I was at the parade in '67, part 2.

by wilew on Feb 12, 2010 11:55 AM EST

First of all let me express my gratitude for all the kind comments on my first posting; I wasn't sure that the musings (and sometimes ramblings) of an oldie (yikes! I never thought I'd ever be calling myself that) would be of interest. N.O. might have "who dat"? as their phrase, but we have "Finish the Kitchen".

In any case, here's another tale to tell; hope you enjoy...

Up in Cujo country (Keswick) there is a nine hole golf course (Orchard Beach) which was designed by Stanley Thompson way back in 1926. It is a semi private club, owned by the members (shareholders) Back in the 50's one of the more prominent member/shareholders was Conn Smythe. As the story goes, Conn would invite guests to his summer home for weekends...these would have been entertainers who had played MLG: some of these included Bob Hope and Tony Bennett.

As the story goes, Bennett was golfing with Conn and Stafford and after the round, he gave $20 to the young caddies to split among them; at that point Stafford grabbed the $20 away, gave it back to Bennett and then gave the boys $5 to split, saying to Bennett, "our boys aren't used to getting that much". And that's pretty much how they treated their hockey players as well....no wonder it wouldn't be too much longer before agents/lawyers entered the scene. During this time period as well, the Smythes would send up one of the Leafs for the summer to be the "golf pro"....they paid him something like $25-$30 a week and they really thought they were doing him a favour by employing him. (Based on his hocky salary, they probably were) Of course, when training camp opened, the club would have to do without thier pro for the rest of the season.

Yes, the golf couse is still there, they even have a trophy (the Silver Smythe donated by Conn) on display. A few years ago they started a renovation on the course to return it as much as possible to the original Thompson design and layout and in effect, they "finished their kitchen", much to the enjoyment and appreciation of the current members.

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Fascinating how shoddily these old time hockey guys treated their players, and how cheap they were.

I suppose it’s no different in other sports, but still…

leaf fan stuck in ottawa, a localized black hole that will suck everything in that area to oblivion.

by stucky on Feb 12, 2010 12:58 PM EST reply actions

I guess they were a product of their times.

My Art Portfolio

by CanadianMaple09 on Feb 13, 2010 9:29 AM EST up reply actions

Cool story, thanks once again.

Maybe we’re overlooking an option for Jeff Finger.

by JP Nikota on Feb 12, 2010 3:49 PM EST reply actions

Except he could stay at the course all year round.

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by CanadianMaple09 on Feb 13, 2010 9:30 AM EST up reply actions

Bill Ezinicki was a good enough golfer to have turned pro. The last summer with the Leafs, he’d played so much golf that he turned up at camp well below his playing weight. Smythe asked him what he wanted to do with his life – golf or play hockey.

Bill was going to say, “Golf and hockey, so long as they don’t interfere.” he got as far as “Golf…” before Smythe cut him off with “We’ll have to discipline you,” then dispatched him to the minors and eventually the Bruins.

Not a lot of second chances with Conn Smythe.

Bill spent a lot of years as a club pro, but I don’t think any were with Smythe…. :)

Leaf, the universe and everything.

by 1967ers on Feb 12, 2010 4:16 PM EST reply actions