The 1928 Willard's Chocolate set issued cards for 4 team members; Dunc Munro, Hooley Smith, Harry Watson and Ernie Collett; but left out Jack Cameron, Bert McCaffrey, Harold McMunn, Beattie Ramsey and Cyril Slater. In addition the team coach was Frank Rankin and the manager was William Hewitt, Foster's father. Here is my 1928 Willard's Chocolates CTNW Canadian Olympic CTNW set.
James "Jack" Cameron played in 3 of the 5 games Team Canada participated in but he saw little action. Due to the lengthy stretches of action in the opposition's zone, Cameron was said to have made the most of his time by frequently skating to the side boards of the outside arena to chat with young ladies watching the game. Other than his Olympic career very little is available on Cameron's playing days.
Harold McMunn played with the Winnipeg Junior Falcons from 1919 to 1923 and was a member when they became the first western junior team to win the Memorial Cup. He was picked up by the Granites shortly prior to the 1924 Winter Olympics to help balance out the rest of the team. He played in four games and scored five goals during the Olympic tournament but in 1925-26 he was back in Winnipeg playing in the CHL with the Winnipeg Maroons.
Cyril Slater was a late addition to the team prior to the Olympics playing in 4 games and notching 4 goals. He played for the Montreal Victorias from 1916 until at least 1933 and later moved to Norway.
William A. Hewitt was the sports editor at the Toronto Star but was also active in Canadian and international hockey. His Olympic tenure was impressive as he managed the gold-medal winning Winnipeg Falcons (1920), Toronto Granites (1924), and Toronto Varsity Grads (1928). At the 1920 Games in Antwerp, Belgium, Hewitt also served as a referee in a match between the host country and Sweden.
Peggy Lee was born Norma Dolores Egstrom in Jamestown, North Dakota, on May 26, 1920. At age four her mother died and as a youngster Peggy worked as a milkmaid, later turning to singing for money in her teens. While singing on a local radio station in Fargo, the program director there suggested she change her name to Peggy Lee. Peggy's big break came when Benny Goodman hired her to sing with his band after hearing her perform. Peggy shot to stardom when she and Goodman cut the hit record "Why Don't You Do Right?" and went out on her own to record such classics as "Fever", "Lover", "Golden Earrings", "Big Spender" and "Is That All There Is?" - the latter winning her a Grammy Award in 1969.
Lawrence Welk was born in the German-speaking community of Strasburg, North Dakota and left school during fourth grade to work full-time on the family farm. Welk decided on a career in music and persuaded his father to buy a mail-order accordion for $400. He promised his father that he would work on the farm until he was 21, in repayment for the accordion. Any money he made elsewhere during that time, doing farmwork or performing, would go to his family. On his 21st birthday, having fulfilled his promise to his father, Welk left the family farm to pursue a career in music. From then until 1971 Lawrence Welk and "The Lawrence Welk Show" were heard all across America.
Dave Hakstol was head coach of the University of North Dakota men's ice hockey team for 11 seasons. Hakstol played for the Fighting Sioux from 1989 to 1992 and in the International Hockey League for five years before becoming a coach. In his tenure as North Dakota's head coach, he led the team to the NCAA Frozen Four seven times. Hakstol was honored with conference coach of the year awards in 2009 and 2015, and was an eight-time finalist for national coach of the year. On May 18, 2015, it was announced that Hakstol would become the Philadelphia Flyers' 19th head coach. Hakstol is the first head coach to go directly from the NCAA to the NHL since 1982.
Lorne Davis had a 14-year professional hockey career, six of which were spent in the National Hockey League. He got his first taste of NHL experience in 1952-53 appearing in three games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring a goal and an assist. Davis played one more year in Montreal, moving between the Canadiens and the Royals of the QHL. In 1954-55, he played with both the Detroit Red Wings and the Chicago Blackhawks. The next NHL stop for Davis was with the Boston Bruins in 1955-56, where he played in 15 games. Davis continued to play pro hockey in the American Hockey League for the next several years and did not play another NHL game until the 1959-60 season when he suited up for ten games with the Bruins. He also would never have a card issued.
Ed Chadwick played 184 NHL games over 6 seasons, all but 4 of them as a Maple Leaf. Traded to Boston by Toronto for Don Simmons, January 31, 1961, Chadwick played four games with the Boston Bruins in 1961-62. That was his last year playing in the NHL. He would never have a Bruins card issued.
Ron Buchanan successfully followed in his father Bucky's footsteps by making it to the NHL, and although his stay was short, he outlasted his father's tenure by four games. In 1964-65, Buchanan turned pro with the Minneapolis Bruins of the CPHL and then played for two seasons in Oklahoma City of the CPHL before getting the call to play for the Boston Bruins for three games in 1966-67, where he was held off the scoresheet. Over the next three years, Buchanan toiled in the minors with the Kansas City Blues and the Quebec Aces of the AHL before getting the opportunity to play two more games in the NHL, this time with the St. Louis Blues in 1969-70. Once again he was held pointless. That was the last time Buchanan played in the NHL but he would get 5 seasons in the WHA where he got his only 2 hockey cards.
Mike Byers would play 166 NHL games with Toronto, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and Buffalo before jumping to the WHA's Los Angeles Sharks in 1972-73. He would play 263 WHA games before that league folded. He had cards issued in the 1970-71 and 1971-72 sets, both in a Kings uniform. I had previously created his Maple Leafs CTNW rookie, here are his Flyers and WHA Sharks CTNW creations.
Mark Messier was a big kid, just 16 and weighing close to 200 pounds and his talent was so obvious that he skipped major junior and college hockey altogether. The Indianapolis Racers of the World Hockey Association gave him a five game tryout when he was a 17 year-old in 1978. Though he failed to register a point and was released by the Racers just before the franchise folded, he did celebrate his 18th birthday in the pro ranks after the Cincinnati Stingers, a competing WHA team, signed him as a free agent and he played 47 games for that team. In 1979 he was selected by the Edmonton Oilers as the team's second choice, 48th overall in the NHL's Entry Draft and his rise to stardom followed. Here is a WHA CTNW creation of Messier as a Racer.
Thanks again to both Danny Hamill and Bob Mooney Jr. for there requests and support.
You can purchase these cards, or any of my Missing Link creations, for $10 each postpaid, or $7.95 for 3 or more. Email me at: [email protected], volume discounts available on larger orders.