MEMORIES ARE ALL BACKSTAGE FOR ACC USHER
Gatekeeper made pals of many an away-team player, but has yet to see a live game
For more than four decades, Craig Palfrey has been a gatekeeper for some of the city’s biggest enemies.
Armed with sticks, they invade Toronto prepared for battle, while 69-year-old Palfrey stands guard.
He’s one of the longest-serving ushers, responsible for the area around the visiting team’s hockey dressing room at the Air Canada Centre.
It’s a gig he held on a part-time basis before the ACC — back at Maple Leaf Gardens (MLG), when bands like the Rolling Stones and Pink Floyd were in their heyday.
Now that he’s in his retirement and it’s a full-time job, the Star caught up with Palfrey to find out what it’s like to be a veteran usher.
How did you get your job ushering?
I used to work at Church and Dundas Sts. in the printing department for Simpsons. I got so frustrated because I would go up around 10 a.m. on my break to the Gardens and try to get tickets to the Leaf games, and I couldn’t get them.
I said to one of the guys I worked with, “I am going to see if I can work there.” They sort of laughed.
I asked at the reception desk who was in charge of the ushers. The girl phoned him and he came down. I told him who I was and what I was hoping to do. He said, “Oh, sure, we are always looking for people.”
I think the Bee Gees was the first show I ever worked. After that, I kept coming in.
Being down near the dressing room, you don’t have a view of the ice. Is there a way you still watch the game?
We have a little TV monitor where they do the interviews between periods. We call it our big-screen TV, but it’s only about six inches.
What’s your favourite part of the job?
My favourite part is when the players come in. A lot of them I have gotten to know through the years. I have made friends. I keep in touch with some of them by email who have retired now.
They say, “How was your summer and how are you doing?” The best part is usually when they first come in, because they will stop and talk to you for a few minutes.
Being at the visitors’ room, I meet everyone but the Leafs.
Boston is in tonight so I know quite a few of the players. (Bruins player) Patrice Bergeron is from Sillery, Que. My grandparents lived in Sillery when I was young. When I found out he was from there, I told him about it, and now we talk quite a bit.
Do you ever wish you worked the Leafs dressing room?
No, I had the opportunity years ago. They asked me when we were at MLG, maybe 35 years ago, and I said, “No, I am quite happy where I am,” because every team is different and it is fun to see the visiting teams when they come in.
What’s been the weirdest thing you’ve seen happen?
One thing I remember is when the (New York) Islanders won their fourth straight Stanley Cup. There was a time when the Islanders were playing the Leafs at the Gardens. The Islanders beat the Maple Leafs, I think it was 9-5.
What caught me off-guard was (coach Al Arbour) was inside the dressing room and he was yelling. He wasn’t very happy, even though they won the game, because they had given up five or six goals to the Leafs.
Also there was an area outside the dressing room. I won’t mention players’ names, but there used to be players who would ask me if I could get them a chair, and on the intermission, they would be sitting outside the dressing room area behind the curtain having a couple of cigarettes. You would never see that in a million years now.
What was it like working at the MLG back in the day?
It got pretty wild in the ’70s, with Pink Floyd and Queen. It was pretty wild because (people) were all smoking the funny stuff and you would come out of there at night and you’d be flying yourself. You couldn’t help it because you would be in the environment.
I never saw the Beatles. I saw the Rolling Stones, who were one of my favourite groups growing up.
I remember one time Neil Diamond was at the Gardens. We were all in our positions waiting for the doors to open. Neil Diamond was practicing on stage. He stopped his performance and there were a few usherettes. He said, “OK girls, I am going to sing a song. Which one would you like me to sing for you?” That was pretty neat. They performed it for us, basically.
Do you ever get to go watch a game (as a fan)?
I have never been to a live game. I have just been working there. Not even one . . . I am happy with that. Someday, I might like going to a game, but it would feel different if I wasn’t working.
After all these years, I am sure you could have thrown in the towel long ago. What keeps you working this job?
I go back every game because it gets in your blood. It is one of those things that you really enjoy. I don’t consider it a job. This interview has been edited and condensed.