Toronto And The Maple Leafs , livre ebook

Ecw Press - Lance Hornby

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127 pages

English

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'100 years of love, celebration, heartbreak, and even parades On December 19, 2017, the Toronto Maple Leafs officially turn 100. In the spirit of the centenary celebrations, Toronto and the Maple Leafs explores the city s relationship with its most beloved sports team. No matter how many times the Jays and Raptors make the playoffs, it s a Leafs game that still brings the city together on a cold Saturday night and fuels the talk shows all summer. But why are fans so absorbed by a team that has not won a Cup in 50 years? Veteran Leafs and NHL columnist Lance Hornby gives readers an insider s perspective on how the pulse of the city and team became one through two world wars, the Depression, the zany Harold Ballard years, and, until recently, dysfunctional hockey operations. Toronto and the Maple Leafs includes insights and stories from Mayor John Tory to Joe Fan; from influential voices of the Leafs, such as Foster Hewitt and Joe Bowen, to the ushe

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Histoire

Hockey sobre hielo

Ice hockey

History of the Americas

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Publié par	Ecw Press
Date de parution	16 novembre 2017
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9781773050744
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	1 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,0500€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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To the people of Toronto, the centre of my hockey universe.
LH

CONTENTS
Foreword by Ron Ellis
Introduction
CHAPTER ONE. Hockey Night in Toronto
CHAPTER TWO. From Grave to Cradle
CHAPTER THREE. From “C to C”
CHAPTER FOUR. Where Were You When . . .
CHAPTER FIVE. Home Is Where the Heart Is
CHAPTER SIX. The ACC Era Begins
CHAPTER SEVEN. Hello Out There, We’re On the Air
CHAPTER EIGHT. The Leafs Go to War
CHAPTER NINE. A Leaf Grows in Toronto
CHAPTER TEN. The Super Fans
CHAPTER ELEVEN. That’s Entertainment
CHAPTER TWELVE. The Rogues
CHAPTER THIRTEEN. City Lights
CHAPTER FOURTEEN. Leaf Stems
Leaf's Top 100: By the Numbers
Acknowledgements
About the Author
Copyright

