A longtime resident of Uxbridge, Ted Barris has written professionally for 40 years - for radio, television, magazines and newspapers. The "Barris Beat" column began in the 1950s when his father Alex wrote for the Globe and Mail. Ted continues the tradition of offering a positive view of his community. He has written 16 non-fiction books of Canadian history and teaches journalism at Centennial College in Toronto.
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Fight for finesse
When he retired from the greatest game on earth - 10 years ago this week - Wayne Gretzky held or shared 61 National Hockey League records.
I witnessed one of the most enduring. It was the second last day of 1981. I had the good fortune to be reporting on the Edmonton Oilers for both CBC Radio and National Public Radio in the U.S. that season. That night - Dec. 30, 1981 - everybody along press row at the Northlands Coliseum, talked about the only NHL players who'd scored 50 goals in 50 games - Maurice Richard (1944) and Mike Bossy (1981). As Gretzky began his 39th game, that night, his goal total sat at 45 goals. But that night he scored five goals, the 50th into an empty net. Play-by-play announcer Rod Phillips saw it this way:
“Gretzky's got it. He's got the open net. Will he shoot? He does. Gretzky scores! Wayne Gretzky's 50th goal in 39 games. He's broken the record. He's done the unbelievable. They are going wild!”
I was also in the Northlands Coliseum a year later (Dec. 22, 1982) the night Gretzky got into a fight on the ice (one of only three in his career). It took place during a game against the Minnesota North Stars. It was no contest against Neal Broten. But “the Great One” didn't have to prove anything to anybody by that time. When he retired on April 18, 1999, he had the record for the most points, the most goals, the most assists, the most goals by a centre, most consecutive 40-goal seasons, most three-or-more goals games and on and on. My point is that the man will always be heralded for the way he mastered the game… without having to drop his gloves or pound an opponent into the boards.
Fighting - contrary to what Don Cherry would have you believe - is NOT what draws fans to the games. It is NOT vital in order for players to maintain their honour. It is NOT, I don't believe, a natural part of the game. It is unnecessary bravado by the players. It's a phoney attraction hyped by the broadcasters. It's bush-league psychology exhibited by outdated, out-of-touch coaches and managers who try to intimidate opponents when their teams lack talent. As evidenced by the recent death of Senior A player Don Sanderson, who fell to the ice without his helmet during a Whitby Dunlops game, it's a dangerous alternative to the natural intensity of the game.
Worst of all, it's a cancer debilitating the most exquisite winter sport on the planet.
Also contrary to what those who would have you believe that violence is a natural part of hockey, there are ways to prevent the cancer from growing. I've recently watched with interest, the efforts of a handful of GTA parents, who've dreamed up the new Toronto Non-Contact Hockey League. About two weeks ago, the upstart parents held their first ever tryouts in the city. They started with 25 skaters - most were boys aged 12 or 13 years old - all competing for spots on six teams in the new TNCHL. One of the boys, Phoenix Clifford, was quoted in the Globe and Mail last month.
“I think the idea is good because lots of kids have had concussions,” he said.
The North Toronto parents arrived at the idea following the release of research that linked concussions and body-checking - not to mention the on-ice fisticuffs that, in their view, routinely ruined Toronto house league and rep games. They first tried an invitational tourney at Upper Canada College in January. Then, they launched a website. Next, they plan to recruit about 90 skaters and six goalies for next winter's hockey season. Ironically, despite its greater numbers - with reportedly 40,000 players registered - the juggernaut Greater Toronto Hockey League has gone so far as to label the upstart Non-Contact league as an “outlaw” league. They insist that body-checking belongs in hockey and that Toronto teams would face a definite disadvantage against out-of-province teams if their players didn't keep up with legal hitting.
I'd just like to remind those GTHL organizers that it's the athletic skating, agile stick-handling, and creative passing and scoring that will ultimately win them games out of province or outside the country.
Just ask the man who holds those 61 NHL records that no one will ever likely eclipse.
And just ask the hundreds of thousands of non-NHLers, such as us Sunday morning and Sunday night recreational players. Fighting didn't bring us or keep us in the game. It is its finesse we have always aspired to and that keeps us playing long after the hockey pugilists have faded from memory.
