MORE THAN JUST A HOCKEY PLAYER

 HOWIE MEEKER: 1923-2020

When you look back at the professional life of Howie Meeker, who passed away over the weekend, three  occupations standout - hockey, politics and broadcasting.

After a successful run in junior hockey, that included a provincial OHA junior B championship with Stratford in 1942, Meeker paused his time on ice and turned his attention to the war effort. 

In 1943, at the age of 19, after being turned down by the air force, Meeker joined the army's Engineers' Corps and was shipped overseas. While participating in military maneuvers, he suffered serious injuries to both his legs. In a depressed state and confined to a bed, he worried about his future. "I didn't think I'd be playing hockey anymore," Meeker declared in his autobiography, Golly Gee It's Me. "I didn't think I'd be doing much of anything for a while."

Meeker spent two months in the infirmary, then returned to his duties. By December 1945, he was aboard the Queen Elizabeth and on his way home.

Upon his return, Meeker got his feet wet by playing in 7 regular season games and 5 playoff contests with the OHA Sr A Stratford Indians. His combined goal total was 14 in 12 outings. Any doubts of his ability to produce quickly vanished.

Never out of the vision of Conn Smythe and Hap Day, Meeker became their focus for the 1946-47 season. Smythe had to be impressed with young Meeker's commitment to his Country and the courage and bravery he displayed after his devastating leg wounds. On the hockey front, they were fully aware of what Meeker brought to the table. They had to be enticed that Meeker led all scorers in the 1941-42 OHA Jr B regular season with 29 goals in 13 games with Stratford. In the provincial playoffs, he led the way with 13 goals in 9 games.

On April 15, 1946, came the news that Howie Meeker signed his first professional contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs. 

Several obstacles were in the way before Meeker earned a spot on the Leafs' roster. First, he had to survive  Toronto's initial annual hockey school. The school for prospects and minor leaguers took place prior to training camp. If a player passed the test, he graduated to the main camp. Meeker, conquered both barriers and was in the line-up when the NHL season got underway. 

In the Leafs' home opener on October 19, 1946, Howie Meeker scored his first NHL goal in Toronto's 6-3 victory over the Detroit Red Wings. Meeker was the right-winger on a line centred by captain Ted Kennedy with Vic Lynn at left wing. The trio became known as the KML line. On Meeker's goal, Kennedy fed the puck to Lynn, who entered the Red Wings' zone with Meeker. The two linemates played hot-potato with  the puck before Meeker beat Detroit goalie Harry Lumley.

In what can only be described as a spectacular rookie campaign, Meeker scored 27 goals and added 18 helpers for 45 points. Included in his goal production were five goals against the Chicago Black Hawks in a 10-4 thumping at Maple Leaf Gardens on January 8, 1947. News reports revealed that defenceman Wally Stanowski was originally credited with Toronto's first and third goals. On both tallies, Stanowski shot the puck and conceded at the bench that Meeker may have directed the puck into the net. At the insistence of Hap Day, the goals were changed to Meeker by official scorer Bill Graham.

Stanowski, in a National Post article published on January 30, 2015, declared, "I scored two of them." It was his contention that Leafs' coach Hap Day worked the situation to help Meeker win the Calder Trophy as the NHL's top rookie and he was helpless to rectify the outcome concerning the goals.

When the announcement was made in May 1947, Meeker emerged as the Calder winner. He amassed 49 out of 54 points in the voting conducted by the media. The runner-up was Detroit's Jimmy Conacher with 13 points.

More important to Meeker was the fact Toronto captured the Stanley Cup in 1947, and it wouldn't be his last. He went on to have his name engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1948, 1949 and 1951.

Injuries started to impact Meeker's game in the 1948-49 season. During a practice on December 27, 1948, he suffered a broken right collarbone. In an attempt to avoid a stick check by Bill Ezinicki in a scrimmage, Meeker lost his balance and collided with the boards. As a result, he only skated in 30 games.

A back ailment, as a result of a check, and a sore knee, limited Meeker's action to 25 contests in 1952-53.  Along with battling injuries, Meeker's goal output decreased to 16 in the last three seasons, starting in 1950-51. 

