Dunlop’s history marked with firsts for 67’s
From his office at Benjamin F. Edwards and Co. LLC in St. Louis, Mo., Blake Dunlop initially goes silent, then bursts into laughter as he tries to to think of the last time anyone called him “Turk.”
Dunlop, one of the greatest ever to wear the Ottawa 67’s Barber Poles, was the first 67 to score 60 goals in a season, the first to top 100 points and the first to win an Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy as the Ontario Hockey League’s scoring champion.
Seldom, if ever, did Dunlop go by his given name over four illustrious seasons with the 67’s, with the possible exception of his parents home in Rockcliffe.
From the time he joined the 67’s partway through that 196970 season as a 16-year-old rookie to becoming a high draft pick by both the National Hockey League and World Hockey Association, Dunlop was “Turk” to all his teammates.
He had it all. The bushy sideburns and blond hair that flowed out of his red Cooper helmet to go with the teen idol looks. Then he augmented the image with a fashion-conscious style of suits and an admiration for his hockey idol, the original “Turk”, Derek Sanderson of the Boston Bruins.
“I liked Sanderson and that was the way I dressed,” said Dunlop. “And I used to have the long, blond hair ... and now I have none.
“But I don’t get back to Ottawa as much as I used to. So I would guess it would have to be quite a while since I’ve heard it.”
That’s about to change on Saturday when a large group of 67’s icons reunite at the Prescott Hotel, through Sunday afternoon at Rosie’s on Bank Street. Then the familiar walk up Bank Street to the Arena at TD Place to take part in pre-game ceremonies to honour the club’s first decade at the 67’s home opener.
The original and old-time 67’s had a certain aura about them around town and a celebrity status. And they had a roster full of characters. The stories — and quarts — will flow.
Dunlop’s story epitomizes what the 67’s brought to the Ottawa sporting landscape.
He was a nationally-ranked tennis star and outstanding minor hockey player in Ottawa with M& W Rangers before his first 67’s training camp in 1969.
Amazingly, he didn’t survive the cut. Then head coach Bill Long sent him back to M& W Juniors, opting instead for a member of the first wave of European imports in Josef Straka.
That glaring error wasn’t corrected until about six weeks into the 1969-70 season when the 67’s played M& W in an exhibition. Dunlop scored a couple of goals, was the best player on the ice on either team and Long immediately called to see if he would come back.
Dunlop finished with 17 goals and 32 points in 45 games, then broke out his second year with 44 goals and 90 points. He followed up with a solid third year before setting all kinds of 67’s records his final year and winning the scoring title.
His final season, Dunlop stormed from the middle of the top 10 to beat out London Knights’ Dennis Ververgaert and Reggie Thomas, and Oshawa General Rick Middleton to win the scoring race by 12 points while leading the league with 99 assists.
“People who never played team sports don’t understand how close guys become,” said Dunlop.
“It’s the wonderful thing about team sports. We were all a bunch of guys trying to find their way through the ups and the downs and we went through it all together.
“I am fortunate to have a lot of great memories of the 67’s. All the great players we had over the years. My first game, in Hamilton, in that old little rink. I remember my first shift and that I scored my first goal that game.
“The year I won the scoring title, with all the help I had from my teammates. Late in the season, the guys knew what was at stake and they kept putting the puck on my stick. I was more an assist guy than a goal-scorer but my teammates kept feeding me.
“If there’s a regret, it’s that we didn’t get to the Memorial Cup in 1972. It was being played in Ottawa and I thought that was our best team. We beat Sudbury, then lost four straight to a really good (Toronto) Marlies team. I thought we could have gone further.
“But what’s great about this weekend is that even if we haven’t seen each other in 30 or 40 or more years, all it takes in just a few minutes and it’s like we haven’t missed a thing.”