My first sports hero. Memories of listening to games on the radio with my dad. When I was around 10 my dad did some roofing work for Dale and he was nice enough to give my dad one of his used hockey sticks to give to me. Still got it. White TPS Louisville with black tape. Took it out last night and played a little ball hockey in the basement.
Amazing the little things in life great people who reach the limelight can have on on "regular guy's/gal's lives.
I amDucky's age, born in '63, and I am remember getting a chance to play at the old 'barn'-Winnipeg Arena- on a Sat morning. We were a bunch of "wannabe ankle-benders" with make shift uniforms. The Jets were playing later that night, Hockey Night in Canada, and my younger bro, playing with us, shows up with his Jets white jersey with Hawerchuk #10 on the back. A new birthday gift, souvenir jersey he swore he would never wear, but...here he was a few months later wearing it, because we were playing a game at the 'Winnipeg Arena, Hawerchuk's barn! We all had dark jerseys on our team and my bozo bro shows up with his whiteHawerchuk Jets jersey!
Anyways, we're playing away, making a farce of pure hockey for sure. My bro all of a sudden disappears to the end boards, where the Zamboni would come out banging on the glass. A worker opens the door and let's him off.
None of us saw why? But he was vindicated later ( after the game as he never came back to the ice). Turns out he saw Ducky and Scott Arniell standing in the aisle there watching.
Dale had noticed him in his jersey and had acknowledgedhim with a wave, smile. Turns out my bro went to find him and instead of dissing him as an obnoxious fan, Ducky signed his White Jets jersey, told him to take it off and head to their gear room.
Hawerchuk gave him a Blue Jets practise jersey with #10 Hawerchuk on the back. He signed that one too! Told him to be good and cheer on the Jets!
Damn rights we cheered on the Jets!! And we all cheered on Dale Hawerchuk as a star and a wonderful person for fans, kids and Winnipeg. My bro swore to be a better, nicer brat after yhat meeting Ducky. We even cheered for Buffalo, when He became a Sabre, a hockey hero of the 80's for Winnipeg, for sure!
RIP Dale. A true mentor to youth and hockey "wannabes" and "actual are-be's", Scheifele, Tanner Pearson, etc.