April 16, 1954: The Tony Leswick Goal

April 16, 1954, 70 years ago: Only twice in the history of the Stanley Cup Finals has a Game 7 gone to overtime. They happened within 4 years of each other, and both were won by the Detroit Red Wings.

The Wings had won the Cup in 1950, when Pete Babando scored in double overtime of Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. They won it again in 1952, becoming the 1st team ever to sweep the 2 rounds of the Playoffs in 8 straight. They still had enough talent to start a future Hall-of-Famer at every position: The Production Line of right wing Gordie Howe and left wing Ted Lindsay had a new center, with Alex Delvecchio replacing the retired Sid Abel; Jack Stewart had retired, but Red Kelly and Marcel Pronovost were on defense; and Terry Sawchuk had succeeded Harry Lumley in goal.

In the Finals, they would face the Montreal Canadiens. Les Habitantes (or the Habs, for short) had lost the Finals to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1951 and the Wings in '52, but had won the Cup in '53, so they went in as the defending Champions.

Like the Wings, the Canadiens could start a Hall-of-Famer at every position. Right wing Maurice "the Rocket" Richard and center Elmer Lach were left over from the Punch Line of the 1940s, with the now-retired Hector "Toe" Blake on the left. There was also right wing Bernie "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, left wing Bert Olmstead, and 3 future HOF defensemen: Émile "Butch" Bouchard, Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson. And, finishing their 1st full seasons in Montreal, center Jean Béliveau and goaltender Jacques Plante. However, it was Gerry McNeil, last season's Cup-winning goalie, who would be in the net for Montreal. Both of these teams were loaded.

The 1st 2 games, at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit, were split: The Red Wings won Game 1, 3-1; and the Canadiens won Game 2, by the same score. The action moved to the Montreal Forum, and the Wings won, 5-2 and 2-0. All they had to do was win Game 5 at home, but Ken Mosdell scored at 5:45 of overtime, and the Canadiens stayed alive, 1-0. Back in Montreal, the Habs held home ice, winning 4-1.

Game 7 was set for the Olympia on April 16. Hockey writers tend not to use the expression "Game of the Century" -- though they would do so for a later game at the Montreal Forum, the December 31, 1975 3-3 exhibition-game tie with the Soviet Union's Central Red Army team -- but, given the talent on the ice, and what happened in the game, it would have been justified.

Floyd Curry opened the scoring at 9:17 of the 1st period, giving the Canadiens the lead. At 1:17 of the 2nd, Kelly tied it. There was no scoring in the 3rd period, and the game went to overtime.

Boston Bruin fans won't like reading this, but Doug Harvey was doing the kind of things that Bobby Orr would do a generation later, becoming the 1st truly offensive defenseman. The difference was, Harvey was doing it in Canada, and on radio; while Orr did it in America, and on American television, and that's the main reason Orr is considered a contender for the title of the greatest player ever, along with Howe and Wayne Gretzky, and Harvey is not.

Orr won 8 Norris Trophies as the NHL's top defensemen, and 2 Stanley Cups. The Norris wasn't given out for the 1st time until 1954, and Kelly won it, but Harvey won 7 of the next 8, with Johnson winning the other; and won 6 Stanley Cups. Red Storey, an NHL referee at the height of Harvey's career, called him the smartest player in the game: "If he'd been a general, he'd have won every war." (Harvey was not related to the umpire of the same name who was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.)

So it was with some irony that Harvey "scored" the most famous "own goal" in hockey history: At 4:29 of the 1st overtime, Tony Leswick launched a slap shot, and it deflected off Harvey, and past McNeill. There was nothing that either Harvey or McNeil could do, and the Wings were 2-1 winners, and Stanley Cup Champions.

Leswick, 31, was 1 of 3 brothers to play in the NHL, and an uncle of later baseball star Lenny Dykstra. He was just 5-foot-6, but was so tough, he was known as "Tough Tony" and "Mighty Mouse." He played in 6 All-Star Games, was with the Wings when they won the 1952 Cup, and would be with them in 1955, when they won the Cup again. He later coached in the minor leagues, and lived until 2001.

In 1998, The Hockey News ranked Harvey 6th on their list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. Sadly, he had died in 1989. McNeill wasn't exactly blamed for letting the winning goal in, but Plante, who would rank 13th on The Hockey News' list, was ready, and, with stars like him, Richard, Harvey, Béliveau and Geoffrion, the Canadiens would win 5 straight Stanley Cups from 1956 to 1960. McNeill lived until 2004.

Another "Year of Death"?

Cyrille Regis, holding the 1987 FA Cup

that he won with Coventry City

Calendar years 2016 and 2017 seemed to be Years of Death, with a lot of beloved public figures dying. A year gets a reputation as a Year of Death mainly by having a few such deaths early on. And 2018 is being set up as such.

Ray Thomas died on January 4. He was the 1st member of the main lineup of The Moody Blues to die. He is best known for playing the flute on their signature song, "Nights In White Satin." He was 76.

