The Stupid leaf Of The 1950’s
Playing upside down didn't help the leaf of the 1950's
Hey, you read the title but please don’t turn away. The 50’s were important. Stay with me for a second and learn something about NHL history.
There were only six teams in the league throughout the decade that included the 1949-50 through 1958-59 NHL seasons. There were two Canadian based teams and four were American. Luckily, one Canadian team predominated. Otherwise, hockey might be as popular today in Canada, and really, the entire world as professional volleyball.
Two NHL teams ruled the 50’s; The Detroit Red Wings and then the Montreal Canadiens. The Wings won 4 Stanleys, the Canadiens of Montreal, Canada - 5.
Where was the stupid leaf? Oh, probably concentrating on filling the seats. Marketing has always been a big forte of the leaf. They have always let the other teams win while they concentrate on advertising and making money. With Foster Hewitt broadcasting the play-by-play everywhere in English Canada, from coast to coast, including Newfoundland, the leaf was guaranteed to suck in your father and his father and his sister’s cousin twice removed.
The 1950’s for the leaf was in fact their second worst decade. Nothing can compare to the abominable 1980’s where the stupid leaf finished 20th out of 21 teams in regular season winning percentage. But the 50’s were pretty ugly too.
There are 10 years in a decade. DUH! In the 50’s, the Habs won 5 Cups, the Wings - 4. What about the tenth one? Yes, the Stupid leaf won one Cup in 1951 when each team had a one in six chance to win. Bill Barilko scored the winning goal in overtime against the Canadiens. Then, having accomplished the ultimate in life, he decided to do a kamikaze into a big northern Ontario pine tree.
“Where’s Bill?” everyone asked for the rest of the ‘50’s. By the way, listen to the lyrics of a great tune by The Tragically Hip called “Fifty Mission Cap” They describe the Bill Barilko story and how the stupid leaf did not win another Cup until they found Bill’s crashed plane and fully decomposed leaf body 11 years later.
Do stupid leafs decompose as quickly as real maple leaves? Don’t know, probably.
One game of the Stanley Cup Semi-finals in 1951 was voided because it was tied 1-1 after regulation play. Too bad, dictated the law in Ontario. They were not allowed to begin a period of play after midnight. Stupid leaf. Stupid Ontario.
When you’re sitting around having a cold one after your next game of pick-up, use this as a trivia teaser: How many times did the leaf or any leaf player finish first overall in the standings or in the individual scoring race in the 50’s? Then watch all the stupid leafers jump up with some dumb answer, like, “Uhhh, Teeder Kennedy.” The real answer – zero! Notice also that the all-time leaf team record for points in a season is 100 accomplished twice, the first time in the year 2000. The Red Wings had 101 points in just 70 games in 1950-51!
I hate the leaf
Blow leaf blow
Leafhatred.
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