The Most Beloved Maple Leaf

By HOWARD BERGER

TORONTO (Nov. 8) - Hockey folklore abounds in this city, where no correlation exists between a 44-year Stanley Cup drought and the appetite for our national game.

Be it a cold, damp arena before sunrise in winter's interminable grip, or a jammed Air Canada Centre bathed in florescence on a Saturday night, hockey governs the social fabric. Amid this environment, one person stands ubiquitously above the fray as the most recognizable and beloved ambassador of the sport: Johnny Bower - celebrating his 87th birthday today, but with the drive and energy of a person half that age.

Whereas names and faces of those having worn the Leafs jersey in the '80s and '90s are either forgotten or without renown, Bower prevails - transcending both gender and generation. More than 40 years after hanging up his goalie pads - he played his final game on Dec. 10, 1969, in Montreal - the native of Prince Albert, Sask. remains the primary face; the conscience of - and connection to - the Leafs last encounter with glory. He stood resolutely between the pipes during the Stanley Cup reign of Punch Imlach in the 1960s - the central figure on four championship teams in a six-year span (1962-63-64 and '67).

In the first triumph, an injury compelled Bower to share goaltending chores with Don Simmons. For the latter, he combined magnificently with fellow Hall-of-Famer Terry Sawchuk. Otherwise, he was the last line of defense: recurrently acknowledged, by Imlach, as the club's most vital; least exchangeable component.

But, Johnny Bower the athlete - as marvelous as he was - is dwarfed by Johnny Bower the person. "He might be the nicest man walking the Earth today," Pat Quinn once told me during his reign as GM and coach of the Leafs (1998-2006). Quinn and Bower were teammates during the 1968-69 and 1969-70 seasons - the former, a young, smash-mouth defenseman; the latter, a kindly legend in his own time, whose vision led to an impromptu change of plans. "I retired because I couldn't see anymore," Bower chuckles when asked why he left the game midway through the '69-70 season, at the tender age of 45.

Peering today through glasses thick enough to find Comet Halley, Bower hardly presents the figure of a man that once stood at the forefront of his profession. He is simply the longest-serving Leaf of all time - having been with the franchise as a player, scout, goaltending coach and ambassador for more than 53 years.

Invariably, whenever a charity; a service group; a minor-hockey organization or a sports collector's show requests a member of the Leafs' alumni, Bower's name is mentioned. He has never learned the meaning of "no". Most octogenarians - if blessed both physically and mentally - wouldn't dream of assuming Bower's schedule. But, the greatest of all Leaf goalies refuses to slow down. "John can't sit in a chair for more than 10 minutes," says Nancy, his wife of 63 years (their anniversary celebrated last Friday).

As such, there was Bower, exiting the back of a limousine on Sunday afternoon in north-Toronto - called upon by a group raising funds for Sick Kids Hospital. The neighborhood had been buzzing for more than a week about its celebrated visitor and nearly 300 residents flocked to a home on Ramblewood Dr. to greet the fabled Leaf.

Who else but a man creeping up on 90 would then be in Calgary the following day - a guest of the new Canadian Sports Hall of Fame?

JOHNNY BOWER (WITH LIMO DRIVER TRAILING) APPROACHES FUND-RAISER IN THORNHILL ON SUNDAY.

Numerous balding men - grandfathers today; teenagers during the Leafs dynasty of the '60s - swab layers of dust off old hockey souvenirs to line up for Bower's autograph. But, the children... born three decades after the goaltender's retirement, confound with their starry-eyed gazes; squirming amid one another to reach the front of the autograph queue. Ask them about Doug Gilmour, Wendel Clark or Mats Sundin and eyebrows raise with uncertainty. Johnny Bower, they know. Everyone knows Johnny Bower, because he has made it his life's ambition to stay connected with Leaf fans of all ages; to give back a little something here; a little something there, for the adoration so richly earned in his playing days. Watching Johnny with the young ones - so gentle; so accommodating - you wonder if there ever can be another of his ilk.

Happy birthday, China Wall.

JOHNNY BOWER AND TODAY'S YOUTH: MUTUAL ADORATION.

BOWER CAME ARMED WITH SEVERAL-HUNDRED OF THE ABOVE PHOTO-CARDS ON SUNDAY, AND SPENT 90 MINUTES FULFILLING EVERY AUTOGRAPH REQUEST. ORGANIZERS URGED HIM TO STOP AFTER THE AGREED-UPON TIME OF ONE HOUR, BUT THE KIND, GENTLE LEAFS LEGEND WOULDN'T DREAM OF DISAPPOINTING A FAN. THAT'S JOHNNY'S OLD STANLEY CUP TEAMMATE - TIM HORTON - ROUNDING THE NET BEHIND HIM IN PHOTO FROM THE MID-'60s.

IT IS ALWAYS A PRIVILEGE TO BE IN JOHNNY BOWER'S COMPANY. UNLIKE OTHER FAMOUS ATHLETES - CURRENT OR FORMER - THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FORCED HUMILITY WITH THIS MAN... ONLY A PASSION FOR LIFE AND PEOPLE.

JOHNNY POSES ABOVE WITH PETER KENT, CONSERVATIVE MEMBER OF PARLIAMENT FOR THE RIDING OF THORNHILL AND MINISTER OF THE ENVIRONMENT IN STEPHEN HARPER'S CABINET.

WITH HIS 87th BIRTHDAY ON THE IMMEDIATE HORIZON, BOWER IS PRESENTED A CAKE BY ORGANIZER'S OF THE SICK KIDS EVENT.