INTRODUCTION From The Sports Time Traveler™
10 years ago I had the opportunity to go see a hockey match in real life in Toronto.
The experience was unlike anything I had ever witnessed while attending a sporting event.
The atmosphere was electric.
The place was packed, not an empty seat in the house.
From the player warm-ups right through to the conclusion of the match the crowd noise was loud - very loud.
When the Maple Leafs won it in overtime, delirium set in amongst the fans.
It’s what I would have expected had the Maple Leafs just won the Stanley Cup.
But this was just a pre-season match!
I left Toronto the next day thinking these are the most incredible sports fans I’ve ever seen.
I also felt very sorry for these Maple Leaf loyalists. They hadn’t seen their team make it to the NHL Conference Finals in this century. And they had not experienced a team that made it to the Stanley Cup Finals since 1967.
But there was a time when Toronto ruled.
In the early 1960,s the Maple Leafs won The Stanley Cup in 1962 and 1963.
In 1964, they finished in 3rd place in the league but knocked off the #1 Canadiens in 7 games to reach the Finals again.
This had me intrigued. Could the Maple Leafs pull off the hat trick and win 3 consecutive Stanley Cups?
Naturally, as The Sports Time Traveler™ I had to go back in time precisely 60 years to see exactly what happened.
TORONTO - April 27, 1964
I’m here in Toronto, virtually, in 1964 where 2 nights ago, the 7th game of the Stanley Cup Finals took place between the Detroit Red Wings and the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Neither team was favored to reach the Stanley Cup Finals this year. The Maple Leafs (33-25-12) had finished 3rd in the league and the Red Wings (30-29-11) had come in 4th. Both teams were well behind the Montreal Canadiens (36-21-13) and the Chicago Blackhawks (36-22-12).
But both the Maple Leafs and Red Wings won game 7’s on the road in the semi-finals. And as a result, the teams faced each other in the Stanley Cup Finals for the 2nd straight season.
The Maple Leafs are the two-time defending champions, while the Red Wings made it to the Stanley Cup Finals as the 4th place team for the 3rd time in this decade. But the Red Wings have not won the cup since 1955.
In the video below you can see the highlights from the series.
Here is my commentary with the time stamps from the video:
1:00 - Watch the Red Wings’ legend, 36 year old Gordie Howe, score on a long slap shot to give Detroit a 2 - 1 lead in middle of the 1st period in game 1 in Toronto.
1:10 - In the 2nd period of game 1, Howe takes the puck in his own zone and skates past everyone for a clear shot on goal from short range. But 39 year old Maple Leafs goalie Johnny Bower saves it. Detroit still leads 2 - 1 after 2 periods.
1:30 - George Armstrong scores for Toronto to tie the match at 2 with 16 minutes left to play. At 1:40, see a frustrated Red Wings’ goalie, the great Terry Sawchuck, take his stick and flip the puck into the stands.
1:50 - With 4 minutes to play the Maple Leafs are short handed, but Bob Pulford gets the puck on a breakaway. Gordie Howe tries to chase him down, but Pulford is able to get off his shot and scores.
The Maple Leafs take game 1 by a score of 3 - 2.
In game 2, the Red Wings take a 3 - 1 lead after 2 periods. Red Kelly scores for the Maple Leafs with 8 minutes to play to cut the lead to 3 - 2.
5:30 - The Maple Leafs have the puck deep in the Red Wings zone with under a minute to play. Watch carefully as Gerry Ehman ties the match with just 43 seconds to play.
Game 2 goes into overtime.
6:15 - Almost 8 minutes into overtime, watch as Gordie Howe has the puck behind the goal line and centers it for Larry Jeffrey who scores the game winner.
The series was now tied at 1 game apiece as the venue moved to Detroit for games 3 and 4.
Detroit took game 3 by a score of 4 -3, but Toronto tied the series up with a 4 - 2 win in game 4.
Game 5 in Toronto was another 1 goal match won by the Red Wings 2 - 1.
