Armstrong, Apps will join Legends Row
Maple Leafs captain, NHL Hall of Famer, Olympic pole vaulter, university basketball player, Second World War soldier. Syl Apps quietly excelled at just about everything he did.
The former Leaf and another captain for the ages, George Armstrong, were honoured before Saturday night’s game against the Jets as the newest additions to Legends Row.
Apps and Armstrong represent the very best of Leafs history, spanning eras when the team was dominant. But Apps, who also competed for Canada in pole vault at the 1936 Olympics and played basketball at McMaster University, was quiet and reserved when it came to discussing his accomplishments.
“I think I might have been 7 before I even knew he played hockey. He just didn’t talk much about it. He wasn’t one to live on his past laurels,” said Syl Apps Jr., whose father played 10 seasons for the Leafs, recording 201 goals and 231assists.
Apps Jr. was justifiably proud of his father, and that pride carried over to his daughter, Jillian Apps, who starred for Team Canada in Olympic hockey.
“It was kind of funny,” said Apps Jr., himself a decent hockey player. “The first part of my career I was Syl Apps’ son, then the second part I was Jillian Apps’ dad.”
Statues of Apps and Armstrong will join those of Johnny Bower, Darryl Sittler, Borje Salming and Ted Kennedy (Apps’ former teammate) on Legends Row outside the Air Canada Centre in September.
Apps, who passed away in 1998, began his run of three Stanley Cups after he returned from war duty.
Armstrong played 21 seasons for the Leafs, notching 296 goals and 713 points in 1,187 games. He was part of four Stanley Cup winners in the 1960s and captain for 12 seasons. He also served as head coach, assistant GM and scout, a role he holds to this day.
“I must have been better than I thought I was,” joked Armstrong. “Borje Salming and Syl Apps: I can’t believe who I’m going in with.”