Four-time Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Johnny Bower (born John William Kiszkan) died on December 26, 2017, at the age of 93 from pneumonia. Born to a Ukrainian family led by parents John and Betty Kiszkan in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, in 1924, he had one brother and seven sisters.
Bower, who prior to his death resided in Mississauga, Ontario, is survived by his wife, Nancy, their son, John Jr., and two daughters, Cindy and Barbara, as well as eight grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A private funeral service was held in Oakville, Ontario.
He used his mother’s maiden name of Bower after his parents divorced in 1946, legally changing his name years later (as he believed Bower was easier for sports commentators to pronounce than Kiszkan).
Nicknamed “The China Wall,” Bower was inducted into the Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame, having won four Stanley Cups with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Prior to the Centennial Classic on January 1, 2017, he was named among the “100 Greatest NHL Hockey Players” in history.
Bower taught himself how to play hockey, often with nothing more than a branch as a stick and old mattresses as goalie pads. At the age of 15, he lied about his age and enlisted in the Canadian Army during World War II. He was stationed in England as a gunner for the 2nd Canadian Division in 1940-1943. He was discharged from the army after being diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis in his hands.
He returned in 1944 to Prince Albert, where he played junior hockey until in 1945, when he turned professional and moved to the American Hockey League. He spent 11 seasons playing mostly for the Cleveland Barons in the late 1940s through 1950s. In the AHL, he was a star goaltender, winning numerous awards and leading the team to three Calder Cup championships (1948, 1951, 1953). In the NHL, he played for the New York Rangers (1953-1954) at the age of 29 before playing in the minor leagues in Providence, R.I. (1945-1946, 1955-1957), Vancouver Canucks (1954-1955), Cleveland Barons (1945-1953, 1957-1958) and then again with the Rangers in 1954-1955, before being picked up by the Leafs in 1958 in the Inter-League Draft.
Bower and Terry Sawchuk, also a goaltender of Ukrainian heritage, hoisted the Stanley Cup together in 1967 after winning against the Montreal Canadiens. Prior to that, Bower won the Cup with the Leafs three consecutive years (1962, 1963, 1964). Bower won the Vezina Trophy in 1961 for leading the Leafs in lowest goals allowed for the 1960-1961 season, and Bower and Sawchuk shared the Vezina Trophy in 1964-1965.
Bower officially retired from hockey on March 19, 1970, just a few months after his 45th birthday. His stats include 11 seasons with the Leafs, 552 games played, 250 wins, 195 losses, 90 ties, 37 shutouts and 2.51 GAA. He remains the AHL’s career leader in wins.
He continued to work for the Leafs in various capacities, including as a scout and goalie coach, even serving as assistant coach (1976-1978) before he retired from the Leafs organization in 1990.
He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976 and the AHL’s Hall of Fame in 2006. In 1998, he was ranked No. 87 on The Hockey News’ list of 100 greatest NHL players. In Canada, he was inducted into the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. He appeared on a postage stamp in 2004 as part of the NHL All-Stars Collection, and in 2005 the Royal Canadian Mint issued a non-circulating 50-cent coin as part of its four-coin Legends of the Toronto Maple Leafs coin set. In 2007 he received a star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. In 2014, Patika Avenue in Toronto was renamed Johnny Bower Boulevard in honor of his residence at 16 Patika Avenue during his time with the Leafs in the 1960s. A statue of Bower was erected outside Air Canada Center as part of an installation known as Legends Row, which honors the 12 greatest players in Maple Leafs history.
A memorial tribute was held on January 3 at Air Canada Center in Toronto to honor the life of Johnny Bower. For more information, readers may refer to a previous article by Ihor Stelmach (Issue No. 27/28, 2017) that detailed the career of Johnny Bower and his inclusion in the “100 Greatest NHL Players” series.