That put the Red Wings ahead 3 games to 2 with an opportunity to wrap up the Stanley Cup at home in game 6.
You can actually watch the entire game 6 match on this YouTube video that had just 24 views when I found it:
Here’s my commentary on the game 6 video:
1:01:25 on the tape - With 4 minutes remaining in the 2nd period and the match tied at 2, watch as Gordie Howe gets the puck at the center line and takes it all the way in and scores.
The crowd goes wild as Detroit is now ahead 3 - 2. If they can hold on they will win the Stanley Cup.
But with 2 minutes to play in the 2nd period the Maple Leafs tie it up on a Billy Harris goal.
The 3rd period is scoreless and the match goes to overtime.
1:56:20 - You can watch the overtime starting at this point on the tape.
A Detroit goal will win the Stanley Cup for the Red Wings.
A Toronto goal will force a game 7 at Maple Leafs Garden.
1:58:35 - Just less than 2 minutes into overtime, the Maple Leafs Bob Baun gets the puck just over the blue line and sends a long slap shot flying.
It’s a goal! The Maple Leafs win!
The incredible part of this is that Baun had left the ice on a stretcher earlier in the match.
In the April 24, 1964 Toronto Star, Baun said, “I heard something pop as I faced off against Howe.”
The pop was from his ankle.
Red Burnett of the Toronto Star reported, “Baun collapsed moments after stopping an Alex Delvecchio shot from the point. He tried to get up under his own steam but had to use the stretcher.”
Yet, Baun returned to the match in time to slap home the winner in overtime.
So the Maple Leafs would have a chance to win their 3rd straight Stanley Cup at home on Saturday night April 25th.
An ad in the Toronto Star the day before the match indicated that standing room tickets were still available for game 7 at $1.50 and $2.50.
An article in the Toronto Star on the day of the match pointed out the possibility that if game 7 went to overtime and play continued until midnight the match might have to be stopped due to the restrictions against sporting events prior to noon on the Lord’s day.
The NHL announced that if that occurred the entire match would be re-played later in the week, probably Tuesday.
Now back to the earlier YouTube video for the game 7 highlights:
Here is my commentary on game 7 with the time stamps from the video:
7:00 - The opening face off of game 7.
7:25 - Just 3 minutes into the game, Maple Leafs’ Andy Bathgate gets the puck on a breakaway and scores to give Toronto the early 1 - 0 lead.
The score remains 1 - 0 after the 1st period.
8:05 - Watch as Red Wings’ goalie Terry Sawchuck makes a couple of outstanding saves to keep the Red Wings down by just a single goal after 2 periods.
8:20 - Sawchuck makes another great save in the early going of the 3rd period. It’s still 1 - 0 Toronto.
8:35 - Just over 4 minutes into the 3rd period, Sawchuck’s luck runs out as Dave Keon scores to make it 2 - 0 Toronto.
8:50 - Just a minute later in the match, Frank Mahovlich gets the puck to Red Kelly who puts it into the net and Toronto leads 3 - 0 with 15 minutes to play. Kelly is playing in his 142nd Stanley Cup playoff game which is a new record.
9:25 - The match ends and the Toronto Maple Leafs are Stanley Cup champions for the 3rd straight season!
The front page of the Toronto Star today reported that on Saturday night, after the Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup, “champagne flowed in a dressing room crowded with well-wishers - prime minister Lester Pearson among them. ‘A wonderful, wonderful game,’ said Leaf fan Pearson.”
The Stanley Cup victory was the 10th for Toronto, tying them with Montreal for the most Stanley Cups won in NHL history.
CLOSING COMMENT From The Sports Time Traveler™
After the experience I had at a pre-season Maple Leafs match in Toronto in 2014, I can only begin to imagine the extent of the pandemonium that must have swept over Maple Leaf Gardens a little before midnight on Saturday, April 25, 1964, when the Toronto Maple Leafs won their 3rd consecutive Stanley Cup.
The Maple Leafs Go for the Hat Trick