re: Two more hockey players joinned me yesterday !
Philatelia said:
"No helmet or face guard for the goalie? That must be from waaaay back in the "olden" days. Yikes!!!"
I think the last goalie without a mask was in the early 1970s, which to me, isn't that way back in the olden days. I remember the Gumper, Terry Sawchuck, and the immortal Jacques Plante (who first donned the mask in the 50s I think) and these were fearless goaltenders in the days where you had Bobby Hull, Maurice Richard, and Gordie Howe slapping shots at you. Truly amazing and scary.
re: Two more hockey players joinned me yesterday !
The Gump Worsely photo is legit for sure. Neither he nor Bauer wore a mask.
I have a Gump Worsely hockey card from 1969. By then he was playing for another team (Minnesota?) He was still playing maskless then. But I think he retired soon after.
So the picture in the habs jersey is from before 1969 anyway.
I don't see why the Bauer picture would be posed. Looks real to me.
re: Two more hockey players joinned me yesterday !
These are definitely not posed photos. I believe Goalies didn't wear face masks regularly until latter part of the sixties. Before that they were only worn to protect existing injuries. I actually saw an old film once of Gump Worsley stopping a puck with his face as he lay prone across the front of the net. Not only did he stop it, but he "headed" it towards the corner of the rink soccer style.
I think goalies only wised up when players like Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita came into the league and discovered that their shots were much harder (and higher) when they curved the blade of their sticks. Before that, all players used straight-bladed sticks and the puck stayed at ice level much of the time.
Having being hit in the face with errant pucks a couple of times in my younger hockey-playing days, and having the scars to show for it, I still find it hard to believe that goalies once faced professional shooters bare-faced!
re: Two more hockey players joinned me yesterday !
One more goalie story (can't you tell I collect hockey topicals!)
The goalie for the Boston Bruins (my team) in the early 1970s was Gerry Cheevers. He did wear one of the old-style flat white masks. However, every time he got hit in the mask with a puck he marked a "scar" on his mask where the stitches would have been if he hadn't been wearing the mask.