I should have done this Wednesday, but I don’t think as fast as I used to.
Today, I’m wearing my authentic-game worn-autographed-Kirk Maltby-Detroit Red Wings jersey.
Truthfully, based on what I paid for it, it might be my most valuable possession.
On New Year’s Eve, 2003, The Red Wings played the Atlanta Thrashers in an NHL game at the Joe Louis Arena. But this was no ordinary game.
The jerseys for both the Red Wings & the Thrashers were adorned with a # 37 to honor the memory of former Owen Sound Plater captain Dan Snyder who had passed away in the Fall of that year in Atlanta after a much publicized car crash.
The NHLPA took the sweaters from that game and staged an on-line eBay auction with proceeds going directly to The Dan Snyder Memorial Scholarship.
With Maltby & Snyder both being former Owen Sound captains, it struck me at the time that somebody from Owen Sound needed to win the Maltby jersey from both a sporting and an historical standpoint.
And so we bid more than anyone else, and today, for just the 2nd time in 6 years, I’m wearing the Red Wing sweater to honor the solid NHL career of Kirk Maltby.
I could talk further about OHL goals, NHL goals and Stanley Cups, but instead I’ll leave with this.
When the Platers moved from Guelph to Owen Sound in 1989, there were 15 OHL teams, a little more than 300 players.
Of those OHL’ers who advanced to the NHL from the OHL class of 1989-90, only Sean O’Donnell & Adam Foote have had longer careers in The Show.
And being both a competitive person and a team guy, Kirk Maltby would tell you neither of those two won 4 Stanley Cups.
I’m Fred Wallace