Jerry Van Dyke died on January 5. The younger brother of Dick Van Dyke played Rob Petrie's brother Stacey Petrie on The Dick Van Dyke Show. He starred on one of the most mocked sitcoms ever, My Mother the Car (1965-66), then went back to standup comedy, before being cast as goofy but well-intentioned defensive coordinator Luther Van Dam on Coach. He was 86.

John Young also died on January 5. He commanded a Gemini mission, an Apollo command module, an Apollo lunar module (walking on the Moon on Apollo 16), and the 1st Space Shuttle mission (Columbia). He is the only human being to date to have commanded 4 different types of spacecraft, and also the only one to pilot 4. He was the 1st person to fly 6 space missions, running from 1965 to 1983. He was 87.

Fast Eddie Clarke died on January 10. The guitarist was the last surviving original member of the British band Motörhead. He was 67.

As I previously posted, Keith Jackson died on January 12. The greatest broadcaster in college football history, he was 89.

Doug Harvey died on January 13. A National League umpire from 1962 to 1992, he was the only living umpire in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was so well-regarded in the game that he was called "God." He was 87. He was no relation to the Hockey Hall-of-Famer of the same name, the great Montreal Canadiens defenseman of the 1950s.

Dan Gurney died on January 14. He was an auto racer, and also did commercials for Toyota. He was 86.

Cyrille Regis also died on January 14, and was much younger, 59. The striker was born in French Guiana, but his parents were from Saint Lucia, then a British colony; and he grew up in Harlesden, West London. He became one of the earliest black stars in England's Football League. He played 7 seasons with West Bromwich Albion, outside Birmingham in the West Midlands. He, Lawrie Cunningham and Brendan Batson became known as the Three Degrees, after an all-black (but also all-female) vocal group of the 1970s. Batson is now the last survivor of the Degrees. 

He later helped Coventry City, also of the West Midlands, win the 1987 FA Cup. He also played senior matches for England. In his memory, today, English Premier League clubs held either moments of silence before kickoff, or a minute's applause during the 9th minute of their games, in honor of his usually having worn the Number 9.

Hugh Wilson also died on January 14. He was a writer for The Bob Newhart Show and other Mary Tyler Moore Productions shows (but not The Mary Tyler Moore Show). MTM and CBS liked his work enough to allow him to create the sitcom WKRP in Cincinnati. He also directed Police Academy, Guarding Tess and The First Wives Club. He was 74.

Edwin Hawkins died on January 15. He led The Edwin Hawkins Singers to have a rare gospel song to be a pop hit, "Oh Happy Day," in 1968. They also backed folksinger Melanie on the hit "Lay Down (Candles In the Rain)," based on her experience singing at Woodstock. He was 74.

Jo Jo White died on January 16. A member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, his uniform number was retired by both the University of Kansas (15) and the Boston Celtics (16), whom he helped win the 1974 and 1976 NBA Championships. He was 71.

Stansfield Turner died on January 18. The 4-star Admiral in the U.S. Navy was President of the Naval War College, and then Director of the CIA during Jimmy Carter's term as President, 1977 to 1981. He was 94.

Peter Mayle also died on January 18. The native of Brighton, in the south of England, wrote sex education books for young people in the 1970s and '80s, then moved to the south of France, and liked it so much, he not only stayed, but wrote 15 books about it, most notably A Year In Provence (1989). My mother, a Francophile was a particular fan of his Provence books. I had heard of his sex ed books, but I never realized they were written by the author of the Provence books. If Mom hasn't already found out, I'm not going to tell her! (Unless she reads this post.) At any rate, Mayle was 78.

And Dorothy Malone died yesterday. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1956 for her role in Written On the Wind. She is best remembered for playing secret-keeping matriarch Constance MacKenzie on the TV version of Peyton Place (1964-68). She was 93.

Okay, I get it: These people were old -- or, in the case of Regis, perhaps not "old," but certainly were accomplished, and had done what they were going to do. But there have been others:

Juan Carlos García died on January 8. The left back starred for Olimpia in his native Honduras, and played for his country in the 2014 World Cup. He was signed by Wigan Athletic, of Greater Manchester, and then loaned to Tenerife, in the Canary Islands, off the coast of Morocco but controlled by Spain. But he developed leukemia in 2015, and fought until this month. He was 29.

Dolores O'Riordan died on January 15. The former lead singer of the Irish band The Cranberries had battled depression, but things seemed to be looking up, as she was in London to begin recording a new album, and there were no signs that she was suicidal. No cause of death has yet been released, and the London Met have said that they do not consider her death suspicious. (Translation: The city's police don't believe that foul play was involved.) She was 46.

Fredo Santana, who shared his real name of Derrick Coleman with a former basketball star, died yesterday. He and his cousin Keith Cozart, a.k.a. Chief Keef, were both rappers from Chicago. Fredo had suffered organ damage due to drug use, and, although he had gotten clean, it caught up with him anyway.

