Chris Creamer - Fabric of the Game - The Stories Behind the NHLs Names, Logos and Uniforms

Copyright 2020 by Chris Creamer and Todd Radom

Foreword copyright 2020 by Lanny McDonald

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the publisher, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018.

Sports Publishing books may be purchased in bulk at special discounts for sales promotion, corporate gifts, fund-raising, or educational purposes. Special editions can also be created to specifications. For details, contact the Special Sales Department, Sports Publishing, 307 West 36th Street, 11th Floor, New York, NY 10018 or .

Sports Publishing is a registered trademark of Skyhorse Publishing, Inc., a Delaware corporation.

Visit our website at www.sportspubbooks.com.

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design and artwork by Todd Radom

Photographs courtesy of the Hockey Hall of Fame: (Imperial Oil Turofsky)

Photographs courtesy of Rod Palson & Darryl Hartle:

Photographs courtesy of Bill Frederick:

Photographs courtesy of Chris Creamer:

Photograph courtesy of Dean R. Specker:

Images from the Public Domain:

Artwork courtesy of Todd Radom:

All photographs, unless otherwise noted above, are courtesy of Getty Images

Print ISBN: 978-1-68358-384-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-68358-385-1

Printed in China

For Kristen, Ollie, and RosieC.C.

For SusanneT.R.

CONTENTS

FOREWORD

BY LANNY McDONALD

I may be biased, but I believe that the Hockey Hall of Fame is the greatest sports hall of fame and museum anywhere in the world. Growing up in Alberta and playing the game, becoming a member of the Hall was the furthest thing from my mind. All these years later I have the great, great honour to serve as chairman of the board of the Hockey Hall of Fame, a place that really is like home to me. Like so many of you, I love the game of hockey and I love the history and traditions of the game. Honouring and preserving this history is core to the Halls mission. All the greatest artifacts and pieces of history are here, and its such cool stuffstarting with the Stanley Cup. What about the gloves that Gordie Howe wore, or the sticks that Wayne Gretzky scored withand how could he have scored that many goals with that stick? And then there are the jerseysliterally the fabric of our great game.

Hockey fans see a classic jerseyespecially any of the Original Six teamsand theyre automatically drawn to it. You can take a look at the Red Wings crest and you know itll be good forever. When I take one look at the Bruins and their crest with the Big B in the middle, Im right back in their tiny rink, knowing Im about to pay a price one way or another. Then you have teams like the California Golden Seals, who were the brunt of so many jokes. Like, really, why have your players wear white skates? The Vancouver Canucks and how unusual that V uniform was with the black, orange, and yellow stripes. Philadelphia also wore black and orange, and it was incredibly menacing for us to see that whenever we played. They were obnoxious, but they were effective.

Growing up, until I was ten years old, we never had a television. My dad and I, as was customary every Saturday night, would sit in the kitchen and listen to Foster Hewitt or Danny Gallivan calling the games on the radio. To be able to sit with my dad and just listen to the games, Id close my eyes and feel like I was actually there at Maple Leaf Gardens. Dad was an absolutely huge Maple Leafs fan, so much so that when I was picked in the first round by both the Leafs and the World Hockey Associations Cleveland Crusaders in 1973, I knew if I would have signed with Cleveland over Toronto, I may never have been allowed to ever go back home again.

I was lucky enough to be drafted by the Maple Leafs, and I remember walking into the dressing room for the first time at training camp. They had all our jerseys with the names out in the stalls. I had no idea what jersey number I was going to wearthey never asked or said anything to me about it. But I walk up to my stall and there it is, number seven. Right away, Im thinking, Oh my God, Tim Horton wore that number, like is this not the coolest thing ever!? It was such a feeling of pride to be able to put on that jersey, after all those years of listening to Leafs games with my dad. When Id look down and see that Maple Leafs crest, it was just so powerful. It is such an important symbol of the Maple Leafs and to Canadian hockey fans all around the world.

After six-and-a-half years in Toronto, I got traded to the Colorado Rockies. Even though my time with the Rockies was short, I absolutely loved that jersey and the complete uniform. It was colourful and a little flamboyant compared to what I wore in Toronto, and maybe the team wasnt so great... but the look was really solid.

Things came full circle for me in November 1981, when I was traded to the Calgary Flames. I grew up two hours east of Calgary, so the opportunity to be able to return, close to home, in front of family and friends, was just so special. When I was growing up there, of course, there was no Calgary Flames. Eventually becoming the captain of the team and winning the Stanley Cupthe first opposing team to ever win the Cup on Forum ice against the great Canadiensis the kind of stuff that you never think of when youre listening to Foster Hewitt on the radio with your dad when youre five, six, or seven years old.

Ive always been so appreciative and so thankful because the fans there treated me as a long-lost son who finally came home. I absolutely loved the Flames logo. All these years later, I feel immensely proud when I see the team throwing back to the same jerseys we wore when we won the Stanley Cup. Seeing a new generation wearing them and knowing what it means to so many fansbecause they were also a part of that 89 teamand that really is what Fabric of the Game is all about.

INTRODUCTION

N othing unites or divides a random assortment of strangers quite like the sports team for which they cheer. The passion they hold for the New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montral Canadiens, or Boston Bruins allows them to look past any differences which would have otherwise disrupted a perfectly fine Thanksgiving dinner and channels it into a powerful, shared admiration for their team.

We decorate our lives with their logos, stock our wardrobe with their jerseys, and, in some cases, even tattoo our bodies with their iconography and colors. Theyre so ingrained in our lives that we dont even think to ask ourselves why Los Angeles celebrates royalty; why Buffalo cheers for not one, but two massive cavalry swords; or why the Broadway Blueshirts named themselves for a law enforcement agency in Texas.