Meet the Maple Leafs There are dozens of sports teams in Canada and millions of fans Which team is the most popular For as long as anyone can one can remember it has been the Toronto Maple Leafs They have fans all fans all over the country and all over the world When Canadians are asked re askkedd to name their favorite team outside their hometown the Leafs win fs win hands-down But the mark of a beloved team is not how many fans ns root for the players when they’re winning It’s how many y stick with the club when they’re not Maple Leafs fans are among the most loyal in all of sports That is why in good times and bad professional hockey players dream about playing in Toronto some day This book tells the story of the Maple Leafs They have a long proud tradition of teamwork and sportsmanship For nearly a century they have played their best when the odds are against them and that gives their fans a reason to fill their building night after night James Reimer and Tyler Bozak talk things over during the 2012 13 season 5
Glory Days The history of the Maple Leafs dates back to the very beginning of the National Hockey League NHL In fact Toronto’s team was the reason the league was formed For many years the National Hockey Association NHA operated in a handful of Canadian cities One of the NHA’s better clubs was based in Toronto Its owner Eddie Livingstone was unpopular The other owners folded up the league in 1917 and started the NHL without Livingstone Toronto’s NHL team was owned by the Toronto Arena Company and was known as the Arenas They won the first NHL championship in 1917 18 and then went on to claim the championship of pro hockey the Stanley Cup Two years later the team renamed itself the Saint Patricks The St Pats won the Stanley Cup again in 1922 The star of that team was Babe Dye He led the NHL in goals three times 6
the In 1926 Conn Smythe bought team and renamed it the Maple Leafs Smythe and assistant coach Frank Selke built the club into a powerhouse Toronto had two great defensemen King Clancy and Clarence Hap Day The team’s top scorers Charlie Conacher Busher Jackson and Joe Primeau were nicknamed the Kid Line The Maple Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1932 and reached the Stanley Cup Finals five more times during the 1930s Toronto had an even better club during the following decade The Leafs won the Stanley Cup in 1942 1945 and each year from 1947 through 1949 They won the championship in 1951 too Those teams were full of talented players who never quit Their stars included Babe Pratt Syl Apps Gordie Drillon Turk Broda Sweeney Schriner Ted Kennedy Harry Watson Gaye Stewart Billy Taylor Tod Sloan Max Bentley and Bill Barilko Many of them were voted into the Hall of Fame The Maple Leafs had several poor seasons during the 1950s but things began to change when Punch Imlach became the team’s coach Johnny Bower was an excellent goalie Dave Keon Tim Horton LEFT Babe Dye was a team leader when Toronto was known as the St Pats ABOVE This photo shows the 1932 Stanley Cup champs 7
