1965 Vancouver Canucks Signed Program


Here's a Western Hockey League, Vancouver Canucks game program from the 1964/64 season. Longtime Canuck, Phil Maloney is the photo on the cover in addition to some nice old autographs from players in the game against the Los Angeles Blades. Maloney was in the midst of an 81 point campaign for Vancouver after leading the team with 90 the year previous. He had tallied 15 goals and 46 points as a 22 year old NHL rookie with Boston Bruins in 1949/50. Maloney would play a total of 158 NHL games, producing 71 points. He had previously led the Western League in points with 95 in 1955/56.
This program is from March 14, 1965 a game Vancouver won 4-2.
Lloyd Haddon, Los Angeles Blades
Defensemen, Lloyd Haddon was winding down his professional career in 1964/65 and put up 35 points from the blue line after seasons with L.A. of 51 and 49 points. He had an eight game stint with Detroit Red Wings in 1959/60.
Harley Hodgson, Los Angeles Blades

Hodgson was a stay-at-home defenceman who had 13 points this season. He is also the grandfather of current NHLer Cody Hodgson...well, no, he's not but I had to add something interesting about him.
Warren Hynes, Los Angeles

I'm pretty sure this signature is from Warren Hynes, a Right Winger for L.A. who would score 52 points this season. Hynes once led the International League in goals (39 in 55/56) and points (95 in 57/58). He never got a sniff in the NHL.

Bill Burega, Vancouver Canucks
I wrote about "Booger" here http://nitzyshockeyden.blogspot.ca/2014/09/maple-leaf-cup-of-coffee-bill-burega.html who was at one point thought to be a successor to Bill Barilko on the Maple Leaf blueline.
Bill McNeill, Vancouver Canucks
Billy McNeill would be the top scorer on the Canucks in 1964/65 with 88 points. He was a veteran  of 257 NHL games, all with Detroit Red Wings. In February 1960, it was McNeill along with Red Kelly, who threatened to retire rather than be traded to New York Rangers. The Red Wings had no choice but to cancel the trade and Kelly was soon traded to Toronto. McNeill was named a 1st Team All-Star in the Western League in both 64/65 and 65/66 when he tallied 102 points.
Les Hunt, Vancouver Canucks
Les Hunt was a defender for who notched 32 points from the back-end in 64/65. He would be selected in the 1967 Expansion Draft by Pittsburgh but never got a crack at the NHL.
Howie Young, Los Angeles Blades
Howie Young was a hard-nosed defender who led four different leagues in Penalties In Minutes throughout his career. 1964/65 was no exception as he topped the WHL with 227 PIM while notching 30 points. He had posted 273 minutes with Detroit to lead the NHL in 1962/63, smashing the league record of Lou Fontinato by 71 minutes. Young was an original NHL Vancouver Canuck suiting up for 11 games in 1970/71. Amazingly, he made a comeback after five years of retirement at age 48. He played 7 games for the New York Slapshots of the Atlantic Coast Hockey League and then 4 more with the Flint Spirits of the IHL. He of course accumulated 20 PIM in those 11 games.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

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

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