Maple Leafs Magazine Project #9

Above is a rare appearance on the cover of a hockey magazine (or magazine of any kind for that matter) of one Dave "Tiger" Williams. The publication is Action Sports Hockey from November 1978. Williams was beginning he fifth NHL season, having just compiled the top Penalty Minute season of his career with 351 total. Along with all the PIM's, Tiger posted 19 goals and 50 points as the heart and soul of the late 1970's Maple Leafs. Williams had topped the NHL in PIM in 76/77 and would again the season he made cover boy of this magazine, but even though he had his career best total the year prior, he was bested by Philly's Dave Schulz who collected 405 minutes to Williams 351.
The November 1974 Hockey World magazine below features a nice early photo of future Leaf captain Darryl Sittler. Entering his fifth season in the NHL, Sittler had topped the Maple Leafs in points the previous two seasons with 77 and 84 points respectively. In 1973/74 Sittler managed to place 9th in Hart Trophy voting, collecting two votes.
In 74/75 he still managed to top the Leafs even though his totals fell back slightly to 36 goals and 80 points. It wasn't till the following campaign that Sittler truly blossomed into an NHL star as he put forward the first 100 point season in Leafs history and placed ninth in league scoring.
Of course, both Williams and Sittler (among many others) would be gone by the late 1970's and early 80's in the purge of talent by Ballard and Imlach, leaving the team in the wasteland of the NHL landscape for well over a decade.

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