Nitzy's Hockey Den

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 ...

Here's a very cool vintage hockey photo that came to me with zero identifying information. It's from my pals at Vintage Sports Images  and shows a melee between some old Leafs and Wings. Simply looking at the faces, we can see that the #19 Leaf at the left is the one and only Bill Barilko and the Red Wing on the right looks to be a very young Red Kelly.  Barilko and Smythe A young Leonard "Red" Kelly  Let's start with Barilko. Although more known for wearing his retired number 5, Barilko actually wore #19 more than any other number during his career with the Leafs. He only wore 5 in 1950/51, when he scored the Stanley Cup overtime winner. The previous two seasons, Barilko sported # 19, and his first two years he was #21. So, seeing Barilko with #19 in this photo means it can only be either 1948/49 or 1949/50.  In regards to Red Kelly, he began his career with Detroit in 1947/48 and by 1949/50 he was named to the 2nd All-Star Team, his first of eight...