FOCUS ON PHILATELY: The late bloomer and the magician (02/01/04)

FOCUS ON PHILATELY

by Ingert Kuzych

The late bloomer and the magician

There are over 1 million Canadians of Ukrainian descent, so it is not surprising that Canada Post continues to produce stamps with Ukrainian connections virtually every year. At least three such stamps are slated for release in 2004, but this article will only focus on one of them, as well as on one from last year.

A career prolonged

Although Ukrainians have contributed to the growth of the Dominion in every field of endeavor, one area in which they have achieved great prominence is in sports - particularly hockey. This year once again, as it has for the past four years, Canada Post released a souvenir sheet of six National Hockey League (NHL) All-Stars. Depicted as one of the honored athletes is goalkeeper Johnny Bower, among the unlikeliest of All-Stars one would ever encounter (Figure 1).

Despite a last name that sounds more German than anything else, Bower was definitely of Ukrainian extraction. Born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in 1924, he started playing goalie because his family couldn't afford to get him skates. He stuck with the position even after he did acquire skates and played well for many years in the minor leagues (1945-1946 to 1957-1958): with the Cleveland Barons (nine seasons) and the Providence Reds (two seasons) of the American Hockey League (AHL) and with the Vancouver Canucks of the Western Hockey League (one season). He set the AHL record of 45 shutouts, as well as an AHL record shutout streak of 249 minutes, 51 seconds, but for a very long time was not considered quite good enough to play regularly in the big league - the NHL.

He played parts of three seasons with the NHL's New York Rangers, but was always demoted again to the minors. In 1957-1958, Bower enjoyed a very successful season with the AHL's Cleveland Barons, racking up eight shutouts (the most he would ever have in a season). The Toronto Maple Leafs decided to take a chance on him and they acquired him for the following season despite the fact that by that time he was 34 years old. It was one of the savviest moves the organization ever made. When Bower arrived at the border on his way to Toronto, the U.S. immigration official scoffed at his claim to be a goalie, saying he was "too old." More inappropriate words were never uttered.

For the next 12 years the "old man" would star in the net for the Leafs, paying superb dividends for their confidence in him. His nickname of "The China Wall," first acquired in the minors, carried over to the NHL and aptly described how his teammates - and opponents - thought of him. It was darned difficult to get a puck past the guy!

Bower backstopped his team to four Stanley Cup championships: between 1962 and 1964 and once again in 1967 (Figure 2). The 1960-1961 season was his finest as far as personal accomplishments: he led the NHL in victories (33) and goals against average (2.50), won his first Vezina Trophy as best goalie of the year and was named to the league's All-Star team. In 1964-1965 Bower shared a second Vezina Trophy with fellow Ukrainian Terry Sawchuk._1_ He also won the J.P. Bickell Award three times as the Leafs most valuable player.

Bower was particularly admired for his formidable work ethic, even during practice sessions, which particularly inspired his teammates. By the time he retired in 1970, with a 2.52 career goals against average, he had won 251 games in 15 NHL seasons. During that time he compiled 37 shutouts during the regular season and added another five in the playoffs. After hanging up his goalie pads and skates, Bower went to work as a scout for the Maple Leafs organization. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976.

A career cut short

Depicted on the 2003 NHL All-Stars souvenir sheet was a player whose career was marked by intense concentration, great willpower and extraordinary grace - superstar right-winger Mike Bossy (the surname means "barefoot" in Ukrainian). Born in 1957, Mike grew up in a family of 12 in Montreal. Ear on he displayed an affinity and aptitude for hockey and quickly made his way up through the kids' leagues and into the junior leagues, where he played for four seasons with the Laval Nationals of the Quebec Junior Hockey League.

During those years he never scored less than 70 goals, ending up with 308 in just 260 games. Such consistency naturally caught the attention of pro scouts. Nonetheless, it remains a mystery why Mike wasn't one of the first picks in the 1977 amateur draft. The New York Islanders ended up selecting him as No. 15 - they would be amply repaid for their faith in him.

Bossy's list of hockey accomplishments is staggering. He was the first rookie ever to score 50 goals in a season and he followed this up by hitting the 60 mark five times. His nine consecutive 50-goal seasons is an NHL record that remains unbroken - something that even fellow Ukrainian Wayne Gretzky_2_ couldn't accomplish.

An intelligent and thoughtful man, he was able to capitalize on human nature and to outwit his opponents. Time after time he would allow other players to believe they had him tied up, or that time was running out, to capitalize on opportunities. Then, like magic, he would pounce (Figure 3). Bill Torrey, the Islanders long-time general manager, summed it all up as follows: "A lot of times players look up at the clock and say to themselves 'Well, it's too late to score.' It was never, ever too late for Mike Bossy to score."

