From Hockey Fanatic To Forget About It!

FROM HOCKEY FANATIC AND MAPLE LEAF DIE-HARD, TO FORGET ABOUT IT!

WHAT HAPPENED? GREED ME THINKS

     I WAS THE SCRUFFY, DIRTY-FACED, OFF KILTER, TOQUE-WEARING KID, RUNNING UP AND DOWN A LENGTH OF ALICE STREET TARMAC, CHASING A BALD TENNIS BALL WITH A "SLIVER" STICK……MEANING IT ONLY HAD HALF THE BLADE. LENGTH-WISE WAS FINE. BUT IT ONLY HAD ABOUT AN INCH OF WOOD SURFACE LEFT. THE OLD STICKS USED TO SHATTER THIS WAY, AND THE BRACEBRIDGE RINK RATS, USED TO FETCH THEM HOME AFTER JUNIOR HOCKEY GAMES. THEY WERE GREAT FOR PLAYING ROAD HOCKEY. "BE CAREFUL OF THOSE STICKS, " MY MOTHER MERLE, WOULD SCREAM OUT OF THE THIRD FLOOR KITCHEN WINDOW, OF THE WEBER APARTMENTS ON ALICE STREET. WE DID NEED MEDICAL ATTENTION A LOT IN THOSE DAYS, FROM STICKS IN THE SHINS, FOREHEADS, BACK OF THE KNEES, AND THOSE SKINNED BODY-PARTS FROM SLIDING DOWN THE ROUGH TARMAC. MOSTLY, IT WAS A GUY THING, WHEN TAKING A SLAP-SHOT WITH A FROZEN TENNIS BALL BELOW THE BELT. NOTHING BUT TIME AND CRYING WOULD FIX THAT WOE.

     I PLAYED HOCKEY FROM ABOUT SEVEN YEARS OF AGE, UNTIL I WAS IN MY EARLY FORTIES, AND THE KNEES WERE FINALLY GIVING UP ON ME. I STARTED OFF AS A GOALIE ON AN OPEN AIR KIWANIS RINK IN BURLINGTON, ONTARIO, AND FINISHED UP AS A FORWARD FOR "THE HERALD-GAZETTE RINK RATS," A TEAM STILL PLAYING TODAY. JUST WITHOUT "THE HERALD-GAZETTE," PART. IT WENT OUT OF BUSINESS AFTER I QUIT THE TEAM.  I MOVED OUT OF TOWN AND HATED THE LATE NIGHT DRIVE FROM GRAVENHURST.  I DIDN'T BRING THE COMPANY DOWN BY THE EAY. HONEST.

    AS A KID, WHEN I WASN'T PLAYING HOCKEY, I WAS EITHER LISTENING TO IT, ON MY TRANSISTOR RADIO, WHICH WORKED BEST BESIDE MY BED, OR WATCHING IT WITH MY FAMILY.  BACK IN THE SIXTIES, IT'S TRUE WHAT YOU'VE HEARD, PROBABLY AS A HUMOROUS ANECDOTE, ABOUT OLD TELEVISIONS, AND WONKY RECEPTION.  FOR A STANLEY CUP PLAYOFF GAME, MY DAD GAVE ME THE OFFICIAL TITLE….AN HONOR TO HIS WAY OF THINKING, ENTITLED "OFFICIAL ANTENNAE TECHNICIAN," WHICH SUCKED, IF I ACTUALLY WANTED TO SEE THE GAME. "STAND A LITTLE TO THE LEFT, TEDDY," ED WOULD BARK AT THE TECHNICIAN, PLAYING AROUND WITH THE RABBIT EARS TO GET A CLEARER PICTURE. "NO NOT RIGHT….LEFT, LEFT, LEFT, GOOD, THAT'S IT, NOW HOLD IT THERE!"

     AT SOME POINT WE FIGURED SOME ITEMS TO USE, TO PROP THE RABBIT EARS UP AND INTO THE POSITION, GIVING THE BEST PICTURE FOR THE NIGHT, AND I'M PRETTY SURE IT WAS SEVERAL OF MY TOYS STACKED TOGETHER, ON THE TOP OF THE TELEVISION. I LIVED AND BREATHED HOCKEY. I WENT TO SLEEP, ON SUNDAY EVENING ROAD TRIPS FOR THE LEAFS, SNUG IN MY BED LISTENING TO MY TRANSISTOR RADIO, BRINGING ME THE PLAY BY PLAY, AS CALLED BY FOSTER HEWITT. I VERY SELDOM EVER MADE IT THROUGH THE GAME, BEFORE SLUMBER GOT A HOLD OF ME. I'D TURN THE RADIO ON FIRST THING IN THE MORNING TO PICK UP THE SPORTS NEWS, TO SEE IF MY FAVORITE LEAFS HAD WON.