As training camp got underway in the fall of 1953, it became obvious Meeker's back problem wasn't going away. "There were times last season when I could hardly stand up after a game," Meeker told reporters. "It's not as bad now, although it's aching from this morning's workout. I'll just have to wait and hope it gets no worse. I slept on a board for mattress all summer."

Unfortunately for Meeker, the 1953-54 season was his last as NHL performer with the Toronto Maple Leafs. The discomfort in his back prevented him from playing up to his standards. In 5 games, he scored one goal. 

While under contract with the Leafs, Meeker was approached to run by the Progressive Conservative Party in a federal by-election in Waterloo South on June 25, 1951. "I want to do a good job of representing the people of my riding if I make," said Meeker. 

When the votes were counted, Meeker came out the winner and began his journey as a professional hockey player and a Member of Canada's Parliament. His first speech in the House of Commons on October 29, 1951, dealt with "veterans' pensions and the cost of living."

His job as a politician ended when Meeker decided against running for re-election in 1953. His time in Ottawa contributed to his reduction in games played.

After hanging up his skates, Meeker coached the 1953-54 Stratford Indians, the team he played for after returning from his military service.

Up next for Meeker was a two-year stint as the coach of the Leafs' farm team in the American Hockey League, the Pittsburgh Hornets. His stay in Pittsburgh didn't get off to a smooth start, as when he arrived, he discovered his furniture was being held up at customs. 

But his first year in Pittsburgh turned out to be hugely successful. In the Calder Cup final, the Hornets downed the Buffalo Bisons 4 games to 2 in the best-of-seven showdown and were crowned AHL champions. "They played hard all season, and they deserved it," Meeker said of his warriors. "I'm proud to have coached them. And I hope we can do it again."

The next season, 1955-56, was another story. The Hornets lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Cleveland Barons. 

When King Clancy stepped down as coach of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the spring of 1956, Meeker was hired to replace him. "I still intend to be my own boss," Meeker said in a press conference. "Naturally, I will weigh the advice of Smythe, Day and Clancy. You can't argue with success. But the final decision on matters of policy will be up to me."

With Meeker behind the bench, the Leafs struggled on the ice and went 21-34-15 in the 70 game schedule. Their fifth-place finish left them out of the post-season.

The Leafs were delivered a blow when Hap Day walked away from his managerial duties on March 25, 1957. The explanation for his departure came in this comment from Conn Smythe: "Mr. Day says he's not available for next season, that's that." To many, it meant that Day lost a power struggle over control of the team.

Instead of keeping Meeker in the coaching position, the Leafs bumped him upstairs to the GMs office. His first move was to sign prized prospect Frank Mahovlich on May 13, 1957. But things turned sour prior to the start of the 1957-58 season. In an unexpected development, the Leafs let Meeker go and Stafford Smythe of the newly formed seven-man committee took charge. A statement revealed that both sides "agreed to disagree." 

In September 1958, Meeker moved to St. John's, Newfoundland to join the Guards Athletic Association. He handled all levels of their hockey program. In particular, the junior, senior and high school teams.

Meeker found his niche as a broadcaster when he joined Hockey Night in Canada as an analyst. For many, he will be remembered for the Howie Meeker Hockey School series that aired on the CBC. Meeker was at his boisterous best when he explained the proper techniques on how to play the game. His unique delivery and constant stream of his catch-phrase, "Golly Gee," made him immensely popular with a generation of hockey fans.

The Hockey Hall of Fame came calling in 1998 with the Foster Hewitt Award, as Meeker was inducted into the broadcaster's wing. 

His ability to analyze his own play and take steps to improve his game started early in his career with the Maple Leafs. He recorded the details in a little green book. "It shows what players I have the most trouble with, and I can plan new ways to deal with them," Meeker said in a 1949 interview. "You can be a student of mistakes as long as you do something about them."

In a way, this was training for his career as a professor of the game.

Howie Meeker was born on November 4, 1923, in Kitchener, Ontario. He died in Nanaimo General Hospital in British Columbia on November 8, 2020. Meeker was the oldest living former Toronto Maple Leaf.