Hi, I’m Brian’s daughter and I am considering putting together a small self-published hockey poetry book.  I work on this site for my Dad.  I’ve noticed we get a lot of visitors here seeking out hockey poetry and even a couple comments asking for anthologies.  

As poets and writers probably know, the internet offers on-demand  publishing tools like Lulu.com.  The resulting books tend to be expensive but at least they exist as options for small niche markets.

So, I am seeking hockey poetry submissions, if anyone is interested.  It is okay if the poem has been published before but make sure you have the right to re-publish.

None of us will get rich out of this idea but I think it will be a nice thing to offer people.  If you are interested in contributing to a collection of hockey poems, please consider sending me your hockey poetry for possible publication.

If there are any profits after expenses, what do you think of  a split of 50% of the gross profits going to contributing poets?  Maybe with a somewhat smaller split for those who send very short poems and a somewhat larger split for longer poems?  If this doesn’t sound fair to you, let me know.

If your poem is accepted and we have enough interest and material to go ahead and publish, I will send you a more formal agreement.  Sending me your poetry does not imply I have a right to publish your poetry until you give me formal written permission.

I’ve never done this before so I am certainly open to any suggestions from poets regarding this idea.

Send hockey poems and any additional information you think might be of interest to brenda@activecontentcreation.com

Thanks!

I asked the PR person for the Islanders to go to John  and plead with him to make an exception, since we’d some all the way from Toronto. She returned and said, “He’ said all right, he’ll do it for you, Mr. McFarlane.”

John gave me an excellent interview,  then packed and left for Calgary.

John had a long and productive career in hockey, beginning in junior with the Toronto Marlboros where he scored 49 goals in his final junior season. In the NHL he played in over 1,000 games and scored 325 goals. He was the MVP of the 1984 Canada Cup and played on four Stanley Cup winning teams–all with the Islanders.

We sat over coffee on Long Island one day and he reminisced about his early days in the game:

BM: Tell me about your days in junior hockey.

JT: Near the end of my second season in junior hockey with the Marlies, just before I turned eighteen, I retained an agent named Gus Badali. He had been talking to Houston of the WHA, because Houston wanted me. So it looked like the following season I would be  turning pro and playing with the  Houston Aeros.

But at that time, at the start of the junior season, the Marlies came out with a new contract that bound some players for three years, plus  an option year, with the junior club.

Reluctantly, and later to my regret, I had signed such a contract at the beginning of the year–just before I turned eighteen. I didn’t know  then that I had a chance to play pro  with Houston–which was a great opportunity. So instead of playing any more hockey under the Marlie contract, once I turned eighteen I repudiated it. I wanted it revoked. I went to Marlie management, meaning Frank Bonello. I tried to convince him I should be allowed to leave the Marlies after that season.

He said, “No way! You are here for four years. And you are here for another two years after that.”

We were trying to settle with them but it was no go. They wanted an enormous amount, just fantastic. So we ended up in court. I didn’t play another game in junior after my eighteenth birthday. So I missed all the playoffs and the team  went on to win the Memorial Cup that year. That made me happy because if they  hadn’t won they could have blamed it on me.

BM: But you missed the thrill of being part of it.

JT: Oh, yeah. That would have been a thrill, too.

BM: That’s unfortunate. You only get that one chance.

JT: Well, that’s life. So we went to court.

BM: In Toronto?

JT: Yeah, in Toronto. We were in court for a full week. I couldn’t believe that something like this was happening. They were trying to stop me from playing professional hockey, something I always wanted to do.

BM: Was it that case that makes hockey people nervous about attempting to re‑install the twenty year old draft because they know that guys 18 can sue them and claim to be adults and do what they want?

JT: It might be. I know my case was the first one.

BM: Ken Linesmen had a similar case after that?

JT: Yeah, right after that. My case set a precedent that you can’t stop a guy from earning a living once he is eighteen.

BM: Let’s suppose that you could earn 100 grand a year for turning pro but they force you to play junior. Then  you break a leg and can never play again. You are out that 100 grand, your future in pro hockey and everything else is gone.

JT: That’s right. As a junior I was getting $15 dollars a week plus room and board. They paid my room and board. Now the juniors get  like $50 a week.

BM: That surprises me, John.  When I played in that league, and I wasn’t nearly the player you are, I got $50 a week plus room and board. And that  was 30, 35 years ago. That’s incredible.

JT: My second year in junior I went in and asked for a raise, just some extra money. No way, they said. The mistake I made, I should have stayed home. I should have stayed in Milton and travelled back and forth. Then I would have made $60.

BM: I thought they were slipping money under the table to the juniors?

JT: I believe they did. To some of the players. Not  to me.

BM: But you were one of the top players. You’d think that you would have been well looked after.