     I CAN REMEMBER BEING HORRIFIED ONE DAY, WHEN THE BOSTON BRUINS BEAT THE LEAFS 11-0, WHEN JOHNNY BOWER WAS OUT WITH AN INJURY. POOR DON SIMMONS, I BELIEVE IT WAS. THE LOWEST TEAM IN THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE HAD BEATEN THE HIGH FLYING LEAFS. ALL US KIDS WERE SILENT THAT DAY, LET ME TELL YOU. I EVEN LIVED THROUGH THE "UNKNOWN FAN" YEARS, WHERE THE TORONTO AUDIENCE WORE PAPER BAGS OVER THEIR HEADS, WITH EYES CUT OUT, TO MAKE A POINT ABOUT THE SUCCESSION OF LOSSES THAT YEAR. THE ONLY BRIGHT LIGHT BACK THEN, WAS WHEN EDDY "THE ENTERTAINER" SHACK, WOULD DO A PIROUETTE AT CENTRE ICE DURING THE INTRODUCTION OF TEAMS…..AND IT WAS SO DARN HUMOROUS WATCHING COACH RED KELLY PUT HIS HEAD IN HIS HANDS, WHEN EDDY PLAYED FOR THE CROWD. WE GAVE HIM A STANDING OVATION THAT NIGHT, BECAUSE HE WAS THE MOST EXCITING LEAF AT THAT TIME. THIS WAS AFTER HE CAME BACK FROM BUFFALO, OR ANOTHER TEAM, TO PLAY FOR THE LEAFS A SECOND TIME.

I WORKED FOR DETROIT RED WING GOALIE, ROGER CROZIER

     I can't tell you how thrilling it was, after all my years being addicted to the culture of hockey, in this country, to then work side by side one of my childhood heroes……Roger Crozier. While Roger played for the Detroit Red Wings, the fact he was from Bracebridge, which was my new home in the winter of 1966, made him pretty important to the community….and yup, for this kid, who went from imitating Johnny Bower in road hockey, to being Roger Crozier instead. So when I did some feature writing about Roger's career, with the Red Wings, the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals, in the mid 1990's, I was asked by the man himself, to collaborate on a book that was being prepared on his hockey career. By this point Roger was an executive with a bank in the United States, known as MBNA, and he was in the process of setting up a children's charity in his former hometown, to be known as The Crozier Foundation. I was asked to be the public relations manager for the Muskoka chapter, and curator of the newly installed showcases, at the Bracebridge Arena, known as the Bracebridge Sports Hall of Fame. I worked with the organization for twelve years, after Roger's death, and looked after his hockey artifacts which were on display……alongside the trophies and skates once worn by Irvin "Ace" Bailey, of the 1920's and 30's Maple Leafs. Bailey was another Bracebridge kid who grew up to play in the N.H.L. I got to handle Roger's game stick, from the 1966 Stanley Cup playoffs against Montreal, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy. I got to handle Ace Bailey's hockey skates, and the trophies, like the "Paul Whiteman" cup, that was presented by the famous bandleader to Ace…….never to be presented again. I held this cup as if I'd won it myself. I would crouch, when no one was looking, and throw a poke check with Roger's stick, and actually feel the way his stick hand had worn down the shaft with continuous play. Back in those glory days, a stick could last a season before it was replaced; so it did show wear in this fashion.

     For a kid who had grown up with hockey as a huge part of my life, even going to hockey school in the summer months, I had some great opportunities to enjoy hockey in my elder years as well. As an editor for Muskoka Publications in Parry Sound, I got to play on a celebrity team, on the same forward line as Doug Orr, Bobby's father. He broke the blade of my stick, on the first pass he gave to me in front of the net. Talk about embarrassed. I think he scoffed the puck back, out of my skates, and put it in the net without me. For having played in a benefit game against the legendary "Flying Fathers," hockey club, I was presented a certificate announcing that I had become an "Official Flying Father." As a reporter I got into the dressing room with the N.H.L. Oldtimers, during a benefit game in Bracebridge. I got to meet Billy Harris and Ron Ellis of the Maple Leafs, two of my all-time favorites. I met Toronto Sun columnist Paul Rimstead, for another benefit hockey game, and he got stuck trying to get into my Rink Rat sweater, and it took two of us to break him loose. But it was for that good old hockey game, that I spent a large portion of my recreational and social life, having something or other to do with hockey. And then something happened. And I didn't see it coming. It also affected my interest in hockey collectables, and believe me, I had a pretty nice collection, including hockey cards by the box load.

