Hockey's Original 6: Great Players of the Golden Era

By Harold Barkley, Mike Leonetti and Jean Béliveau

“Hockey historians will appreciate the precision action shots taken of the first cohort of NHL stars . . . a record of how hockey has evolved.” —Winnipeg Free Press
 
The hockey stars of the 1950s and ’60s—Rocket Richard, Gordie Howe, Dave Keon, Bobby Hull, Jean Beliveau, Terry Sawchuk, Tim Horton, and others—were some of the most passionate players in National Hockey League history. These skillful and often colorful athletes played exhilarating hockey and were national heroes in a time when only six teams and fewer than 150 players battled for the Stanley Cup.
 
Hockey’s Original 6 celebrates the most dynamic players and exciting moments of the era in more than 120 photographs from the legendary Harold Barkley Archives, including a number of never—or rarely seen—images. From 1942 until the early ’70s, Barkley was the Toronto Star’s leading sports photographer. He pioneered the use of electronic flash to capture stop-action hockey, and his dramatic work—both black and white and vibrant color—define the pre-expansion period.
 
Two informative essays by Mike Leonetti—hockey historian, archivist, and prolific sportswriter—set Barkley and the photos in context, and short image captions illuminate the players and their feats. The late hockey legend Jean Béliveau provides a personal and insightful foreword.
 
“Will take your breath away . . . a collection that captures players’ grimaces, suture tracks, missing teeth and Brylcreem-lacquered hair; their primitive equipment, joy and considerable pain, even the depth of snow beneath their tubular-steel blades, the individual planks of lumber that were the arena boards, and the octagonal orange crests on the Tyer Rubber Co. pucks whose impact has smudged the fire-engine-red goalposts.” —The Montreal Gazette

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 9, 2011
• ISBN: 9781553659662

Book preview

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This book is dedicated to the memory of HAROLD BARKLEY (1920–2003), hockey’s greatest photographer

A very special thank you to the family of Harold Barkley: his wife, Rosalind; daughter, Sharon; and sons, Robert and Doug. The Barkley family was very cooperative in reviewing text and in providing photographs as needed. The author and publisher are both very grateful to the entire Barkley family. The author wishes to thank his wife, Maria, and son, David, for their support and understanding. The author would like to thank the following people at Greystone Books for their efforts in putting this book together: Michelle Benjamin, Rob Sanders, Derek Fairbridge, Lucy Kenward, Peter Cocking, and Carra Simpson.

Contents

Foreword: By Jean Béliveau

Hockey’s Golden Era: A Time for Legends

Harold Barkley: Portrait of the Artist

The Original 6

Sources

Foreword

by JEAN BÉLIVEAU

I’VE ALWAYS FELT fortunate to have played hockey when I did. My National Hockey League career, which ran from 1950–71, coincided with the second half of the league’s Original Six era, the period from 1942–67 in which there were only six teams. It was an honor to be one of just 120 players playing NHL hockey. And it was an honor to be a member of the Montreal Canadiens, a team that won five straight Stanley Cups (1956–60)—a record that may stand forever.

As with every young Quebecer, it was my childhood dream to wear the Canadiens jersey. As true then as it is now, young fans around the world wanted to wear the jersey of their hometown team or their favorite hockey hero. It was a dream shared by the players. In my day, money came second; we didn’t worry too much about our contracts, though maybe we should have. What mattered to us at that time was the opportunity to wear the uniform and become part of our beloved teams. That was such a great joy for me, and for all of us who took to the ice in the Original Six era. It’s been sixty years since I first pulled on the bleu-blanc-rouge, a jersey I was privileged to wear through my entire career.

With only six franchises, the tone of the competition was different. Rivalries were more intense than they are today. We played each team fourteen times in a season (seven games at home and seven away), which really allowed the intensity of the match-ups to develop. It also meant we could learn how each team and individual athletes played, and we could adjust our game accordingly. Montreal had a particularly strong rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs, which continues to this day. Along with those contests, I also always enjoyed match-ups against Detroit. The Canadiens and the Red Wings were both strong offensive teams, so fans at those games got to watch great back-and-forth action. I especially liked to face the Alex Delvecchio and Norm Ullman lines, and I also enjoyed playing at the old Detroit Olympia. That rink had the best ice. Unfortunately, like many of the old arenas, the building no longer exists.

But, really, I loved playing against all five teams. Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, and the rest of the Chicago Black Hawks were formidable opponents. Toronto, with Tim Horton in its line-up, was a fast, close-checking team. We always knew that we were in for a tough game with Boston—with Leo Boivin, Johnny Bucyk, and a few others on the ice. And in New York, we watched for Andy Bathgate and his superb scoring touch.

As a Montreal Canadien, I played with some of the best players of the era. The great Maurice Rocket Richard, of course: he and I formed an impressive power-play line with Bert Olmstead or Dickie Moore, and with Doug Harvey and Bernie Boom-Boom Geoffrion on the point. One day, Coach Toe Blake told me that he was