Pumpkins and The Birthplace of Hockey: There's only one Long Pond?

Howard Dill and Giant Pumpkin

With Halloween approaching we have our second Pumpkin themed post. This one deals with the birth place of hockey! 4 time World Champion pumpkin grower, Howard Dill said that the pond on his pumpkin farm, known as Long Pond, was the birth place of hockey, about 200 years ago. While it is now recognized that the Windsor, Nova Scotia area where Dill's farm is located is the birthplace of hockey, the location of Long Pond is still debated in the community.

Some local oral history indicates another nearby pond is the real Long Pond, however, Dill said,
" There's only one Long Pond!" For more information check out this CBC report: The birthplace of hockey?

Source:
The birthplace of hockey?.
The CBC Digital Archives Website.
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

Last updated: May 5, 2008.

For a remebrance of Mr. Dill vist: Dill's Atlantic Giant Pumkin Farm

Halloween, the "Great Pumpkin" and the Hockey Goalie Mask: Doug Favell, not Jason from "Friday the 13th", Started the Halloween-Goalie Mask Connection

HNIC Inside Hockey: History of Painting Goalie Masks

"it was Halloween night in 1971 when Favell and his trainer decided to paint his mask orange as if it was the look of the "Great Pumpkin." Read more:

Favell had mask painted to resemble the "Great Pumpkin"
on Halloween Night - the first painted goalie mask

The 1928 Stanley Cup and the Ranger's Unique Goalie Carousel

Standing: Ching Johnson, Bill Boyd, Paul Thompson, Lorne Chabot, Lester Patrick (sub-goaltender, manager and coach), Bill Cook, Taffy Abel, Joe Miller (sub-goaltender), Bun Cook.

Bottom Row: Harry Westerby (trainer), Murry Murdoch, Art Chapman, Leo Bourgault, Patsy Gallighen, (unknown), Frank Boucher, Alex Gray.

In the 1928 Stanley Cup Finals, New York Ranger’s goalie Lorne Chabot got injured by an errant puck to the face. Forty-four year old General Manager/Coach, Lester Patrick decided to play goal for the remainder of the game despite never playing the position before. He allowed only one goal in leading his team to 2-1 overtime victory! President of the NHL, Frank Calder, allowed New York to loan goalie Joe Miller, who had last played for the minor league team in Niagara Falls after being demoted by the New York Americans earlier in the season. Despite not playing for over a month, Miller helped the Rangers become only the second American team to win the Stanley Cup (Seattle Metropolitans -1917) defeating the Montreal Maroons. Montreal had the right to veto New York's loan and force them to use a player of their own roster to play in net, but decided to let them do it anyway. The move likely cost them the Stanley Cup.

Although some controversy ensued, it should be noted that Lester Patrick had once been on the other end of such a transaction during the 1922 Stanley Cup Finals. Patrick loaned defenseman Eddie Gerard (from Ottawa Senators) to the eventual champions Toronto St. Pats.

After the season, Frank Calder enforced a new rule allowing a team to rent a backup goalie from another team for $200 per game plus traveling expenses.

You can read the original story in the following newspaper links:

Lester Patrick

Montreal Gazette, April 9 1928 

The Pittsburgh Press - Apr 10, 1928

Ottawa Citizen - Apr 10, 1928

Ace Bailey and the First All Star Game

On December 12, 1933, Eddie Shore was knocked down with a hard hit by King Clancy. Dazed from the hit, Shore charged after Clancy, but mistakenly checked Ace Bailey instead. The vicious hit from behind caused Bailey to fall hard on the ice, knocking him unconscious with a fractured skull, and ending his career. On February 14th the following year the League held the first ever hockey all-star game to raise money for the disabled Bailey. The benefit game raised over $20,000 and was put in a trust fund for the former Maple Leaf’ s star. In a ceremonial and symbolically significant moment, Shore and Bailey shook hands before the game began in an ultimate display of sportsmanship by Bailey (See Photo). The league would hold two more benefit all star games (Howie Morenz 1937 and Babe Siebert 1939) but the all star game would not become an annual tradition until the 1947-48 season. 

 

Following these events, Bailey's #6 jersey became the first number to be retired by an NHL team, and is one of only two to have been permanently retired by the Maple Leafs (the other being Bill Barilko's #5).

For a great biography of Ace Bailey and re-telling of the tragedy, visit Legends of Hockey 

The NHL has also created a short video examining the incident.

Women Hockey Legends Then and Now: Goyette and Wickenheiser Together Again

 Danielle Goyette, now coach of the University of Calgary women’s hockey team began recruiting Haley Wickenheiser before the Winter Olympics were over. The recruitment went on over the summer and on September 15, 2010 the Dinos announced that the all-time leading scorer on the Canadian women's team will play for the university this season. Wickenheiser, 32, was just 15 years old when first chosen for the Canadian Women's National Team in 1994 and has lead the Canadian Women's National team to their last four gold medals at the Women's World Hockey Championships, and the Silver medal at the 1998 Olympic Winter Games.

