Pepper Parr
February 5th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
It was George Armstrong, Captain of the Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team (they called it a club in those days) who scored the winning goal and accepted the Stanley Cup on behalf of his team mates
George Armstrong, Captain of the 1967 Toronto Maple Leaf hockey team
The sixth game in the playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens was a thriller after which Frank Selke, who went on to become a General Manager of both the Maple Leafs and the Canadiens, said it will be a long time before people see a game like that again. Little did Selke know just how long that would be. Toronto hasn’t won a Stanley Cup since that marvellous win in 1967
In accepting the Stanley Cup Armstrong said when asked if he ever had doubts about winning, “You have to have confidence and we believed we could win, even if we had to go back to Montreal for the final game”.
Announcements made before or after a hockey game are big productions today. They were a lot different in 1967.
Today NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly said when announcing that Toronto would be the l0cation of the 2024 All Star hockey game. “Toronto is the centre of the hockey universe” There’s so many things that we can do in Toronto to celebrate the Annual All Star
The Leafs held the inaugural NHL All-Star game in 1933, a fundraiser for injured star Ace Bailey that pitted the Stanley Cup champion Leafs against an assembly of the best players in the rest of the league.
Similar fundraisers were held in ensuing years until the All-Star Game itself was institutionalized in the 1947-48 season. Maple Leaf Gardens held the event seven times and the Scotiabank Arena – back when it was called Air Canada Centre – held it once in 2000, when the format pitted all-stars from North America against players from Europe.
“We haven’t had an all-star event (in Toronto) since 2000,” said Daly. “Obviously, the league’s grown a lot since, and they’ve expressed an interest over the last number of years. It’s their turn.”
The Leafs are on a blazing winning streak this year and will play in the finals – but that 5-2 loss to Boston last week reminds people that while Montreal is always a challenge – Boston often turns out to be an even bigger challenge.
Had the joy to meet Leaf great Jim Pappin a few years ago and I’m sure he won’t mind if I share the fact – Jim had four goals and four assists in the final series including the 1967 Stanley Cup game winner. Captain George Armstrong scored the 3–1 empty-net insurance goal to put game six out of reach.
Yes, I remember it well…..and also the role played by Bobby Baun in that game!
Anyone else recall that?