Hooked On Hockey(04/19/2018)

My first hockey stick was one of my father's old golf clubs. Most likely a seven iron. It was the closest facsimile available when I noticed my friend slapping a whiffle ball up and down the driveway with a worn out Sherwood hockey stick. I eagerly wanted to join the fun so I raced home and fished the club from my father's bag that he stored in our garage.

When I told my grandfather about my newfound favorite sport, he took me to the local hardware store (Brow Hardware) and bought me my first hockey stick. It was a Franklin model with a straight wooden blade. I borrowed a roll of black electrical tape from by father's garage to keep the wooden blade from wearing out.

The Franklin stick was a bottom line model and despite my best effort with electrical tape, I was unable to prevent the blade from cracking. When the blade broke, I was devastated. Hockey sticks were expensive and the chances of me acquiring a new one were remote. Enter the Mylec Corporation.

Mylec is a street hockey equipment manufacturer founded in 1971 by Ray Leclerc, the Father of Street Hockey. The company is dedicated to the development of products designed to simulate ice hockey action, but without the ice. The first product they produced was an inexpensive plastic replacement blade that could be placed at the bottom of the hockey stick shaft. The blade was curved by heating it over a hot stove. Afterwards the blade was placed in cold water to harden the plastic and make the curve permanent. The only down side was the nasty smell from the heated plastic. This wonder product was called a Superblade. I thought that my dad was the handiest man in the world when he drilled holes on each side of the blade to screw it on tight to the shaft of the stick. Instantly I was back in the game.

The whiffle ball also proved to be a problem. It would only last a short time before it would crack and become unusable. Replacements such as tennis and air balls were also inadequate because they bounced and were difficult to control. Mylec to the rescue.

In 1972, Ray Leclerc developed the first "no bounce" street hockey ball. It was bright yellow and we called it the Hot Ball. If the ball hit you in an unprotected area, it stung like hell but it was the perfect ball for our outdoor game.

Our driveway became a hockey arena. Two metal trashcans were transformed into a hockey net. Outside of the stench coming from the inside of the cans the only down side was chasing the ball down the driveway after a goal or wide shot. If you did not reach the ball before it entered the street the ball was in jeopardy of being swallowed by a monster that resided on the street corner - the dreaded sewer. This could be a show stopper. However, the youth of yesterday simply would not allow this. If the "hot ball" went down the sewer we pried open the iron sewer lid and fished the ball out with a rake. Although the ball smelled like a dead fish for a while, the game ensued. This problem was solved with a Mylec street hockey net.

I became a goalie the day my neighbor gave me his used goalie stick that was no longer suitable for ice hockey. The stick was taped with white adhesive and the tape was scored with black from stopping on coming rubber pucks. Although left handed, I played goalie right handed. Only eight NHL goalies have won the Vezina trophy catching the puck right-handed so I had my work cut out for me. The eight are Black Hawks' legend Charlie Gardiner (in 1932 and 1934), the New York Rangers' Davey Kerr (1940), ambidextrous Montreal goalie Bill Durnan (1944-1947, 1949 and 1950), the New York Rangers' Gilles Villemure (1971), Tom Barrasso of the Buffalo Sabres (1984), Edmonton Oilers' Grant Fuhr (1988), José Théodore of the Montreal Canadiens in 2002 and my favorite Tony Espositio of the Chicago Blackhawks in 1970, 1972, and 1974. The Esposito brothers, Phil and Tony, became sponsors of Mylec.

I was able to get by with a right-handed baseball mitt to catch the ball. For a left-handed baseball fielder I was pleased to develop a quick right-hand glove. This served me well since I had no protection for my face (Anyone remember Gump Worsley?). This problem was solved by the Mylec Tony Esposito goalie mask.

This mask was a plastic replica of the one worn for all but 13 of Tony Esposito's 985 NHL games (including the Stanley Cup Playoffs). Jacques Plante popularized the use of the goalie mask in the NHL, wearing one in a game for the first time Nov. 1, 1959, against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden. Other goalies followed suit by adopting facial protection during the 1960s.

Many of the NHL goalies personalized their masks with creative color schemes and logos. I decorated my mask with a series of black stich marks. These marks were used to represent scars that would appear on my face had I not worn the mask. Of course stiches on my mask were not my origination but that of Boston Bruins Hall of Fame goaltender Gerry Cheevers. Later I was able to add additional protection by upgrading my mask to a full head model. I painted it with thick black and yellow stripes as a tribute to the hometown Philadelphia Flyers.

The only other gear that I used were a pair of shin guards to simulate goalie pads. The shin guards allowed sliding when dropping to your knees to make a save. The only problem was that they wore out quickly. If a neighbor discarded a sofa, my friends and I eagerly picked the cushions from the trash and cut them into goalie pads. The foam provided excellent protection but movement was restricted. This problem was rectified when Mylec introduced street hockey goalie pads that resembled the pads used for ice hockey. These pads were made of hard foam and encased in brown plastic. It allowed the goalie freedom of movement with maximum protection and they were extremely durable.

Mylec continued to develop equipment that improved our game. Each year our Christmas tree covered the latest products providing countless hours of enjoyable hockey.

Street hockey was played in all seasons. It was enjoyable and helped keep us physically fit. We spent hours paying outside until we were called for supper. We continued playing until dark with the aid of a street light. We organized our own games and settled disputes without adult intervention. We were hooked on hockey!