FOREWORD. By Ron Ellis
During the Montreal Canadiens’ centennial year, the curatorial staff that I work with at the Hockey Hall of Fame created an inspiring exhibit that honoured the accomplishments of an elite franchise.
Now in 2016–17, the Hall has designed another exhibit that celebrates the one hundredth anniversary of the Toronto Maple Leafs, and it is proving to be a huge success, not just because of what is included in the display — sticks, pucks, jerseys, and iconic items like Punch Imlach’s fedora — but also because of where the Hall is located. It’s right in the heart of downtown Toronto, where so many fans have memories of games at the Air Canada Centre, or Maple Leaf Gardens, or possibly Mutual Street Arena before that.
For 20 years, Maple Leaf Gardens was my second home as I played four years with the junior Marlies and over 1,000 games with the Leafs during a 16-year career. The story of the team’s one hundred years brought back many memories.
When you become a Maple Leaf, you know you are joining history. The players from the late ’50s and early ’60s were my heroes, and when I turned pro in 1964, I wanted to be part of the tradition established by Apps, Kennedy, Conacher, and Watson. My teammates Baun, Keon, Pulford, and Bower were carrying on that tradition, and it was obvious that I’d better fall in line.
My family had a hockey connection to the Leafs even before I was born: my father played for the Marlies. This, no doubt, was a major factor in my decision to join the same team years later. At the age of 17, with $200 in his pocket, Dad left Lindsay, Ontario, for a walk-on tryout with the Marlies’ “A” team. He impressed the manager, Harold “Smiles” Ballard, and when Gaye Stewart got called up to the Marlies’ senior team, my father made the roster. After a productive first year, Dad joined the air force and could only play the home games in his second season.
When the war was over, he left the air force to play pro hockey in Scotland and the U.S. At 93, he continues to speak highly of Harold and remembers him with respect to this day. I can thank my dad for the rapport Harold and I enjoyed, as he constantly asked about him and reminded me many times that the redhead was an NHL-calibre player.
After his hockey days were over due to injury, Dad re-joined the air force and ended up as a career pilot. He was flying the C-119 Boxcar out of Ottawa when I was playing my minor bantam year. After one of my games, a gentleman came up to me and asked if my parents were present; thankfully they were. He was Alex Davidson, the Leafs’ Ottawa scout and the brother of Bob Davidson, who’d won a Cup with the Leafs in 1942. A few days later, coach and general manager Punch Imlach, along with King Clancy, flew to Ottawa and came to my home to discuss my hockey future.
That’s when it was agreed that I would come to Toronto the following year for a tryout with the Marlies’ “B” team. Just 15 years old, I was homesick and got off to a slow start at training camp. Thankfully, I wasn’t sent home; I beat out a kid from Quebec for the final spot on the roster. Feeling more comfortable, I moved up to the “A” team for the next two seasons, coached by six-time Cup winner Turk Broda.
My skills were improving, but everything came together for me in ’63–64 when a young Jim Gregory came in as a first-year coach. The Leafs put a powerhouse “A” team together that featured Pete Stemkowski, Wayne Carleton, Mike Walton, Rod Seiling, Gary Smith, and Brit Selby. Under coach Gregory, we easily won the Memorial Cup and sent 14 players to the pro ranks.
It was during that Memorial Cup year that I got called up by Imlach for a game with the Leafs against the Canadiens at the Gardens. “Unbelievable,” I thought. “This is the opportunity I’ve worked so hard for.”
With no idea if I would get much ice time or whom I might play with, I found myself sitting in the Leafs dressing room with the defending Stanley Cup winners. I guess they wanted to see what I had by putting me right into the fire. Punch came into the room to announce the starting lineup: Horton, Stanley, Kelly, Mahovlich . . . and Ellis.
What an amazing moment. I was trying to stay calm, but then realized I was starting the game. It was a dream night as the Leafs won a barnburner, 1–0 on a goal by “the Big M.” I played every shift, and I especially remember both Jean Beliveau and John Ferguson taking hooking penalties on me. My bigger dream came true the following season as I officially became a Leaf with a signed contract in hand.
The ’60s proved to be a phenomenal time for fans of the Leafs as they enjoyed four Cup parades in six years. I got my name on the last Cup in 1967, which saw the end of the golden era of the Original Six league. The longer I live, the more I cherish the opportunity I had to play three years with an Original Six team. It was a special group made up of 120 players that were 99.9% Canadian.
It was a different era. Men wore their fedoras and topcoats to games while ladies dressed up for a special night out. As you skated around in warm-up, you would notice the same people in their seats for every game. They weren’t selling off their tickets, and very few fans would ever leave a game early. The players had to wear a shirt and tie to both games and practices, and this made us feel like we were part of an important culture that was unique not only to Toronto but throughout Ontario.
Fifty years is a long time to not be a Stanley Cup contender; however, the majority of Leafs fans in Toronto and surrounding areas are still hard-core supporters. How can you explain the loyalty of Leafs fans? I’m not a historian, but I think it has a lot to do with how the blue and white has been revered for decades. It has led to this unique bond being passed down to new generations of fans.
Before games were televised, families would gather around a radio and enjoy listening to Foster Hewitt broadcast the Leafs games. If you came over to my house in the ’50s on a Saturday night, you didn’t bring a deck of cards, because you knew everyone would be watching the beloved Leafs on black-and-white television. Remember, this was the Original Six and Toronto fans were not going to cheer for Montreal or a U.S. team. I am continually amazed when I meet long-time Leafs fans at the Hall and they share the wonderful memories they have of taking a time-out after a hard working day to listen or watch their Leafs as a family unit.
The game of hockey was my life and also my job. Of course, I was thrilled when I became a Leaf, but then I had to work hard every day to ensure that I could maintain a career as a hockey player. There was little time to comprehend the impact the Leafs had on fans in Toronto and across the nation. It was only when I interacted with fans that I realized how much they lived and breathed the Leafs. The Leafs were family.
This hit home for me later in my career as I was taking part in a game-day skate. A man and his son were standing by the boards when we made eye contact. He then introduced me to Ron Ellis Lucas. Can you believe it? He named his son after me. We continue to stay in touch after all these years.
Even if you played just a few games for the Leafs, there were few places in Toronto you could go without being recognized. You couldn’t leave a grocery store, the bank, or a restaurant without a fan giving their take on last night’s win. Conversely, because of the passionate fans, you might decide to stay home for a “pizza night” if things were not going well in Leafs land.
Hanging up my skates for the final time in 1980 came without an opportunity to win another Cup. Five decades have passed since ’67, and there were many low moments that a Leafs fan could have used as an excuse to jump ship. They may have had one foot in the water, but then there were those promising years with Clark, Gilmour, and Sundin. The team was making the playoffs, and the fans were going crazy in the streets of Toronto when the team won a couple of playoff rounds. One can only imagine what will happen not if but when the Leafs get things turned around. There is excitement in the streets once again with a return to the playoffs for the one hundredth anniversary season. Fans are buying into the Shanahan plan, and the team has arguably the best coach in the league in Mike Babcock. The general manager, Lou Lamoriello, brings Cup experience to the management group.
Draft picks such as William Nylander, Mitch Marner, and Auston Matthews are once again proud to put on a jersey. Fans are pulling that one foot out of the water, preparing to continue the journey back to the upper echelons of the league. It is going to happen, and when it does it will be awesome for Toronto and Leafs Nation.
Ron Ellis

INTRODUCTION
I had two dreams growing up in Toronto: to play for the Leafs and to teach history.
Lacking skill for the first and the scholastic aptitude for the second, I found a dual career path: writing about the Leafs — both about the dry gulch of their half century without a Stanley Cup, and about the bigger human-interest picture of the