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Who Were They? The Original Six

Who Were They? The Original Six

It's a new year, which means it's time for a new blog series. And so, allow us to introduce Who Were They? a look back in time at some of the most important – yet less understood – terms, teams, and individuals of sporting history. First off is the National Hockey League's "Original Six." There is an unmistakeable mystique to the oldest franchises among the four major North American sports leagues, but perhaps none more so than the Original Six. The name is actually something of a misnomer; the term was never used during the period it references (1942-1967) and only two of the franchises in question – the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs – were on hand for the start of the league in 1917.  The NHL's first 25 years were tumultuous ones, with franchises failing in a half dozen cities. The Montreal Wanderers folded six games into the first season when their arena caught on fire and burned to the ground. But hockey had caught the imagination of fans in Boston, New York, Chicago, and Detroit, and after the folding of second franchises in Montreal (the Maroons, in 1938) and New York (the Americans, in 1942), the NHL embarked a quarter-century of shocking stability – and thus the Original Six was born.  The deep sense of nostalgia the era evokes certainly isn't rooted in its competitiveness. The Montreal Canadiens won 10 of the 25 available Stanley Cups, the Maple Leafs captured nine (including their most recent, in 1967), the Detroit Red Wings five, the Chicago Black Hawks one, with the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers shut out. The leading scorer of the era was, of course, Gordie Howe, with 1501 points, trailed distantly by Maurice Richard, Jean Beliveau, Andy Bathgate, and Alex Delvecchio. The winningest goalie was Terry Sawchuk, with 430 wins, followed by Glenn Hall, Jacques Plante, Harry Lumley, Gump Worsley, and Johnny Bower. As mentioned, the term "Original Six" was not used contemporaneously during the period, but was first referenced in a piece by Tom Fitzgerald in the Boston Globe on June 9, 1967, a few days after the expansion draft that saw the NHL double in size to 12 teams overnight. The term didn't come into widespread use until the 1990s.  