JT: It is like professional hockey in the junior ranks. The managers all want to be big wheels, they want to make trades and deals.

BM: What was it like in Houston the first year?

JT: Houston was great. Fantastic. I had trouble at the beginning. I didn’t have that much confidence so they switched me around a lot.. As soon as I started to play with Terry Ruskowski and  Don Larway literally, things began to roll.  My first shift,  I played center between Gordie Howe and Mark Howe. We came back to the bench after one minute on the ice. Mark Howe  was on my left and Gordie was on my right. I’m eighteen years old and very nervous. Suddenly Gordie leans toward me and wipes his dripping nose all over  my sweater. I did not say one word.  I  just kept looking at the play.  But looking back on it, I always have to laugh. It was so…so Gordie Howe. His snot all over my sleeve.

BM: He must have been fun to play with in that era because he was really enjoying himself then, wasn’t he?

JT: Well, he was great. Always funny. Always cracking jokes.

BM: He was often way with us on the telecasts. We would be taping an interview at rinkside during the pre-game warmup and he would skate by and flip snow and slush off the blade of his stick all over us, all over those nice blue jackets we wore.

JT: What a competitor. On the golf course and even on the tennis course. The team had a tennis tournament one day. I don’t even think he had ever picked up a tennis racket in his life. He got out there and he played a great game.  At the rink, we used to have some battles in practice. It would be Ruskowski, Larway and myself against Gordie and his son Mark and Rich Preston. When we would scrimmage it would be like a real game each time.

Gordie taught me how to keep my head up. Oh, he gave me a nice elbow in practice one day. I had to go sit down un til the cobwebs cleared.  He practically knocked me out. Oh, he could do it.

BM: I think it’s just amazing that he could play at age 52. That is my age. I struggle around with the oldtimers on Sunday mornings. After a while you get the arthritis and the sore back and you can’t stretch like you used to and you’re slower than a turtle in quicksand. I think of him playing in that NHL with all those kids, and it’s  simply incredible.

JT: I remember my first training camp. It was muggy and we were all really feeling the heat and the humidity. I was out on the ice, starting to skate around. The whistle goes and we start picking up speed. Howe just zooms by me and says, “Hurry up, kid. Get going.”

BM: What about the Stanley Cup?  Do you have any stories about  the Cup?

JT: The only thing that I could say is that my brother and I used to play for the Stanley Cup in our basement. There used to be an old ashtray down there. It was about three feet high and silver‑topped, and to me it was just like the Stanley Cup. I used to carry it around the room. I was amazed to see how much it resembled the real Stanley Cup.

BM: In your mind it was the real Stanley Cup.

JT: Absolutely.

McCreary’s First Goal

Photo by Bobolink

On a stormy night in Sundridge
In nineteen forty‑two,
The kids were playing hockey,
What else was there to do?
When a young lad named McCreary
Took his place at centre ice.
He couldn’t skate and couldn’t score,
And he fell down once or twice,
Still he loved the game the other boys
Played happily every day.
And late at night with the covers drawn
This is what he’d pray;
“Dear Lord, let me score a single goal,
Let me find the net with a shot,
Let me learn how to skate, and stickhandle too,
For I’m giving it all I’ve got”

One night in the snow (it was 20 below)
Little Keith was given the puck,
he stepped on it, fell on it, pushed it on ahead,
And then…through a stroke of some good luck,
The wind blew up, blowing snow in the eyes
Of the goalie facing his shot,
The puck skipped in, Keith roared with a grin,
“Fantastic! It’s the first goal I’ve got!”

Now, decades later, Keith still says his prayers
Every night when his Carol tucks him in,
“Dear Lord, believe me, I’ve been a good boy,
My life is devoid of all sin,
Lord help me, please help me before I’m too old,
And my teammates tell me I’m through,
Help me relive that great day in my life,
Please help me score goal number two

I don’t have any bad memories of Team Canada in 72. There were a lot of things that you could go over  and decide that they were learning curves, but I could honestly say there was not a bad memory. I mean it was certainly a learning experience for all of us.

They say I was one of the guys who pulled off a lot of gags in Moscow. Well, that’s always important to a team, keeping things  light. There was enough stress and enough pressure being placed on us  by outside sources. I wouldn’t say from inside, but certainly from outside. The expectations were so high and having a little fun breaks the tension. Actually,  now that I think back on it, I have to blame Bill White for those gags I mentioned.  I had very little to do with them. And somebody has to take the  blame. The deal I think that was funniest, was when everybody got on the bus that was booked to go to the Chinese restaurant. Bill White and I were standing around and somebody  said, “Where have you guys been?” We said. “Oh, we just got back from a  great Chinese restaurant. I think we even had a name for it–the Pe King if I remember right. There was a game the next day and then after that everybody wanted to go for Chinese food because everybody was fed up with the food that they were getting. They thought that a nice Chinese dinner would be great. So they all agreed to go  and Bill and I  helped out by ordering  a bus.  Everybody showed up and got on the bus.  But Bill and I didn’t show.