He was 27 years old -- the newest member of the infamous "27 Club" that includes, chronologically, blues guitarist Robert Johnson, R&B singer Jesse Belvin, Drifters singer Rudy Lewis, Rolling Stones guitarist Brian Jones, Canned Heat lead singer Alan "Blind Owl" Wilson, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin (the day of Fredo's death would have been her 75th birthday), Doors singer Jim Morrison, Grateful Dead keyboard player Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, Badfinger guitarist Pete Ham, Gits lead singer Mia Zapata, Nirvana leader Kurt Cobain, Hole bass guitarist Kristin Pfaff, Lost Boyz rapper Freaky Tah, Amy Winehouse, and, just a month ago, Kim Jong-hyun, the leader of K-pop (Korean) vocal group Shinee.

*

I have now definitively corrected this countdown:

Days until The Arsenal play again: 4, this Wednesday afternoon at 3:00 PM our time, home to West London club Chelsea, in the 2nd leg of the Semifinal of the League Cup. They drew the away leg 0-0, so a simple win will suffice to send them to the Final on Sunday, February 25, probably against Manchester City. If the score is 0-0 at full time, it goes to extra time; if still 0-0, it goes to penalties. A draw of 1-1 or higher, including in extra time, means Chelsea advance on away goals. Today, Arsenal beat South London club Crystal Palace 4-1, showing what they can do when they don't have to think about Alexis Sanche.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 8, a week from tomorrow night, at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June. Alas...

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 12, on Thursday night, February 1, against the Philadelphia Flyers, at the Prudential Center. They played the Flyers in Philadelphia today, and lost. They next play the New York Islanders on Saturday, February 24, at home. They won't play the New York Rangers again until the last week of the regular season, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 20, on Friday, February 9. Under 3 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 21, on Saturday, February 10, at 7:30 AM our time, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands. But it is 3 weeks away.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 49. They open at home against the Portland Timbers on March 10. Just 7 weeks.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 68, on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 10 weeks.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 72, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 80, on Tuesday, April 10, at Fenway Park.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 105, on Saturday afternoon, May 5, home to New York City FC. Their 1st game against the Philadelphia Union will be on Saturday night, May 26, at Red Bull Arena in Harrison. Their 1st game against the New England Revolution will be on Saturday night, June 2, at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. Their 1st game against D.C. United, and their 1st game ever at the new Audi Field, will be on Wednesday night, July 25.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 145, on June 14. Under 5 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 225. A little over 7 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 225, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 231 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 291, on November 6. Under 10 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 302, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 307, on Thursday, November 22. A little over 10 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 369, on January 23, 2019. Just over a year, or a little over 12 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 504, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little under a year and a half, or under 17 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 734, on January 22, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 919, on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little over 30 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,021, on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or a little over 33 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,099, at noon on January 20, 2021. Exactly 3 years, or 36 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,771, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or about 58 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

Congratulations Andre Dawson

Congratulations to the new Baseball Hall-of-Famers. Yesterday, Andre Dawson was the only player selected by the Baseball Writers Association of America. A month ago, the Hall's Committee on Veterans selected Whitey Herzog, one of the top managers of the 1970s and '80s, and Doug Harvey, easily the most respected living umpire -- and now the only living ump in the Hall.

Dawson should have been an easy choice: From 1977 to 1992, he was one of the very best players in the game. He hit 438 homers despite playing half his career in the cavernous Montreal Olympic Stadium, collected 2,774 hits, and won 8 Gold Gloves despite knees that got hammered on the Big O's hard turf.

If he'd played his whole career with the Cubs, under the Chicago media spotlight, rather than just 6 seasons, he'd be in, just like 1960s-70s Cub left fielder Billy Williams, whom Baseball-Reference.com says is the player most statistically resembling Andre, and who had fewer homers and hits, and has hardly anyone questioning the justice of his election.

Bert Blyleven just missed -- again. I'm sorry, is 287 wins, 3,701 strikeouts, and two World Series rings, while playing a big chunk of your career for weak teams in Minnesota and Texas not good enough? It is good enough.

Roberto Alomar just missed, in his 1st year of eligibility. Mike Francesca of WFAN says Alomar is "a no-brainer" for the Hall of Fame. No, he's not. His Met years may have doomed him. Let's not think he was on the same level as HOF 2nd basemen like Joe Morgan and Ryne Sandberg. He wasn't, even at his best. And that's got nothing to do with his 1996 spitting incident, for which even the aggrieved party, umpire John Hirschbeck, has long ago forgiven him.

Mark McGwire: Up to 23 percent in his 3rd year of eligibility. Forget it.

I saw Andre Dawson hit 2 home runs, and they were both blasts: In 1991, to center field at Shea Stadium for the Cubs against the Mets, as the 2nd half of 10th inning back-to-backs with Sandberg that gave the Cubs a win; and in 1994, over the Green Monster at Fenway Park for the Red Sox against the Blue Jays, a grand slam that gave the Sox a lead they would not relinquish.

He was superbly talented, a team player, class all the way, and this honor is overdue. Congratulations, Hawk.