A FAN FOR LIFE

Ray Mulley's passion for the game of hockey began when he was a youngster living in Cornwall, Ontario, in the 50's. His favourite player was Sid Smith of the Toronto Maple Leafs. The above sketch was done by Ray in 1997 and he clearly nailed Sid's image. A couple of years ago, at the Original Six Alumni lunch, I was introduced to Ray by Blaine Smith, who is Sid's son. Since then, we've had many discussions about Sid Smith and his career with the Maple Leafs. Listening to Ray share stories about his boyhood idol, one could tell the passage of time hasn't diminished his memories.

Blaine SmIth (L) with Ray Mulley

I thought it would be interesting to look into the past and examine what it was like for a young fan to follow his favourite team and player during the transition from games being broadcast on radio, then television. Also, to explore what happens when the fan gets older and seeks out the player who captured his imagination as a child.

Recently, I asked Ray to tell his story and here it is in his own words:

I first discovered the Leafs and Sid Smith while listening to games on the radio with my parents. To be more specific, this would have been during the Stanley Cup playoffs in the spring of 1951. I was six years old. My Dad would show me pictures of NHL players and I fell in love with the Maple Leafs jersey. 

Two of the most prominent names heard over the radio during the 1951 Stanley Cup finals were Montreal's Rocket Richard and Toronto's Sid Smith, as it seems they took turns battling for the scoring lead. As history would reveal, this 1951 Stanley Cup final would go down in the league's record book as one of the most exciting finals ever, as all five games were decided in overtime with the Leafs prevailing. This was the only time, before or since, that all games in the finals were were decided in overtime.
From that point on, Sid Smith became my favourite hockey player, and I followed his career with great interest.

His second hockey card displaying his 1951-52 season record, also revealed his record setting goal in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals, which he scored just 15 seconds from the opening face-off. Of course, when I was listening to that game in 1951, I was too young to recognize the significance of that goal until I read the back of that hockey card.

The following season (1952-53) Sid Smith scored 15 goals in 66 games with four games to go on the Leafs schedule. By that time, I'm eight years old and fully aware that he had scored 20 or more goals in three straight seasons. Scoring five goals in the remaining four games of the season appeared to be unlikely, however, I was thrilled with the end result. Sid scored the five goals in four games to reach 20 goals for the fourth season in a row. 

He would go on to make it six consecutive seasons scoring 20 or more goals, with the highlight of his career coming in 1954-55, when he scored 33 goals as well as making the First All-Star Team at left wing and win g the Lady Byng Trophy for the second time.
It was around this time that I found out about his heroics during the 1948-49 Stanly Cup finals against the Detroit Red Wings, when he set a Cup finals record by scoring three power-play goals in game two en route to a record three straight Stanley Cups for the Leafs.

I closely followed his exploits as player-coach with the world champion Whitby Dunlops, helping bring Canada a gold medal in 1958. WOW! He scored nine goals, 14 points in seven games. Punch Imlach wanted to bring him back to the Leafs for the 1959-60 season, however, the league would not reinstate him.

Sid Smith helped form the NHL Oldtimers in 1960, and I continued to follow his career. Although I did get to see Sid play for the Leafs when television arrived, I finally was able to see him play live with the NHL Oldtimers at the arena in Niagara Falls several times during the 60's and 70's.

It was 1986 when I finally got the nerve to write him a letter asking to meet him in Toronto. He kindly extended an invitation to meet that summer at Druxy's Restaurant, and we communicated every year for the next seventeen years, getting together several times.

It was while my wife Nancy and I were attending a sports card show at one of the hotels in Toronto in 1988, where Sid Smith and Bob Goldham were the special guests, that both Sid and Bob thought it would be a great idea to invite me to the Leafs Alumni dinners each May. I attended the dinners and more recently the luncheons every year since 1988.

Our last get together with Bob occurred in early December, 2003. Together with Nancy, we sat and talked about his career and hockey in general for almost an hour. Sid brought with him all his newspaper clippings that his Mother and later his wife June would have clipped since the beginning of his career. He asked me if I would put the newspaper clippings together in a scrapbook for him. Of course, I accepted the task and told him that I would be delighted to put everything together.

Sadly, Sid left us on April 29, 2004, in his 79th year.

There are many fond memories Sid left myself, as well as all of his countless fans, not only in Toronto and Canada, but also from other parts of he world, most notably in Sweden where his biggest fan from that country is Kristor Ericcson, whom I have communicated with several times.

Now, I look forward to Alumni luncheons when I get to sit with Sid's son Blaine and talk about his Dad's career.

Sid Smith was a great hockey idol for all the kids growing up in the 40's and 50's. He was a true sportsman, a gentleman and devoted family man.

Obviously, Ray Mulley is Sid Smith's biggest fan and most of us, in some way or another, still remember the one player we idolized in our youth. This is what our grand game is all about, passing cherished memories and stories to family and friends, from one generation to the next.

MR. HOCKEY TURNS 88

Happy 88th birthday to hockey icon Gordie Howe, who was born on March 31, 1928, in Floral, Saskatchewan.

