‘He was a legend in the game’
Leafs president Shanahan praises Bower for stellar life both on and off the ice
Johnny Bower’s life was filled with standards for all hockey players to live by, whether it was on or off the ice, Maple Leafs president Brendan Shanahan said in a moving address Wednesday on the passing of the Leafs’ legend.
“When you look at a player like Johnny Bower, regardless of his success, he never let it go to his head, and he was always conscious of his community,” Shanahan said as the hockey world mourned Bower, who passed away Tuesday at age 93 after a battle with pneumonia.
“He was more than a hockey player, he was an ambassador to every community he ever player or lived in.”
Shanahan wanted to speak outdoors beside Bower’s statue on Legends Row outside the Air Canada Centre despite freezing conditions.
It was a fitting tribute to the goalie who won four Stanley Cups in Toronto after starting his career with the Maple Leafs at age 34. Bower would have braved any conditions himself, and did so in the many charitable events and appearances he was in, almost up to the time of his death.
“Every time I saw him, he was in such good spirits,” Shanahan said.
“If you saw his hands, they were sometimes painful, so he shook hands gently. I used to often think that it didn’t matter how long he was at a charity event, he never showed any signs of discomfort. I never, in my lifetime, and I hear this from a lot of people too, no one ever knew Johnny, at any moment, at any time, at any hour, and saw him uncomfortable or frustrated, or impatient. He was never any of those things. Any one who ever met Johnny Bower came away with a great experience. “He was a great lesson for all of us.” Shanahan expressed the sadness that all of Leafs Nation, and all of hockey for that matter, were feeling over the loss of a true legend.
“It was important for our organization, and for Mike Babcock, in the locker room, to have his locker made out for players like Johnny Bower, Borje Salming, and others, so when a player comes in every day, they see these names there,” Shanahan said.
“There’s not a player who went to more charity events than Johnny Bower.
“For a generation of Maple Leafs fans (who saw him as a player), they knew him for his accomplishments on the ice. But there’s a whole new generation of fans that never saw him, but knew him for his kindness and the charity work he did.”
Bower also showed a soft spot for journalists, never turning down a phone call or in-person request for comment, even after his playing days were long over. In recent years, reporters looking for a comment from him quickly learned the best time to get ahold of him was right around the time he was having his breakfast porridge.
His wife, Nancy, would answer the phone at their residence, and if you were a bit late, she’d tell you Johnny was out for the day, doing a guest coaching gig for a local hockey team, or out signing autographs as a way to help promote a local kids hockey tournament.
Shanahan had heard of those stories for his entire life, but only met Bower while working with the Maple Leafs, whom he joined as president three years ago.
“He was a legend in the game so much that you didn’t have to be living in Toronto, or working for the Maple Leafs, to know about his spirit, or hear stories about his generosity and his charity, and that’s not to mention his accomplishments on the ice as a player.”
Shanahan said it’s those attributes that the modern player can learn from.
“The first thing players today look at and respect are his accomplishments on the ice, his four Cups, his abilities, that puts him in a certain place,” Shanahan said.
“Then, to see him off the ice and see his generosity and warmth and hu- mour, I think players today look at that as the kind of player they should be.”
Under Shanahan’s leadership, the Leafs designed this season to help commemorate the 100th anniversary of the team as the Toronto Maple Leafs. Bower came from those multiple Cup winning teams of the 1960s, embodied the “strength, pride, and courage, Conny Smythe (former coach and GM) spoke about,” and was feted by the organization in 2015, when he was included in a group of 11 players whose numbers were retired.
“Johnny’s reaction when we told him about his number being retired was typical Johnny,” Shanahan said.
“He was gracious, he was appreciative, and he followed it up with a little joke. We were talking about this, that we are happy Johnny got to see some of the things being done for the100th year celebration. Looking back, Johnny was there for pretty much all of the celebrations, and we’re happy that the Leafs and their fans were able to shine a light on people like Johnny Bower.”