Primeau's skill and ability to feed the puck to Conacher and Jackson, can be found in the fact he led the NHL in assists in 1930-31, 1931-32, and 1933-34. Due to his clean play, Primeau was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in 1932. He became an Honoured Member of the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963.

When he retired, and turned to coaching, Primeau guided the St. Mike's Majors to a Memorial Cup win in 1945, the Toronto Marlboro Seniors to an Allan Cup championship in 1949, and the Toronto Maple Leafs to Stanley Cup victory in 1951. He is the only coach to complete this trifecta.

After a gathering to celebrate the 1931-32 Toronto Maple Leafs in 2017, I wrote a story on the event. The text relating to Joe Primeau is reprinted below.

"We would always get together at Christmas," said Suzanne Primeau. "There are 12 grandchildren and I'm the eldest granddaughter of Joe Primeau. My dad, Joe Primeau Jr, is the eldest son of Joe Primeau."

Suzanne Primeau is proud that the family tradition of attending Leaf home games dates back to 1931-32. "At the time Conn Smythe was building the Gardens, he took Papa (Joe Primeau) around and told him to choose the seats he wanted. Papa ended up selecting eight seats and Conn allowed him not to pay for them. But that all changed in the Ballard era." Six of those seats remain in the Primeau family. "I remember Nana (her grandmother) telling me she went to the first game at Maple Leaf Gardens and the puck was dropped barely before the roof was put on."

Joe Primeau revealed to his granddaughter what he considered to be an important ingredient to winning games. "He told me that 75% of your success in the game was your goaltender." With two lethal scoring weapons as linemates, Primeau's job of distributing the puck between Conacher and Jackson often became a thorn in his side. Suzanne discovered how Primeau responded to this dilemma. "He'd say, 'I don't know how to keep those two happy. I'm going to have to cut the puck in half.'"

"I was born in 1931 and my first recollection of hockey was more in 1937," said Bob Primeau, who is Joe Primeau's son. "I don't remember anything about when Dad was playing. A big moment in my life was watching the Leafs win in 1942 when they came back from losing three games and winning the next four to win the Stanley Cup. I can remember him coaching." Joe Primeau is the only coach to capture a Memorial Cup, Allan Cup and Stanley Cup. Coach Primeau's Stanley Cup championship came in 1951. "I was at the game with my Uncle Jim when Barilko scored that overtime goal. I remember Sloan (Tod) tied the game with about a minute to go. Every game went into overtime."

Bob Primeau recalled a story his dad told him about the era when the train travel was the main means of transportation for NHL teams. "They spent a lot of time on the trains. Dad was talking about the kibitzing that use to happen on the train. It seems to me that Charlie Conacher was at the head of all the trouble. If anyone had a necktie on, Charlie had a pair of scissors and he would cut it off about halfway up."

One story both Primeau's shared concerned an injury Joe Primeau suffered on the road. "I remember him telling me about how he had part of his ear sliced," stated Suzanne. "The next game he took some old football helmet and put it on." Bob Primeau filled in the details. "He hit his head against the goalpost down in New York. He nearly knocked his ear off. They had trouble sewing it back on. He got an old football helmet and cut the top off it and wore it."

Above all, Joe Primeau was a family man and was called "Gentleman Joe" for a reason. "He was a good person and didn't bring the game home with him," explained Suzanne. "He never put anyone down and was always positive. There wasn't always nice talk about Harold Ballard, but Papa never said anything bad about him. In fact, Ballard sent 60 roses for their 60th wedding anniversary."