Punch Imlach's Hockey Tips, 1962

This little beauty is the latest addition to The Den, Punch Imlach's Hockey Tips issued by Chex cereal in 1962. This 32-page, thick-stock paper, full colour booklet was originally obtained by sending in two box-tops of Chex cereal. The one I picked up is in just about perfect shape and looks real nice on the shelf with the  How to Play Goal Booklet by Johnny Bower and the How to Play Forward Booklet by Dave Keon that were put out by Coca-Cola a few years later.
Coach Punch covers all the facets of hockey with the help of his star players on the Maple Leafs.
Red Kelly helps illustrate the golden rule of hockey, "Always keep that head up".
As a defenceman, Tim Horton apparently must "Stop the puck with his body, hands, stick, and so on." Not sure what "so on" refers to, but it probably hurts.
Dave Keon reminds us that when stick-handling, "Stick blade lies flat on ice". I can attest by experience, this is true.
The Big "M" Frank Mahovlich shows how to rip a back-hand shot.
The goalie equipment of a generic Leaf goaltender, Johnny Bower didn't start wearing a mask until the late sixties.
The teeth guard looks like it would be fairly painful to wear. The helmet really is only slightly more than decoration.
Apparently there was a hockey stick colour for girls called "lipstick", how "1962". Also check out the Protective Cap that girls were to wear, basically a shawl with a pad in the back. That will definitely prevent a concussion.
A personal message from NHL referee-in-chief Carl Voss.
Punch Imlach finishes his hockey tips with advice to "drink plenty of milk" and "do not smoke". Fifty-five years later these words still hold true kids. This message is endorsed by Nitzy's Hockey Den.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

WHA Ottawa Civics, The Two Week Franchise

Image
Tom Earl, Daryl Maggs, Mark Lomenda, Gary MacGregor, Garry Swain "Please let the fans make up their own minds," Henry Feller told a press gathering. "Let them decide if they want pro hockey here. We have to average 7,000 or 8,000 in the remaining 19 home games for a break-even point." Feller was a director of the Founders Club who had interest in buying the WHA's Denver Spurs club. Ivan Mullinex, owner of the Spurs had brought his team to Ottawa in an attempt to drum up interest and save his investment. The date was January 2, 1976 and Mullinex was in debt to a Denver bank to the tune of $1 million dollars. This same day, the newly christened Civics lost their first game under the new moniker by a score of 2-1 at Cincinnati. Star of the team, Ralph Backstrom said after the game, "Our first official notice of the move hit us when we entered the Cincinnati rink and the names on the big scoreboard read: Stingers and Civics. Until that moment we were un
Read more

Team Canada 1972, What Might have Been

Image
Guy Lafleur, if he had played in the 72 Summit Series "No way. Can you imagine what our fans would say if we allowed Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito to play for Canada in that series and either...suffered an injury that might prevent them from playing with us for a year or more?" This was the concern of Weston Adams Jr, president of the Boston Bruins as quoted on April 20, 1972. After being speculated and discussed since February 1972 at the Olympics in Sapporo Japan, the series was set to go. Early on however, controversy stirred as to who exactly would be representing Canada. Bruins GM, Milt Schmidt agreed with his boss saying, "My only interest would be to see the Russians play the Bruins for the world championship...or whatever team wins the Stanley Cup." In the Vancouver Sun a few days later, the legendary Jim Coleman responds to the American naysayers suggesting that Team Canada should be made up strictly of players from Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal
Read more

Ron Hextall and the stolen Conn Smythe Trophy

Image
Ron Hextall did not deserve the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1987....there, I said it. I recently caught game seven of the '87 finals on ESPN Classic, where the Oilers beat the Flyers 3-1. Hextall was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy to the disdain and boos of the Northlands Coliseum. Hextall was (and remains) the fourth player to win the trophy in a losing cause. Even as a teenager following these playoffs as they happened, I thought this was an injustice. Upon further inspection, I believe he only won because he was a rookie, and was the "sexy" pick as opposed to the proper pick. When looking at his numbers, it's hard to figure why he won. Hextall finished with 15 wins, 11 losses and a GAA of 2.77. Oilers, Grant Fuhr went 14 and 5 with an average of 2.46. I realize that stats cannot tell the whole story, but even if we dig further the award doesn't seem justified. His .908 Save Pct was the same as Fuhr's and tied for third behind Ken Wregget and Kelly Hrudey. Also,
Read more