Toronto Maple Leafs

I visited the graves of three generations of the Smythe family, each buried in a different cemetery across Toronto and Muskoka. They were a family of achievers, but like many families, they were divided by conflict and discord, and their story has slowly faded from memory. Generation One: Albert Ernest Stafford Smythe Toronto Necropolis Albert […]

In 1927 Charles Querrie sold his majority stake of the St. Pat’s to Conn Smythe who had purchased the team and changed the name to the Toronto Maple Leafs.   *photo of grave taken at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto by Phil Crawford

On my walk last summer at Heavenly Rest Catholic Cemetery in Windsor, Ontario, and with the puck in hand, I discovered the grave of Detroit Red Wing and Toronto Maple Leaf defenceman, Marcel Pronovost.

He was given his nickname because it was noted that his father, who would attend his son’s games, would shout: “That’s mine, boy.”

On my walk to three different cemeteries, I reunited the owners of the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s until the early 1970s.

On my walk at Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto, I discovered the grave of the voice of “hockey”, the great Foster Hewitt.

Red attended St. Mike’s and grew up admiring the Toronto Maple Leafs. He was particularly inspired by the style of their hard-charging defenceman, Red Horner who is coincidentally buried one section over from Red Kelly.