Jimmy Fowler

His name is Jimmy Fowler. They fantastically nicknamed him "The Blonde Bouncer," hinting at some sort of robust and flamboyant nature. But from what I have been told he was actually a rather quiet and docile guy. Friends dubbed him "Gentleman Jim."

Fowler was a versatile player with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1936 through 1939. Described as "a youthful rearguard" who also doubled as a utility forward at times, Fowler scored 18 goals and 47 points in 135 games. He added another 3 assists in 18 Stanley Cup playoff games.

After three seasons Fowler was starting to make a pretty good name for himself in the National Hockey League. He was a good skater with a good shot and strong passes. No one would have guessed he would retire before the 1940-41 season.

Fowler was part of one of the biggest trades in hockey history on May 18th, 1939. The Leafs traded Fowler, Busher Jackson, Murray Armstrong, Buzz Boll and Doc Romnes to the New York Americans all for superstar Sweeney Schriner.

Fowler had no interest in leaving Toronto. Rather than continue his career as a National Hockey League player, he simply retired. He began working as a saleseman for the paint company Glidden. He rose all the way to company president, retiring in 1976.

Fowler, who also trained pilots for the Royal Canadian Air Force during World War II, played a lot of golf in retirement. He split his retirement time between southern Ontario and Florida.

Jimmy Fowler died on October 17th, 1985.

Read more...

Tie Domi

Though he also played for the New York Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, Tie Domi will always be remembered as a Toronto Maple Leaf.

He was unmistakably a tough guy, with under-appreciated hockey skills, too. He got into 100s of fights, and is proud to be the Leafs all time penalty minutes leader. But he is also proud to be one of the most popular players in Leafs history.

Domi was unlike any other hockey player in Leafs history. He occupied a space in Toronto's sporting conscience normally reserved for superstars. He was no star, in fact he was often loathed as a hockey cementhead, but he was inextricably woven into the fabric of the city. He was more than a hockey player - he was a celebrity.

Part of Domi's charm was his undying commitment to charity and children in the city. He was also a popular fixture on Bay Street where he won over many in the business crowd not with his celebrity but his own acumen. NHL tough guys don't normally get confused with the intellectual crowd, but Domi was very much a savvy and intelligent businessman, turning his million dollar hockey paychecks into a whole new stratosphere as the CEO of his own company to overseas mergers and acquisitions.

Domi never forgot his roots though, and he knows he owes it all to hockey and his willingness to quite literally fight his way to the top.

He is quick to credit junior coach Dick Todd for his success, too.

"I was fortunate to play (Junior A) in Peterborough. The reason I'm where I am today is because I played there for Dick Todd. There's no ifs and buts," Domi says. Todd put Domi on the top line with Mike Ricci, then the best player in all of Canadian junior hockey, and scouts realized Domi could play too.

"I went from a guy who couldn't play -- from sitting in the stands one year, to playing on the first line and being drafted 27th overall by the Leafs."

After getting a chance to play just two games with the Leafs before he was traded to New York. In total he spent six years with the Rangers and Winnipeg Jets, cementing his reputation of cement hands. Desite being just 5'10" tall he fought all of the NHL's toughest customers, most notably Bob Probert.

But in his heart he always a Toronto boy, and he was thrilled to rejoin the Leafs in 1994. He stayed for more than a decade, turning down more lucrative job offers from other NHL teams (most notably from his good friend Mario Lemieux in Pittsburgh) to remain a Leaf forever.

Domi's amazing story quite literally comes from almost nothing. His family fled from their native Albania. His father John was hit in the head with a bullet trying to escape, but he made it to Canada and started a family. Tie (his given name is Tahir) grew up fighting, quite literally, on and off the ice. It was never easy, but persevered and turned his life into a great success story.

All in all Tie Domi played in 1020 NHL games, scoring 104 goals and 245 points as well as accumulating 3515 penalty minutes.

"Pretty good for a guy who wasn't supposed to make it, eh?" Domi says.

Read more...

Stan Kemp

Stan Kemp is a chartered member of the NHL's "One Game Wonder" club.

Kemp was an AHL regular during the 1940s, starring with the Providence Reds and Pittsburgh Hornets. Debuting as a 19 year old in 1943 after being honorably discharged from the military, the former Hamilton Whizzers junior player quickly established himself as an offensive defenseman. The 5'9" 170lb right-handed rearguard from Hamilton reached double digits in goals scored in five of his seven full AHL season in an era where that was not common.

He was in the middle of an AHL all-star season in 1948-49 when the Toronto Maple Leafs called him up for what would prove to be his only NHL game. That game came on January 23rd, 1949, a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings. Kemp, wearing #16, made his only mark on the boxscore that night with a 2 minute minor penalty for tripping. Unfortunately for him, Gordie Howe, in his first game back after missing 20 with a foot injury, scored on the power play.

Kemp was returned to Pittsburgh soon after, where he finished the season as a second team all star. Somewhat oddly, that would prove to be Kemp's final season in the pros.

Kemp, nicknamed by teammates as "Bud," returned to Southern Ontario where he opened his own construction company, a profitable venture which he oversaw until his death in August 1999.

Though he left the pros in 1949, his hockey career was far from over. He played several years of senior hockey in Hamilton, Kitchener and Stratford.

Read more...

Dr. Bill Carson

The Carson family remains legendary in Parry Sound, Ontario. Patriarch D. M. Carson was a lumber baron in the area, moving from Bracebridge in 1905. He built a beautiful Victorian home on 33 Church Street and raised four sons, three of whom went on to play in the National Hockey League in the 1920s and 1930s. The family home still stands in Parry Sound. It is now a bed and breakfast simply known as The Carson House.

Frank Carson, whose hair famously grayed in his early twenties, played seven seasons in the NHL, and was one the junior linemate of the great Howie Morenz.

Gerald "Stub" Carson played in 261 NHL games, mostly with the Montreal Canadiens, but scored just 12 goals.

But it was oldest brother Bill Carson who achieved the most fame on the ice. Once called the best junior hockey player in all of Ontario, he was a dashing and dynamic center. Despite that, he always felt he had another calling in life.

The Toronto St. Pats, forerunner to the Maple Leafs, signed Carson complete with a signing bonus consisting of a new pair of skates. But Bill opted not to attend the professional training camp, choosing to spend the next two years studying dentistry while starring on the varsity team at the University of Toronto. He helped that team win Canada's amateur championship, the Allan Cup, in 1921.

Carson eventually did try his hand at professional hockey, turning pro with the Leafs in 1926. He scored 16 goals in 40 games that first year, and the following year he became the first player in Leafs history to score 20 goals in a season. Playing on a speedy line with Ace Bailey and Butch Keeling or Danny Cox, Carson did it in only 32 games.

The 5'8" and 160lb center would be sold to Boston in the middle of his third campaign. He scored two goals in five playoff games, including the Stanley Cup winning goal!

He played in Boston for one more campaign, opting to retire at the end of the 1929-30 season. He returned to Parry Sound and practiced as a dentist.

In 159 NHL games Bill Carson scored 54 goals and 78 points. He died on May 29th, 1967.

Read more...