The most famous example of his never-say-die attitude and his seemingly magical scoring ability was exhibited in a game against the Quebec Nordiques on January 24, 1981. Bossy was trying to tie the all-time record of 50 goals in 50 games held by Maurice Richard. With five minutes to go in game 50, his tally was only 48. Nonetheless, he scored with 4:10 left in the game and then again with 89 seconds to get his 50.

With Bossy leading the charge, the Islanders put together one of the greatest teams in NHL history, winning four Stanley Cup championships in a row from 1980 to 1983. Numerous league honors were bestowed on him. He won the Calder Trophy in 1978 as the league's top rookie. He was selected to eight league All-Star teams (five times to the first team, three times to the second team). In 1982 Bossy won the Smythe Trophy as the outstanding player in the post season playoffs, and three times he was awarded the Lady Byng Trophy as the best player exhibiting "sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with a high standard of playing ability."

Mike often decried the unnecessary violence of the game he loved and vowed not to be goaded into retaliation for hits and checks that he received while patrolling the opposition's goal area. He would draw penalties for his team and ultimately get his revenge when he or one of his teammates scored on a power-play goal. Even so, all the physical abuse that he absorbed over the years took its toll. After nine sterling seasons, his back began to give him problems. Although he played one more season through increasing pain - and still scored 38 goals - he was finally forced to quit the game for health reasons at age 30. We will never know just how much greater Bossy could have become had he been able to prolong his career. Chances are that had he played another decade - as did Wayne Gretzky - Bossy would have compiled numbers that even Gretzky would not have been able to surpass.

Bossy finished his career with 573 goals and 1,126 points in 752 games._3_ His number "22" was retired by the New York Islanders organization and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991. After a stint as a radio personality, he went on to become a stock broker.

In 1997 when The Hockey News (the sport's weekly "Bible") asked 50 hockey experts to compile the top 50 NHLers of all time to help celebrate its 50th and the NHL's 80th anniversaries, Bossy, the scoring wizard, was ranked as number 20 - a wonderful tribute to a man who in some respects was only able to play half a sporting career.

Philatelic descriptions

NHL All-Stars issues are produced in two different formats: as a souvenir sheet of six stamps (perforated and gummed) and in a six-stamp booklet panel (self-adhesive). This second, alternate configuration was begun in 2003 and proved very popular, so it was used once again this year. The souvenir sheets feature portraits of the six players in the center, with three stamps along either side (Figure 4). For the booklet panels, the portraits appear on one side and the stamps on the other.

Stamp specifications are very similar for the issues of both years. Six million stamps were created each year (roughly 60 percent self-adhesive) and first-day ceremonies took place in Montreal, the headquarters of the NHL. Stephane Huot was the stamps' designer and the printing process was seven-color lithography. The Mike Bossy stamps carried a 48-cent value and were released on January 18, 2003 (Figure 5); the Johnny Bower commemorative is 49 cents and its issue date was January 24. Printers were Canadian Bank Note Co. and Lowe-Martin, respectively.

More information on how to order these stamps may be found on the Canada Post website: www.canadapost.ca.

References

1. Elk, Herb, ed. 1969-1970 Pro and Senior Hockey Guide." St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1969.

2. Hughes, Morgan. "The Best of Hockey: Hockey's Greatest Players, Teams, Games, and More." Lincolnwood, Ill.: Publications International, 1997.

3. McKinley, Michael. "Hockey Hall of Fame Legends." Chicago: Triumph Books, 1993.

4. Tatomyr, George. "Beyond the Uke Line: Ukrainians in the National Hockey League." Trenton, Ontario: City Print, 1992.

5. "The National Hockey League Official Guide & Record Book 1987-1988." Toronto: Alger Press, 1987.

6. "The Top 50 NHL Players of All Time." Toronto: The Hockey News, 1998.

Ingert Kuzych may be contacted at P.O. Box 3, Springfield, VA 22150 or at his e-mail address: [email protected].

1. Terry Sawchuk has been honored twice on Canada Post stamps: in 1992 on one of three stamps honoring the NHL's 75th anniversary and in 2001 on a Canada Post NHL All-Stars souvenir sheet. He was the subject of a previous Weekly article on June 10, 2001. [Back to Text]

2. Wayne Gretzky appeared on a Canada Post NHL souvenir sheet in 2000. His accomplishments were described in a Weekly article that ran on April 9, 2000. [Back to Text]

3. His .762 career goals per game average is the second highest in league history, just slightly behind Mario Lemieux's .776. Gretzky isn't even close with an average of .601. [Back to Text]

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