Maple Leafs legend Johnny Bower dead at 93

Hall of Fame goalie led Toronto to 4 championships

Canadian hockey legend Johnny Bower died Tuesday.

The 93-year-old was battling pneumonia, according to a statement from his family. Remembered by many for his brave play on the ice and his gracious demeanour off it, Bower got his start in the National Hockey League at an age when many players would be considering retirement.

Becoming a professional athlete at 35 is practically unheard of, but it serves as a testament to the hard work and perseverance that “No. 1” demonstrated throughout his life.

A legend in the making

The Toronto Maple Leafs legend, Hockey Hall of Famer and two-time Vezina Trophy winner toiled in the American Hockey League for 13 seasons before earning a permanent spot in 1958 as the Leafs’ goaltender.

Originally named John Kiszkan, he was born the only boy of nine children on Nov. 8, 1924, and came of age in Prince Albert, Sask., during the Great Depression.

He was self taught, playing in pickup games on ponds using a crooked tree branch as a stick and old mattresses as makeshift goalie pads.

“When I was a little guy we had nothing at all,” Bower once said. “But the ambition that I had as a kid was to play hockey as long as I could because it was always my dream to have my name engraved on the Stanley Cup.”

When the Second World War broke out, Bower demonstrated a self sacrifice that would carry through the rest of his life. Though just 15, he lied about his age to enlist and was sent to serve in England, where he would spend the next four years.

He was discharged in 1944 because of rheumatoid arthritis and returned to Prince Albert to pick up his hockey dream, beginning his career with the Blackhawks of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League.

It didn’t take long for Bower to catch the attention of scouts from the American Hockey League, and in 1945 the Cleveland Barons offered the 21-year-old his first professional contract.