The Last Good Spring

The Last Good Spring

It's officially playoff time for the NHL. The lone Original Six match-up this year is Maple Leafs vs. Bruins, and thus far it's been an all black-and-yellow affair. The Bruins won the first two games handedly, 5-1 and then 7-3. The series now shifts from Boston to Toronto and the Leafs will hope for some home-ice magic.  You never know how things are going to go when these two teams meet. This is the 14th playoff match-up all-time and momentum has always heaved from one side to the other. The last meeting, in the second round in 2013, was especially tempestuous.  The Leafs are leading 4-1 in the third period of game seven – run out the clock and they will be bound for the Eastern Conference Finals. But run out the clock they will not; the Bruins mount a wild comeback, scoring three goals to force overtime and another 6:05 in to seal it. The Leafs' season, just like that, is over. Unfortunately for their fans, the Leafs have become synonymous with failure. The club does have 13 Stanley Cups to its name, but has not won one – or even made a Finals appearance – since the 1966-67 season. Their series loss in 2013 is representative of the last 50 years, of high hopes quickly dashed.  The Leafs are still fixing to exorcise their playoff demons. Their chances remain good this time around – even down two games in the series – with this core group of young talent, especially with the experience of going toe-to-toe with Washington last season under their collective belt. Who knows, maybe this year will finally be the year. Winning tonight will be a good place to start.  *** To get a better sense of how long Toronto has been waiting and what a Finals appearance would mean to the city, lets take a look in at two very different generations of Leafs fans... "What was it like back then? When we were actually good... What was it like to see the cup raised? I can't even picture it." Jon asked these questions of his grandfather. 1967 felt like an eternity away and he wanted to get a better sense of what winning felt like, to know if the stories of the Maple Leafs raising the Stanley Cup were actually real and not just some fairytale. They sure felt make-believe. "We weren't known for losing then," Jon's grandfather said. "We had won close to ten Cups over a 20-year period. But it was still a party when we won. There were parades, thousands of people downtown, streamers and whatnot. It was a blast. And we walked a little taller, I guess. Yeah." "It's just so hard to imagine. We're so removed from it – it feels like a entirely different team now." "Well, it is in a way. The experience is different at least. For me, it was the whole package... The Garden was such an intimidating building. When you walked down Carlton and came up to it, you felt like an ant. As a young man, this towering structure above you, home to so many greats... it was intimidating. I think visiting clubs felt that too." "Right, right. What was it like inside then?" "It was simple! Hah. No jumbotron, no HD highlights and loud music. No ads on the boards. There wasn't much light in the stands when the game was on either, just this glowing white oval in the middle of it all... drew you in. A simpler time." "Crazy." "I guess to you it would be! To us it was normal. So was winning. We had good teams back then, with guys like Armstrong and Mahovlich, or Bower. Real legends. We weren't the butt of jokes, that's for sure." They certainly were not. The Maple Leafs of Toronto held Stanley's famous cup aloft in 1918, 1922, 1932, 1942, 1945, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1951, 1962, 1963, 1964, and, most recently, in 1967. It would be a suspect few laughing at the Leafs in the first half of the 20th century. The idea of 50 straight trophyless seasons would have seemed utterly absurd in '67. "I wish I could have lived through that. I'm just hoping we can make one finals by the time I kick it." "Hah, my poor boy, you will. This team we've got now is on their way! We've got to put the last 50 damn years behind us and look to the next 50. These young lads will get us there, I'm sure of it. We're worlds away from my time, sure, but we can be winners again." "Matthews pushes it down the ice, skirts one defender as he crosses the blue line. Cuts in, drags the puck back... a quick wrist shot – and he scooooooooores! Goal, Austin Matthews!" Winning has finally become the norm in Toronto as this young Leafs squad continues to stand their ground in a competitive Atlantic Division. They made the playoffs last year and are poised to do so again. The role of Mike Babcock – so popular in Toronto he's inspired a line of socks – cannot be overstated; the head coach, who has won a Stanley Cup and Olympic gold as bench boss, has really groomed his young talent well. The Leafs have also brought back the vintage 32-point leaf logo from more successful days to help provide a greater connection to the past, to the 50 years of the franchise that are worth remembering. The simplified 11-point leaf saw nothing but failure in its five decades and has been banished, and with it, the Leafs hope, their inability to reach the Stanley Cup Finals. Put exciting young players in inspiring throwback uniforms and throw in some excellent coaching – it's certainly a good recipe for reaching the promised land. "Alright kid, are you ready to go?" "Yeah, grandpa, one sec! I just need to grab my hat!" Jon put on the weathered snapback hat he had worn to countless games and met his grandfather, who had come down from Guelph, at the door. It was March and they had tickets for a St. Patrick's Day showdown against the Habs. Tonight Jon would also wear a "St. Pats" t-shirt – before 1927, when the team became the Maple Leafs, they were known as the Toronto St. Pats, an attempt to appeal to the large Irish population in the city. Before that they were the blue and white "Arenas." "You know it's funny, Jon, you wearing that St. Pats shirt... that was way before your time – I remember it!" "I know, I know, it's just a good look!" They sat in section 318, row 9, and watched as the Leafs grabbed an 1-0 first period lead on a cool, late-winter Toronto night. Jon, 25-years-old – who had never seen the Leafs even reach the Stanley Cup Finals – and his grandfather sat together, fans of two very different times. Things got worse for the Habs early in the second as the Leafs grabbed another on a breakaway. They would make it 3-0 before the third and 4-0 by night's end, a solid "W" for the boys in blue. "I've got a good feeling this year," said Jon's grandfather.  

Masked Men: Wearing The Art of Sport (Part 2)

Masked Men: Wearing The Art of Sport (Part 2)