Goyette, 44, is third on Canada's all-time scoring list. She had 113 goals and 105 assists in 171 career games with the Canadian national team. She and Wickenheiser were teammates on the Canadian team for a decade. Goyette was named Canada's flag bearer for the opening ceremonies of the 2006 Olympics in Turin, Italy.

Photos were taken October 16th, 2010 as the U of C Dino played the U of  L Pronghorns to a 4-3 shoot out victory. Wickenheiser scored the shoot out winner. Top photo shows Coach Goyette standing and Wickenheiser, number 22, in front leaning over the boards.

Shortley after hearing the Dino's recruitment announcement, the third women's hockey legend Cassie Campbell, now an announcer with Hockey Night in Canada, tweeted, " Congrats to Danielle Goyette on recruiting Wickenheiser 2 play at U of Calgary..nice 2 see Wick going to school... have fun girls!"

Video link of the Month: Paul Kitchen and the History of the Stanley Cup in Ottawa

Each month hockeyhistory.org hightlights a video link.  For October 2010 we have selected Paul Kitchen's
Look at the Stanley Cup in Ottawa. 

Paul Kitchen is a great hockey historian  and past president of the Society for International Hockey Research.To learn more about  Paul Kitchen and his book, visit these links: Win, Tie, or Wrangle: The Inside Story of the Old Ottawa Senators, 1883-1935 (Penumbra Press); the Ottaws Citizen's 2008 article called:  Keeper of Hockey's Past. 

To view the video visit this link: Look at the Stanley Cup in Ottawa

Oxford Canadians: The First Hockey Team to Represent Canada by Wearing a Red Maple Leaf

Credit:  Library and Archives Canada / C-002028
Oxford Canadians European Champions 1909/1910

The Oxford Canadians were the first hockey team to represent Canada by wearing a red maple leaf on their jersey, around 1910! The team, one of the oldest, was formed at Oxford University by Canadian students studying there on Rhodes Scholarships. They were previously called the Oxford Rhodies. The club was a founding member of the International Ice Hockey Federation. They later became the Oxford Blues. They have a very impressive alumni of Canadians who played for them,  including:

·         Rt. Hon. Lester B "Mike" Pearson (Canadian Prime Minister and Nobel Peace Prize winner)

·         Rt. Hon. Roland "Roly" Michener (Governor-General of Canada)

·         Hon. Dr. George Stanley (Lieutenant-Governor of New Brunswick and designer of the Canadian Flag)

·         Clarence Campbell (NHL President)

·         Premier Hon. Danny Williams (Premier of Newfoundland and Labrador)

·         Hon. Allan Blakeney (Premier of Saskatchewan)

·         Gen. Peter Dawkins (Heisman Trophy Winner)

·         James E. Coyne (Governor of the Bank of Canada)

·         Hon. Mr Justice Ronald Martland (Canadian Minister of Justice)

·         Hon. Otto Lang (Canadian Minister of Justice)

For more on this great team in hockey history visit Oxford University Ice Hockey:

Oxford Men’s Blues

Mike " Herr Zigzag" Pearson: Lester B. Pearson's Passion for Hockey

Lester " Herr Zigzag" Pearson on Right  Playing for the Oxford Blues in 1922
Credit:  Library and Archives Canada / PA-119892

Lester B. Pearson, known as Mike, had a passion for hockey.  While studying graduate studies at Oxford University he played for the Oxford Blues, one of the oldest recorded hockey teams. The team was comprised of mostly Canadians who were there on scholarships. The team was so strong they beat Cambridge 27 - 0, suspending the game after the second period. The Oxford Blues were the first team to win the Sprangler Cup in 1922; Lester B. Pearson was listed on the roster of the team. While he had passion for hockey he also had skill as a defenceman. During Christmas of 1922 he joined the Swiss National Team (eligibility rules were lax back then). While playing for the Swiss National Team at the European Chamionships his Swiss teammates nicknamed him " Herr Zigzag".  In 1923 he was asked to play for England in the Olympic Winter games the next year, however, he had already returned to the University of Toronto as a Professor where he became coach of the Toronto Varsity Blues hockey team lead ing them to 2 championships.

References:  Cohen, Andrew (2008,) Lester B. Pearson, Penguin Canada
Pearson, Lester B. (1972) Memoirs I, University of Toronto press

The Lester B. Pearson Trophy



Credit:  Library and Archives Canada / C-010435

The Lester B. Pearson Trophy was awarded to the National Hockey League player “voted most outstanding player” by the other NHL Players Association members. It was first awarded after the 1971/72 season. The first recipient was Phil Esposito. Wayne Gretzky won it 5 times, Mario Lemieux 4, Jaromir Jagr 3, and Guy Lafleur 3.  