"Hockey quickly became all I thought about, filling almost every waking hour I wasn't in school. I still feel that joy now when I lace up a pair of skates and step out onto the ice."

The above quote came from Gordie Howe - My Hockey Memories, which was published in 1999.

Howe was looking back to when he received his first pair of blades at the age of five.

HOCKEY'S LOST BOY

During the 2016-17 hockey year the city of Toronto will celebrate the 100th anniversary of their National Hockey League franchise.

Toronto's first club in the new league was named the Arenas and they captured the Stanley Cup in 1917-18.

The team underwent an identity change in December 1919 and became the St. Pat's. The name was partially selected to appeal to the large Irish population in Toronto.

On February 14, 1927, a group of investors that included Conn Smythe, purchased the St. Pat's and they announced their team would be known as the Toronto Maple Leafs. One newspaper headline read,"GOOD-BYE, ST. PAT'S! HOWDY, MAPLE LEAFS."

In Detroit on February 16, 1927, the St. Pat's era ended when they fell to the Cougars 5-1.

The next night at home in Arena Gardens on Mutual Street, the newly named Toronto Maple leafs made their debut.

After the New York Americans took a one goal first period lead in the Leafs first outing, the home team responded in the middle frame. The honour of scoring the Toronto Maple Leafs first goal went to George "Paddy" Patterson.

A native of Kingston, Ontario, Patterson was obtained from the Hamilton Tigers on February 8, 1927.

 The Globe newspaper described Patterson's historic goal:

This one-goal lead was overcome by one of the prettiest shots of the night. George Patterson took a pass from Brydge (Bill) after nine minutes of the second period had been played and his drive on the goal was so fast and well played that Forbes (Jake, the Americans goalie) hardly saw it.

A new hockey documentary made by Dale Morrisey to be released this Fall explores the life and career of George Patterson.

'Hockey's Lost Boy: The Rise and Fall of George Patterson' packs a lot of history and action into its 90 minutes.

As the title indicates, there was two sides to Patterson's life in hockey. The film chronicles his rise, which led him to the NHL and American Hockey League.

On the darker side, Patterson's fall came when he coached the senior B Kingston Nylons. A scandal in 1951 resulted in Patterson being suspended for life. As the story goes, his team "had tossed a whole series," against Peterborough to avoid being promoted to senior A. The Nylons felt they would suffer at the gate if they were kicked up to the next level of play.

The ban left Patterson on the outside of the hockey world looking in. His past accomplishments were forgotten and the invitations to hockey events stopped coming.

The cast of authors and historians in the film provide excellent background on Patterson's rise and fall. An appearance by Patterson's grandson, Brian Johnson, adds a personal touch.

Dale Morrisey (right) with Brian Johnson

Former Leaf players Ron Ellis, Rick Vaive and Doug Gilmour offer insightful commentary. Vaive and Gilmour noted the lack of recognition Patterson received for scoring the first goal. They pointed out that during all the time they spent in the Leaf dressing room there was no plaque or banner honouring the goal.

Since most hockey fans are not aware of George Patterson, the film should arouse their interest. Also, it will be timely what with the Leafs and the NHL about to embark on their centennial year. But most important, Patterson's crowning moment will once again be in the spotlight for a new generation.

The script is well written and allows the story to shine through. Morrisey's use of  filters to age material gives a vintage look to the presentation.

Like watching a playoff game in overtime, you won't want to miss one-second of Hockey's Lost Boy.

Prior to a screening hosted by Mike Wilson, I talked to Dale Morrisey about his latest film.

On getting started in the business: I got started in the business of making documentaries out of necessity. I was working as a television journalist and videographer. It was a case where the perfect storm happened. My wife was pregnant and they wiped out our news division at the same time. So, rather than move a pregnant woman I decided  to open up my own business and that was 14 years ago. I started out by putting together any little bit of work I could do. The first real broadcast work I managed to get going was a series of shorts called Forgotten Ontario. I sold the first licensing to them in exchange for money to buy a used camera to get them made. From there, I sold them to PBS affiliates and TVO and I went from there.

On choosing George Patterson as his next subject: I wish I could say it was entirely my idea. I had just finished a very long, grinding process to make a film called The Father of Hockey: Captain James Sutherland and the Battle for Hockey's Hall of Fame. It was released by Entertainment One Films and I thought great I'm done with hockey for a while. It's been four years doing this and I'm going to go out and make a basketball film on James Naismith. A gentleman by the name of Ken McCullough, who lived near me, had seen the film and loved it. He asked me if I ever thought of doing another hockey film. He told me he had an idea for one so we met to discuss it. He told me about George Patterson and the fact he scored the Leafs first goal. I'm a life long suffering Maple Leafs fan and I never heard of him. Syl Apps is my favourite Leaf, so my knowledge of the Leafs goes back beyond the 1980's. I looked through all the files and here is the guy. He scores the first goal for the Leafs and then plays for the New York Americans and he's a founding player in the American Hockey League. He does all this great stuff and no one knows about him. I pitched the idea to my agent, then he could pitch it to a distributor. And that's how it happened.