The goalie mask revolution discussed in part one of this article was in many ways a precursor to a larger movement in the NHL towards player safety. By 1979, helmets were mandated for new players in the league. So to adhere to new safety standards, it was necessary for goalie masks to evolve as well. The early masks were often homemade, moulded from fibreglass, and held on the face with leather or fabric straps. They offered little to no protection to the back of the head. During the 1972 Summit Series between Canada and the USSR, Russian net-minder Vladislav Tretiak wore a helmet with a cage attached to the front. This design became quite popular with many NHL goaltenders (notably Billy Smith of the New York Islander dynasty of the 1980s). This helmet and cage style of mask definitely provided better protection to the head, and vision compared with earlier goalie masks. However, this new style of mask took away the canvas which goalies had previously used to display their personalized artwork. Fortunately, in the 1980s, yet another style of goalie mask emerged, a hybrid between the cage and the moulded fibreglass models. This hybrid mask was the best of all worlds, offering safety, visibility, and lots of blank space that could easily be decorated and customized. By the 1990s, and ever since, the vast majority of NHL goalies has favoured this style of mask. So let’s pick up where we left off, and take a look at the top masks from the '90s and beyond. 1990s: Curtis Joseph                       Curtis Joseph's nickname and iconic mask were inspired by Cujo, the fierce dog from a Stephen King novel of the same name. This mask fits in the same tradition of intimidation which Gilles Gratton played into his mask. Joseph wore iterations of this design with each of the six teams he played for, and it evolved and modernized over the seasons. My favourite of the bunch is the original. It holds an unpolished rustic charm, reminiscent of a Sailor Jerry or Ed Hardy panther tattoo. The colour scheme definitely makes this mask design pop – I think it's the red of the tongue, balanced with the blue and gold of the rest of the Blues colour scheme. Without a doubt, when you mention Cujo, you've gotta talk about the mask.  2000s and Beyond: Steve Shields       Shield's throwback to Gerry Cheevers' "stitches" mask takes top spot in this category. Shields was the first to paint the hybrid mask with hair and ears to make it look like he was wearing an old-school moulded fibreglass mask. He is by no means alone in doing this, but as far as I can find, he was the first to do this, and chose a great goalie and mask innovator to honour with his bucket. With the advent of Winter Classic and Heritage classic games, many goalies are choosing to honour goalies from their team's past by throwing back to their classic masks. Carey Price's Jacques Plante throwback, Martin Biron's take on Giles Gratton, and Roberto Luongo's adaptation of Curt Ridley's mask are among my favourites. Honourable Mention: Alex Auld Auldy gets the nod for a mask he wore in Montreal. When you play for the Habs you are automatically steeped in a rich tradition, and in 2010-11 (the year Auld spent in Montreal), Montreal was coming off the of celebration their 100th season in the NHL and were looking forward to a spot in the 2011 Heritage classic in Calgary. History was thick in the air, and Auld's two masks that year both payed homage to  some great Montreal goalies of the past. Auld's initial mask featured Montreal goaltending greats Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, and Jaques Plante, as well as the old Montreal Forum, a wonderful nod to the rich history of the Habs. But the mask he debuted at the Heritage Classic did the same in a much more significant way to us at The SPORT Gallery.  One side of Auld's mask appears very simple – a recreation of Ken Dryden's mask from the 1970s updated for the modern hybrid mask design with subtle images of Dryden incorporated into the striping. On the other side of the mask the simple stripes disperse into celebratory banners, and above a large Canadiens logo. Above that sits an image that pays tribute to Jacques Plante, perhaps the quintessential image of Plante. The one that highlights his tenacity, ability, and contributions to the goaltending profession best of all. The image of Plante that first appeared in SPORT Magazine, the moment he donned the mask for the first time. The moment Jacques Plante became the icon. To bring this look at goalie masks as pieces of artwork, we end where we began – with Jacques Plante and the image of him donning the mask for the first time. This photograph is a piece of art in its own right, and here it has been immortalized on Alex Auld's mask as a piece of wearable artwork, on the very piece of equipment and blank canvas that Plante pioneered.   *** Want more content? Check out our segment, The Art of Sport, on TSN Radio below!    