The trophy was awarded in honour of Right Hounorable Lester B. Pearson who was Prime Minister of Canada from 1963 to 1968 after being the Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 1957. His minority government introduced universal health care, the Order of Canada, the current Canadian Flag, student loans, Canada Pension Plan, The Royal Commission on Bilingualism and Biculturalism and initiated new work at the United Nations.

In 2010 the name of the trophy was changed  to the Ted Lindsay Award to honour one of the

hockey player union's pioneers.

Black Ice Project: A Tribute to Early African-American Hockey History

It is time for the hockey community to officially rocognize the Coloured Hockey League and bring the league and it's players into the main stream of hockey history! Proper respect and recognition is long overdue!

Black Ice

The book "Black Ice: The Lost History of the Colored Hockey League, 1895-1925" , written by Canadian historians, George and Darril Fosty (Stryker-Indigo, 2004) brings to light a major yet largly invisible part of hockey history.  The league was made up of the sons and grandsons of runaway American slaves and helped pioneer the sport of ice hockey.

Vidoe Tibute:   Black Ice

The Black Ice Project

"The Black Ice Project was created in 2004 by the Stryker-Indigo Publishing Company, Inc. of New York. The project's purpose is to promote international understanding, social responsibility, historic preservation, religious tolerance, and societal non-violence through the promotion of hockey and its history. " from their web site at this link:  The Black Ice Project

Video:  Black Ice ESPN Feature

The Underground Railroad page:  The Black Ice Project: The Underground Railroad

Zamboni, Ice Surfaces and the Hockey Greats

Historical pictures of hockey games have one thing in common; an incredible amount of snow on the ice during games. Look at any hockey game picture prior to the 1950’s to see the ice conditions the hockey greats played on. One quickly develops a new appreciation for the demonstration of skill by the legends of hockey.

Of course this all changed in the 1950,s after Frank Zamboni spent the 1940’s developing ice surfacing machines. The Zamboni company has preserved the record of these events. For their brief history and pictures of the development of the Zamboni visit: The Zamboni Story. 

The Zamboni Fun Fact #20 tells of the Zamboni driver for the Tamba Bay Lightning burying a Zamboni Machine charm at centre ice in January, 2004.  The Lightening won the Stanley Cup that year. For more facts visit:  Zamboni Fun Facts

Revisiting the Purchase of the Atlanta Flames

In 1980, the Atlanta Flames were in considerable financial difficulty and were forced to sell the Flames to stave off bankruptcy. While in Greece for his honeymoon, Nelson Skalbania phoned his daughter and asked her to fly to Atlanta to inquire about purchasing the team. Only 17 or 18 years old at the time, she patiently waited outside General Manager Cliff Fletcher’s office with an offer written on a cocktail napkin. After this meeting, the deal to purchase the Flames came together very quickly.

On May 21, 1980, Nelson Skalbania and a group of Calgary entrepreneurs consisting of Doc and B.J. Seaman, Harley Hotchkiss, Norm Green, Ralph Scurfield and Norman Kwong announced the acquisition of the Atlanta Flames franchise for $16 million (USD), a record sale price for an NHL team at the time. After purchasing the team, they declared their intention to relocate the team to Alberta and play in the Stampede Corral, with a capacity crowd of 7,243.

In August, 1981, Skalbania sold his interest in the team to the Calgary contingent. The remaining six local businessmen continued to hold exclusive ownership until June 15, 1990 when Norm Green left to become owner of the Minnesota North Stars (now Dallas Stars).

Sources

http://www.calgaryflames.com/ (Flames History)

Duhatschek, Eric et al. (2001). Hockey Chronicles. New York City: Checkmark Books.

Zurowski, Monica (2006) The Fire Inside: Celebrating 25 Years of Calgary Flames Spirit and Hockey History. Toronto: CanWest Books Inc.

Remembering the Spectrum

The Philadelphia Spectrum was home to the Philadelphia Flyers. The arena was known as the CoreStates Spectrum (1996–1998), First Union Spectrum (1998–2003), and Wachovia Spectrum (since 2003). The Spectrum was on Broad Street giving name to the "Broad Street Bulllies" in the 1970's.

A Video Tribute to the Spectrum

While the Flyers moved to the new and larger Wells Fargo Center in 1996, the arena remained in place and was used by the Philadelphia Phantoms of the AHL. The building was formally closed on October 31, 2009.

On July 14, 2008,  Ed Snider officially announced that the Spectrum would be torn down on October 31, 2009. "This has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make," said Snider. "The Spectrum is my baby. It's one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me."