Howie Meeker, who went from Stanley Cup-winner to Canadian hockey icon as a colourful TV hockey analyst who wore his heart on his sleeve, has died. He was 97.
A spokesman for the Toronto Maple Leafs confirmed via email that Meeker died on Sunday. There was no immediate word on the cause of death.
Different generations had different memories of Meeker, but almost all involved hockey. He played it, talked about it and taught it.
The Maple Leafs said Meeker had been their oldest alumnus. He was given a standing ovation Sept. 15, 2019, when he attended a team alumni game in St. John’s, N.L.
As an NHL player, Meeker won the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in 1947 — the same year Gordie Howe entered the league — and went on to play in three all-star games and hoist four Stanley Cups in eight seasons with the Maple Leafs.
Most famously, he passed the puck to Bill Barilko for the 1951 Cup overtime winner against Montreal.
Amazingly the winger spent two years as a Progressive Conservative member of Parliament while playing for the Leafs.
In June 1951 he won a byelection in the riding of Waterloo South. He did not run in the August 1953 federal election.
Meeker replaced King Clancy as coach of the Maple Leafs in April 1956. He went 21-34-15 in his one season behind the bench before moving upstairs to become GM the next season.
While Meeker’s NHL playing career was over at 30 after 346 games — with 83 goals, 102 assists and 329 penalty minutes — he continued to play pro hockey on and off for another 15 years at a variety of levels including the American Hockey League and Newfoundland Senior League, among others.
Story continues below advertisement
He retired from playing after the 1968-69 campaign and kept skating into his 80s.
Meeker remained indelibly linked to hockey via the broadcast booth. He was honoured by the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 with the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award after a 30-year career on CBC and TSN.
“Howie was Howie. And he set the bar, no question about it,” fellow “Hockey Night in Canada” commentator Dick Irvin once said.
Meeker, oft clad in a CBC powder blue jacket, was hard to miss. He was the Don Cherry of his time, although he kept his focus on hockey.
His enthusiasm was straight from the heart, with “Golly gee willikers” and “Stop it right there” some of his trademark sayings during his video analysis.
Meeker’s excitement level often was like that of a child on a sugar high, but he knew his stuff having played and coached. He also ran hockey schools for more than 30 years and literally wrote the book on hockey — 1973’s “Howie Meeker’s Hockey Basics.”
During the ’70s, he offered up drills and tips during his “Howie Meeker Hockey School” sessions on CBC.
He later wrote another book called “Golly Gee — It’s Me: The Howie Meeker Story.” And he never ran short of opinions on how to improve the game he loved.
In 2010, Meeker was inducted into the Order of Canada.
“I’ve had a marvellous kick at the cat,” he said at the time.
He was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame the same year.
Born in Kitchener, Ont., Meeker’s childhood entree into hockey was helped by the fact that his father had a Coca-Cola route that employed several NHL players during the summer.
New York Rangers defenceman Ott Heller gave the young Meeker his first hockey stick.
“I’ve had a hockey stick in my hand quite a bit in the last 75 years,” he said in 2002, recalling the memory. “I must have been four or five at that time.”
He grew up a Leafs fan but always had a soft spot for the Rangers thanks to Heller.
Meeker played junior hockey for the Stratford Kroehlers and the Brantford Lions before serving in the Second World War during which he was badly injured by a grenade in training.
“I was very lucky to get out of that with as little damage to my leg as what happened, but it blew me up about eight feet,” he recalled.
He missed D-Day because of that.
“A lot of my very close friends didn’t come back,” he told Leafs Insider.
He recovered and returned to hockey with the Stratford Indians of the OHA Senior A in the 1945-46 season.
The Maple Leafs signed him to a free-agent contract on April 13, 1946. As a rookie, he scored 27 goals and registered 45 points in 55 games.
He also tied the league record for most goals in one game by a rookie when he scored five times in a 10-4 win over Chicago on Jan. 8, 1947.
Story continues below advertisement
Meeker had four goals and four assists in the ensuing playoffs as the Leafs defeated the Montreal Canadiens in the final.
In a 2010 TV interview, he said that first Stanley Cup was the most memorable.
“Never thinking that you’re ever going to be lucky enough to get to the Toronto Maple Leafs, you get there and you win a Stanley Cup in your first year, yahoo!”
Toronto also won Cups in 1948, ’49 and ’51. During his playing days with the Maple Leafs, the five-foot-nine 165-pound Meeker was a member of the “Tricky Trio” line with Ted Kennedy and Vic Lynn.
Whatever his age, Meeker had some advice to give.
In 2015, when he received an honorary doctor of laws at Memorial University’s convocation, he told the students that it was 20 years living in Newfoundland — he left in the mid-70s — that taught him balance in life was essential.
“I hope you young ladies and gentleman have learned how to live by living here in St. John’s or in Newfoundland. Take it with you. Because all work and no play is not very good,” Meeker said to applause.
Meeker followed his own advice.
“If I had been born a multi-millionaire, I’d have paid someone to do what I’ve done all my life,” he said in a 2013 CBC interview.
Meeker had six children with his first wife Grace — they were married for 55 years before she died of cancer. He remarried, living with wife Leah in Parksville on Vancouver Island where they were active in fundraising for the B.C. Guide Dog Services.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
—
Follow @NeilMDavidson on X platform
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