Masked Men: Wearing the Art of Sport (Part 1)

Masked Men: Wearing the Art of Sport (Part 1)

Hockey sweaters are undoubtedly pieces of art. They are colourful, unique, and evocative. If jerseys are like paintings, goalie masks are more like tattoos – one of a kind, handmade. Pieces of art that you have to be a little bit crazy to wear. Goalies are a notoriously eccentric bunch, and it takes a unique breed to attempt to stop a slapshot bare-faced. This of course was the way that goalies operated up until 1959, when Jacques Plante donned a homemade fibreglass mask (against his coach Toe Blake’s wishes) after taking a puck to the face off of the stick of Andy Bathgate – and returned to the ice. Plante faced ridicule for the rest of his career; whenever he let in a goal it was was blamed on his vision being impaired by the mask.  “I thought I proved myself in the 1960 playoffs when we won eight straight and I scored three shutouts. But every time I’m beaten by what looks to be an easy shot to the fans, they say I couldn’t see the puck because of the mask”                                          – Jacques Plante (Hockey News, March 10, 1962) Plante’s legacy lives on today with the goalie mask being a mandatory piece of equipment for the modern netminder. Beyond that, the mask didn’t seem to hinder Plante’s play, as he backstopped the Habs to a Stanley Cup that season. He went on to win his fifth consecutive Vezina Trophy that year, and added two more in 1961 and 1968 – with his homemade mask on. He won the Hart Trophy for league MVP with a mask on in 1961 as well.Plante definitely paved the way for goalies in terms of safety, but his sense of style was lacking. It wasn’t until Gerry Cheevers started painting stitches on his mask in the 1960’s that masks became canvasses for art as well. As the story goes, Cheevers took a shot off the mask during practice. Although unfazed, he used it as an excuse to throw the towel in for the day and retreated to the dressing room. Whilst enjoying a beer and a cigarette, he was discovered by coach Harry Sinden who ordered him back to practice. The bruins trainer, John Forristal painted a row of stitches on at the mask as a joke, which was popular with Cheevers’ Bruins teammates, and each subsequent time a pick hit Cheevers in the mask another set of stitches was added.Only a handful of goaltenders adopted masks in the 1960s. Notably Tony Esposito, who broke into the league in 1968, was the first goaltender to wear a mask his entire career. The mask didn’t hold him back either as he won the Calder Trophy in his rookie season, and three Vezina trophies throughout his career. Cheevers talks about masks changing the way goalies played the game – allowing them the confidence to drop to their knees without worrying about a puck deflecting into their face, or throwing your entire body in front of the puck to make a desperation save. In a way the mask paved the way for the acrobatic goaltending that we know and love in the modern game. By 1974, there wasn’t a goalie in the league that didn’t wear a mask. And following Cheevers’ lead, many netminders began to decorate their masks. In art terms, for goalie masks in the NHL, the 1970s was the renaissance. Masks were blank canvasses for goalies to express themselves, intimidate opponents, or spread team spirit. They truly are unique pieces of art, and perhaps the purest intersection of sport and art that the world has ever seen. Here is a look at my top goalie masks by decade. Part one with be the 1970s and the 1980s. Part two will take us from the 90's up to the present. 1970s: Giles Gratton This mask is all about intimidation. If you put yourself in the skates of a player on a breakaway, looking up to shoot and seeing that the goaltender is part man, part beast is could definitely be a bit jarring. Anything for a mental edge – advantage Gratton. As for the artwork, not only is the lion portrayed as fierce, it seems quite lifelike. Even though the viewer cognitively knows that it is just a hockey mask, the ferocity of a snarling lion baring its teeth absolutely comes through. And maybe Gratton did somehow take on that lion’s strength, and his eyes peek through the mask where the lion’s eyes should be, making himself and the predator one and the same. 1980s: Murray Bannerman This mask was brilliant, lightyears ahead in terms of the artwork featured. Bannerman’s mask does two very interesting things that have actually become quite modern conventions in the goalie mask. The first is turning his mask into the head of the team’s mascot (see Andy Moog’s Bruins mask, or Brian Hayward’s with the Sharks). You can see the markings on the hair and face of the Blackhawks crest featured prominently on Bannerman’s mask. Secondly Bannerman appears to be the first goalie to employ a “mask on a mask” idea, as the hair peeks out from behind a painted white “mask” on Bannerman’s mask. All of this makes for a very meta mask treatment that in retrospect is actually modern beyond its years. *** Want more content? Check out our segment, The Art of Sport, on TSN Radio below!

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