Ultimate fan says goodbye to historic Maple Leafs collection
The Maple Leafs don’t just belong to Toronto, they’re part of Canadian lore and a significant slice of the national hockey pie.
That’s what Mike Wilson kept telling himself, so as not to throw himself in front of the truck that carted away a lifetime of Leafs collectibles from his 1,000-square-foot Forest Hill man cave to a new home in the Museum of Canadian History in Gatineau, Que.
Three years of negotiation with museum officials on how to best document, display and, of course, set a price for the bulk of Wilson’s 2,000-plus items will be finalized at a Friday announcement, believed to be the largest private stock of sports memorabilia ever sold in Canada.
The MCH will pay “The Ultimate Leafs Fan” a bit south of $2 million, says Jenny Ellison, curator of sport and leisure for the museum, a figure reached by averaging several independent appraisals.
“We’re thrilled,” Ellison said, referring to the collection’s value as a research resource and for exhibition purposes. “The first time I went to Mike’s house and saw he touched on 100 years of Leaf and team history, I identified it as one of the most important collections we’ve seen.
“These are one-of-a-kind items; the original door to the Leafs dressing room, a 1931 turnstile from the Gardens, contracts, Tim Horton’s last sweater and pieces from the Smythe family. It’s like walking into the Gardens when it first opened.
“But there are also items pertaining to Paul Henderson (his stick signed by all of Team Canada ’72) and Wayne Gretzky (his contract to appear on Saturday Night Live in 1989). Like Mike, we focus on stories and the years 1920-1960 were an important time in the NHL for teams such as Toronto and Montreal.”
Wilson and partner Deb Thuet had already lent the museum 50 items for a larger show to mark Canada 150 and the NHL’s centennial. The exhibition titled Hockey: More Than Just A Game, ends its eight-month run in October.
Hard as it was when just those 50 pieces went out the door, the 63-year-old stock trader was “emotionally distraught” to see empty spaces where King Clancy’s skates and Johnny Bower’s pads had been for years.
“Whether you collect Leafs stuff, beer cans or shoelaces, that gene will be in you to the day you die,” Wilson said. “Deb and my two kids knew what I was going through the day it all left. I’d had that door signed by 80 present and former Leafs and it was so iconic. They even used it in the Luminato arts festival.
“I used the room for many fundraising events and worried about continuing that and if my role as a Leaf storyteller would become irrelevant. But right after they took it, I had an email from an officer at CFB
Borden. He’d seen the show at the museum and said how much people, especially the military, appreciated me preserving it. That must have been a sign for me from the hockey gods. I felt a lot better after reading that.”
The email also underlined why he thinks citizens will want a permanent place in the museum’s plans for his collection, which also celebrates the other NHL teams, amateur hockey, women’s hockey, black players, First Nations players and sledge hockey.
“The Hockey Hall of Fame covers the sport internationally and does a wonderful job, but Ottawa could focus on the history and future of the game solely from a Canadian perspective,” Wilson suggested.
Thuet served six years on the Toronto Historical Board and enjoyed giving tours of Wilson’s Leafs-themed exhibit to all ages.
“Grandfathers would see something down there about Charlie Conacher and get so excited,” Thuet said. “We want to see all that preserved so people can still see it in 20 or 30 years or have it for research.”
Ellison and Wilson are pleased the museum’s travelling showcase of 300 pieces, much of it Wilson’s, is heading to Montreal and Winnipeg in coming months, though there’s no date for a set display to open in the capital.
“Right now, we’re going through the not-so-sexy process of documenting everything,” Ellison said. “I have an idea of our long game, the story I want to tell and what some of my favourite pieces are, but I don’t yet have a time in mind to show it.”