     When the boys began asking about recreational pursuits, after they'd wrapped up their interests in Hot Wheels and Lego, they seemed to like the idea of playing hockey. But they were unsure, and had a number of other interests that were costly endeavors. We didn't have too much money back then, and had to ask them to make a choice. One but not all. It came down to money for hockey gear and registration, or guitars and amplifiers from Precision Music, in Bracebridge. Keep in mind, that they were involved with the Crozier Foundation with Suzanne and I, and even appeared with Roger in a special anniversary parade for Santa's Village, one summer in the mid 1990's. They were up to their necks in hockey and related memorabilia. One might think, that with this immersion in hockey history and culture, they would have led us to the sporting goods shop, to get outfitted. Truth is, they went through the door of Precision Music, and made friends with the proprietors, and to this day, have maintained a strong relationship even as music store operators themselves. It's kind of funny to see my two grown sons, ambling into the Manitoba Street shop, with the same bounce to their step, as they had when they were in their early teens. They never played organized hockey. They spent their money on music related hardware, CD's, old records, and I'll tell you what!  It was the right thing to do for recreation, and obviously for their present profession.

     It meant I had no reason to go to the rink, other than to tend the arena showcases. The boys would help me, but were quite satisfied to watch hockey on television, and play pick-up hockey on any ice pad they could find. Today, their world is music, even when they're not working in the shop. Both boys are vintage record collectors (and sellers, at their shop), and really don't have any interest in watching hockey, or even going to any games locally. I can remember watching games with son Robert, and having bets on the outcomes. He hated the Leafs. I had only once cheered for any other team, than Toronto, and that was when Roger played for Detroit. As a kid, my mother and I were Leaf fans, and my dad was a huge Montreal booster…which made for some nasty spats during playoff times. If Montreal scored a big goal, I let the rabbit ears fall to the side as revenge…..so Ed couldn't watch the replay.

     When I hear about the big Leaf game, and the start of the playoffs with the Bruins, I find myself a little bit annoyed at my lot in life, these days… annoyed at the federal government, that cut back the budgets of the CBC, so that they suddenly, with little warning, changed over their transmission signal to digital, and cut off our access to national television. That's right, we don't have cable. We cut off cable during the recession of the 1990's, and I haven't been interested in renewing it ever since. In my upbringing, hockey was our national sport, and was brought to our living-rooms by the CBC affiliate on Saturday nights.  Wednesday games I think were shown on CFTO, which I still receive today with a conversion box…..but they no longer bring in the hockey games. The Tories caused my national dream to disappear. My Saturday night hockey games, that I had been watching since the early 1960's. I still refuse to pay for cable, and I'm damn mad that our digital converter and power antennae won't, in Gravenhurst, pull in a CBC signal. There's something wrong about this in our country. And it distances me from my occasional moments with the Leafs, in a setting I can actually afford. I heard the prices of tickets for these games, at the Roger's Centre, and it also made me want to give up on hockey for good.

     I've heard over and over again, how long it has been since the Leafs were in the playoffs. I don't need the refresher information. I was glued to the tube the last time they won the cup.  Add on to this frustration, the fact that I've also waited for this just as long, as everyone else, and now I won't get to see the games……as I have for most of my life, because of political baloney, and cutting the CBC budget that would have continued an analogue signal in my neighborhood. I hate them for this, and well, I hate that standing room only tickets, at the game, were priced at $200 each. I just find myself losing interest in hockey generally, because of a lot of connecting issues, and this has most certainly affected my interest in collecting hockey memorabilia…..which was a large obsession for me for many decades. I've actually sold a lot of it off, and other materials, like an original six hockey jersey from the Red Wings (not Roger's), I purchased at an auction; now passed on in the family. Andrew was given this as an inheritance early…..before dad kicks the bucket. Robert got a skid of hockey cards as his inheritance.

     I'm truly sorry about losing my interest in hockey. I know I could listen to it on the radio, but it just wouldn't be the same…..as when I kept late nights with Foster Hewitt. I was with his son Bill, for Saturday night broadcasts. But despite having played, and socialized in hockey, up to my ears, this season has just left me cold…..from the once warm spirit, carrying that Leaf banner, one bad season after another. Suzanne, reading over my shoulder tonight (which I despise), reminded me of the interview I had, up close and personal, with Bobby Baun, probably the best defenseman the Leafs ever had……and I did ask him about scoring that overtime winning goal with a broken leg. He told me that when a veteran player looked over his shoulder, on the bench, and saw the young players grinding their teeth, for an opportunity to take an old guy's place on the bench, you just went out an carried on, and worried about injuries after the game. He was a great guy to talk with. I also met Frank Mahovolich in our antique shop, in Bracebridge, one afternoon, and I had the chance to tell him how many times, I'd imitated his end to end rushes, during hotly contested road hockey games, between the make believe Leafs, and the rest of the Original Six teams.

     I am kind of sorry about this turn of events, where I will wind up watching a murder mystery or sitcom on television, instead of Hockey Night in Canada. But you know, it's funny, how it comes down to that informal antennae once again. But this time, no matter how I move it up and down, east and west, the signal remains the same. Non existent.

     Thanks for letting me harp, editorially, on a personal sore point, about the way I was, and how I have become disgruntled in my old age. Damn rabbit ears. It's as if Ed is getting even from the great beyond. See you again soon!

Please visit my other blog at http://muskokaaswaldenpond.blogspot.ca