As for the players involved, I think that from the Canadian side I was certainly impressed with every one selected.  Their determination to come back and win,  against all the odds, was a tremendous feat. It could only have happened on a team with grit and guts like that one.

We went into a situation where we  were led to believe that our players were superior because of  our presence and stature in the National Hockey League. We were told we were top caliber–the best. But we soon realized that on the playing field you should never under estimate your opponent and never believe your press clippings. In that first game in Montreal, it was like we were thrust into the seventh game of the Stanley Cup Finals. And we weren’t ready for that kind of pace.

What impressed me though was the rallying ability of all the Team Canada guys. You could go down the list and every  guy  contributed all the skills he could muster and great spirit and attitude to develop a team concept. Even in the darkest days, after leaving Canada upset and frustrated,  each individual played a part in staving off defeat.  Certainly there were important moments, like Phil’s speech in Vancouver which I didn’t get to see  until later, a defining moment and a rallying point for the Canadian fans. But in the privacy of our dressing room, everybody felt good about themselves, we wouldn’t allow ourselves to get down, and we could still go ahead and play with confidence. The timing just wasn’t there at first. It was just a matter of being off by  half a bubble. The fierce competitive nature  of the guys  would come through in the end. The creativity of the guys would likewise come through. I think a major factor in our success was the Russians inability to vary from their strategy. They had a  set offensive and defensive strategy and it never altered very much. They weren’t individually creative. Once you learned what they were gonna do and how  they were gonna do it, you could defend against it.  I really enjoyed competing against them because it brought out the best in me, whether I was challenged by Yakushev or Petrov or Kharlamov. Bring ‘em on.

Their defensive guys  were very good. They were great athletes to compete against. It was a fun time.  There’s not much need to say any more than that.

I think the impact of that series is still with us, still felt today.  No matter where I go, people don’t talk to me about what’s happening in the NHL. They talk to me about what happened in that series in ’72.  Now as we all grow older, there are fewer and fewer people who  remember it or were part of it,  but I know the impact is there. There isn’t a school  year goes by that I don’t get  calls to help with a project some young student is working on with a Team Canada theme. It’s part of their research on Canadian History. They call and they talk about it.  And not just kids. Just  today I got a call from a guy who is 70 years old and still doing something on it. So that’s the impact. They all ask if I still have the puck that Henderson scored with, and that subject has created  quite a little stir. If there’s one specific thing they remember me for, I guess that’s it. Everybody  talks about that puck. I haven’t  decided yet how to give an answer.  I mean its just a puck. What’s a puck? It’s three inches in diameter and one inch thick and it’s black and it’s rubber. And that puck is somewhere.  Why all the fuss over a rubber puck? And that’s my answer.

Thinking back,  30 years have skipped by pretty quick, haven’t they? I don’t know why but they seem to have flown by. When I retired from hockey after 15 years in the NHL and the WHA we came back home. I farmed up until a few years ago, then  Jackie and I retired from the farm. Then we moved into Strathroy and we rented a home there.  I have been assisting my son Tom who has been in Sweden for the last 15 years. He brought over some heavy wash equipment for washing road trucks and we have established an R&D station in Sarnia that works on that equipment.  Also the system helps purify the dirty wash water and brings it back almost to its original state. That’s kind of leading edge stuff.  Scandanavia is certainly ahead of Canada in that respect and that’s been an interesting project over the last decade.

I also support our local junior B team here, both Jackie and I have been involved in that. We have supported them from the stand point of raising the funds for young kids to play, and I’ve been involved in the coaching and the managing or the scouting—whatever it takes to make it happen. That is my bond with the game and we still have a son Mike who plays the game professionally. In the pro game today it doesn’t seem like you stay in one place very long. I believe hockey is more competitive now because you’ve got more countries and more young people, men and women, wanting to play at the highest level.

I was part owner of  a pro team once—the Chicago Cougars in the WHA.  When the owners there decided that they were not going to continue, Ralph Backstrom, Dave Dryden, myself and a couple of others, pitched in and kept the club going for the rest of the year. It was a great experience. I certainly enjoyed it, but then I haven’t done anything in my life that I haven’t enjoyed. I was drinking tea out of my Peter Puck mug this morning and thinking it’s important to tell people the fascinating history of  our game. Peter was good at that, ahead of his time and he should be part of the game again. He could tell stories about Team Canada.

I see  talented kids everyday that  I  encourage to reach for the top.  Many have the ability and  if they are willing to put in the time and the hard work that brings success, they can do it.

For more stories on Team Canada 72, look for Brian’s book

Team Canada 72