A life to celebrate

To see old TV clips of him now, maskless and diving into the melee of sticks and skates in front of his net, or thwarting an on-rushing opponent with a cobra-like poke-check, is to be transported to another time.

The late Johnny Bower — who died Dec. 26 at 93 and whose life was celebrated Wednesday at a public memorial at the Air Canada Centre — was a goaltending phenomenon during the Toronto Maple Leafs’ greatest generation.

Through an unlikely career, he was the embodiment of grit and persistence. He was, in the half-century since his playing days ended, a beloved ambassador for a franchise that caused its fans decades of despair, his sunny disposition reassuring Leaf Nation that there would be a better day.

Bower’s life story reads like an inspirational tale from Boy’s Own Magazine, a poor kid made good on his own wits and determination.

He was born John William Kiszkan in 1924 in Prince Albert, Sask., one of nine children of a Ukrainian labourer. He taught himself how to play hockey, using a branch as a stick and fashioning goal pads from old mattresses.

At 15, he lied about his age to join the Canadian army and served four years during the Second World War. On his return, he played junior hockey in Prince Albert, then turned professional, knocking around the minor leagues for 11 years. He began using his mother’s maiden name, Bower, after his parents divorced, changing it legally during his first pro year because sportswriters had difficulty spelling “Kiszkan.”

Bower was 33 when he was acquired by the Leafs in 1958. But in Toronto, he found a believer in coach Punch Imlach. And he helped make hockey history.

He won the Stanley Cup four times, the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s top goaltender twice. He was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame and, in 2017, was chosen as one of the 100 greatest NHL players ever. He had a Toronto street and park named in his honour and was among the first Leaf stars immortalized in statue on Legends Row outside the ACC.

Through a long life, Johnny Bower displayed the most admired of virtues — sacrifice, determination, courage, loyalty, humility. In fact, his credo in hockey could stand as a philosophy of life.

His Leaf teams “were cohesive and we worked together,” he once said. “I liked being a team man. It was a warm relationship and we all needed one another.”

For all his accomplishments, Bower’s death notice in the Star made no mention of such things, instead citing the roles he valued most. Husband of Nancy for 69 years. Father of John, Cynthia and Barbara. Grandfather. Great-grandfather.

In a way, this city claimed him as a beloved grandpa of a franchise — a man who’d known good times and bad, and knew, through it all, what mattered most.

Johnny Bower displayed the most admired of virtues — sacrifice, determination, courage, loyalty, humility