Unidentified Hockey Photo: Bower and Howe

Leafs vs. Red Wings: Bower, Baun, Howe and...
Here's another fine photo from the collection of my friends at vintagesportsimages.com in North Vancouver. I'm helping them out identifying old hockey pics, most of which have not been seen online.
This photo clearly shows Johnny Bower in net and Leaf defender Bobby Baun and Gordie Howe. To narrow down the year, the database at nhluniforms.com is invaluable.
The Leafs added a blue shoulder yoke to their white jersey in 1958 and they then added numbers on sleeves in 1962/63. This photo then has to fall between that '58 and '62. The Detroit #8 player has a few possibilities among guys who shot left-handed during this era. Johnny Wilson wore the number in 1958/59 but the facial features don't match here. Gary Aldcorn wore number 8 in 1960/61 but his hair was a bit more receding; Murray Oliver also wore it the same year, his hair looks a bit different but there does appear to be a matching scar on the left side of his head, more on that in a bit; Forbes Kennedy was # 8 for a time in 61/62 but he was only 5'8", the guy in the photo seems far taller compared to the 5'9" Baun. Let's look at a few photos of these guys:
Johnny Wilson
Gary Aldcorn 
Have a look at the scar on Murray Oliver's temple, right at the hair-line. That's as close to a match as can be to the blown up image below it. This has to be Oliver in the original photo which puts the mystery pic in the 1960/61 season. Oliver played with Detroit the year before as well, but wore number 17 then. He was traded to Boston on January 23, 1961. Another nice vintage hockey photo added to the online world.
Murray Oliver

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Sushi Recipes said…
This is a grreat post thanks
May 12, 2023 at 5:16 PM
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