On the response to Hockey's Lost Boy: It's been overwhelming. Anybody I've approached to be in the film has jumped at the chance. I've been lucky enough to interview the likes of Doug Gilmour, Rick Vaive and Ron Ellis. They talked what the Leaf legacy meant to them and what it should be moving forward. Also, it was fun learning about George. The public response has been great. We had a screening at the Kingston (Ontario) Film Festival and they approached us before the film was even finished. We sold out the screening and there were people waiting in cue in the rush ticket line that had to be turned away. This was on a Sunday morning, which usually isn't the best day for a screening. We packed the place.

On what surprised him about George Patterson: When I started doing the research and the interviews, I was of the impression he was a grinder. The type of player who was in the right place at the right time. A player who scored a really pretty goal for the Maple Leafs and that should have been it. That was the story on George. What I started to find out was that he had a really great career with the New York Americans at a time when the Americans were just figuring out what they wanted to be. They were known as the loveable losers. Their battle cry was "play for the Americans and laugh yourself to death." For about a four year run, George was a prototypical power forward at a time when they didn't call them power forwards. He skated up and down his wing and he could flatten guys and played a very strong defensive game. He piled up the goals at a time when the NHL was low scoring and a two-line league. He was a really good hockey player. Under different circumstances, he probably could have stuck in the league.

On his next project: I'm working on a film about the Brooklyn Americans. It sort of grew from the time working on George. It will also come out in the Fall. Also, I'm going to get to work on the Naismith film. 



  

MAURICE RICHARD: 50-in-50

On March 18, 1945, Maurice "Rocket" Richard became the first NHL player to score 50 goals in 50 games.

The Montreal Canadiens right winger scored his 50th in the Habs final game of the 1944-45 regular season. On the road in Boston, Richard failed to score in the first 40 minutes of action and his attempt  to reach 50-in-50 came down to the third period. Boston and Montreal were deadlocked at 1-1 going into the final frame.

"The Bruins alternated goalie Bob Bibeault and Harvey Bennett in their net and both were under heavy fire most of the way," noted a newspaper account.

After Bibeault's run in the first half of play, Bennett replaced his teammate between the pipes and the visitors peppered him with 26 shots. Late in the contest,they finally found some open net.

At 17:45, Richard connected for his historic goal by "whacking in Elmer Lach's pass out."

Richard's linemates, Toe Blake and Lach, added two more goals to give Montreal a 4-2 victory.

KING CLANCY NIGHT

On March 17, 1934, the Toronto Maple Leafs honoured King Clancy before their game with the New York Rangers at Maple Leaf Gardens.

The Toronto Daily Star noted of the pre-game tribute: "It was also St. Patrick's night and there was much to-doing about this in advance of the match. In the ring centre (at centre ice) a giant shamrock was painted green and above and below the emblem "King Clancy" was printed in box-case letters."

Andy Lytle of the Daily Star went on to describe Clancy's enterance: "Half a dozen players figured in the good-natured hoaxing before Clancy came on as as King Cole. I expect. Anyway, he was a very  merry old soul and wouldn't you be, too, if they showered you with applause and fine silver gifts?"

As for the outcome of the game, the Leafs broke a 2-2 tie in the final frame when Ken Doraty scored the game-winning-goal to give Toronto a 3-2 victory. To open the game, "Clancy played the first period in a paddy green suit he reported for (in) the festivities."

BILL GADSBY: 1927-2016

The hockey world mourns the passing of Hall of Fame defenceman Bill Gadsby, who passed away today.

A native of Calgary, Alberta, Gadsby began his National Hockey League career in 1946-47 with Chicago. He remained a Black Hawk until a trade on November 24, 1954, sent him to New York. After seven seasons in the Big Apple, Gadsby once again found himself on the move when the Rangers dealt him to Detroit following the 1960-61 campaign.

Gadsby retired as a player in May 1966 and held the coaching position with Detroit for a short period of time.

Mostly known for his robust physical style, Gadsby also had his moments on offence. In a poll conducted by the Toronto Daily Star in March 1958, the six NHL coaches chose him as the best attacking defenceman. At the time, he was a member of the New York Rangers.

During his NHL career, Gadsby played on 3 First All-Star Teams and 4 Second All-Star Teams. He is considered to be one of the best players not to have been on a Stanley Cup winning team.

Born on August 8, 1927, William Alexander "Gads" Gadsby was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1970

NHL CENTENNIAL CLASSIC

As part of its 100th anniversary celebrations, the NHL announced today that an outdoor game will be played to mark the occasion. The NHL Centennial Classic will take place on January 1, 2017, at BMO Field in Toronto. The Detroit Red Wings will be in town to face the Maple Leafs.

"The Toronto Maple Leafs are thrilled to host the 2017 NHL Centennial Classic and what will be the signature moment in our club's 100th anniversary celebrations next season to share with all Leafs fans," Brendan Shanahan wrote in a press release.