But nevertheless he became just that -- a terror, a scoring machine who pleased not only his fans but the fans of the other teams he faced as well. Ah, but that's too far into our story. To find out how this young lad became so great, let's go back in time. Way back to just a couple of years after he was born.
He was one of five children born to the couple -- four boys and one girl. And he was just 2 years, 10 months old when his pop strapped on a pair of skates to his feet on a November day in 1963 and took him down to the Nith River near his grandparents' farm. His dad had trimmed down a hockey stick so the young toddler could see how it felt. But most of his time on the ice that day was spent more on figuring out how to stand up -- not how to slap a puck.
THIS WAS THE UNIQUE BOND between these two, almost as if destiny had decided that hockey would be their foundation for a lifelong friendship. The father was a worker for the telephone company and the son was a kid who held nothing but respect for his father -- and for his passion for hockey.
"My father never went out. He refused to go anywhere other than with his kids to hockey practices or with my sister (Kim), wherever she went," he said. "He never believed in going out to dinner. Once a year he went out to a New Year's Eve dance to raise money for minor (league) hockey and minor (league) baseball. His life was his kids. He worked 8 to 5, and every night dinner was on at 5:15. That was our life."
And after dinner? Hockey. His father was hooked on hockey and so it was natural for his sons to be, too. They even had a makeshift rink in their back yard and when the evening meal was done, the kid would be out there practicing his shots until dark. And according to one story, if the neighbors left the garage lights on, he sometimes stayed later than that because the rink would be lit enough to see.
WHEN HE WAS 6 YEARS OLD, he got a tryout in the town's Atom League, which basically was set up for 10-year-olds. Yeah, he made that team and played on the third line.
Four years later, when he really had turned 10, everyone was talking about Walter's kid, the one who could play with the best of the kids much older than he. And why not? He had scored 378 goals in an 80-game season, breaking the existing scoring record for his league by 238.
Consider what the first newspaper story about him had to say:
"There's a little No. 9 in this town who has ambitions of replacing the recently retired big No. 9 of the Detroit Red Wings, Gordie Howe. And, as with his hero's prowess in finding the net and beating rival goaltenders, ... (he) has proven he can score goals, too. Now in his fifth novice A season with Brantford's Nadrofsky Steelers, the 4-foot. 10-inch, 70-pound defenseman-winger-center has noticed 369 goals thus far."
In 1975, at the age of 14, he an another player were banned from a league in Toronto because they didn't live in that city. But he was eventually allowed to play for the Young Nats in Junior B hockey, where he won his first Rookie of the Year award.
AND THAT WAS JUST the beginning. He was so good that he averaged almost three points per game when he skated as a 16-year-old center with the Sault. Ste. Marie Greyhounds in the Ontario Hockey Association. He ended up winning another rookie honor -- the Emms Family Award for being the league's top new player in 1978.
But the goal was the pro ranks and the road to reach that goal meant the World Hockey Association.
So, on June 13, 1978, he signed his first pro contract with the Indianapolis Racers of the WHA.
A few months later, on Nov. 2 to be exact, he along with left-winger Peter Driscoll and goalie Eddie Mio were sold to the Edmonton Oilers and Peter Pocklington for $850,000. And NHL history has had to be rewritten ever since.
Who is he? If you don't know, then click here for the rest of this story.
Could you let me know what active MLB player has appeared in the most games without ever appearing in the postseason?
-- From Johnny S., popping his mindsprings at this .com.
Well, John, I thought about it. And thought about it. And thought about it. Then I called "The Show," a friend of mine who likes Durham Bulls ballgames and women working in sports bars. He thought about it, too. Then we started checking record books. And to the best of our combined, nimble knowledge, we come up with Danny Darwin of the White Sox, the pitcher, for playing the most years without going into the postseason and Joe Orsulak of the Expos for playing the most games without being in the postseason.
I am arguing with a guy at work about the Brew Crew. I say they are not an original franchise. Am I right?
-- From Jack T. at a Cheese State .net no doubt.
Yep, you sure are. These Brewers were originally the Pilots, a team that began back in 1969 in Seattle. The named changed in Milwaukee, of course, once home to the Braves, who moved to Atlanta. There had been another team in Milwaukee called the Brewers in 1901, but they moved to St. Louis in 1902 where they became the Browns.
Can you tell me what they used to call Fran Tarkenton?
-- From Shelly S. at a .net in the great state of Ohio.
Um, let's see? Tony Robbins' best friend? King of the Infomercial? The Man Without A Ring? Actually, Shelly, while he may be all that, he also was known as "The Scrambler."
I told you we were going to pull this thing out!
-- From M. Jordan, living on the Air in Chicago.
Hiya, Mike. Glad to see you guys getting it done again. You're gonna be in the Finals, bayeeeeeee-be. And you just might win it again. I think you're due for a loss there, pal, but you never know with the way you guys keep coming back to life.
1) Does he shoot from his left or from his right? Give up?
2) What major NHL record did he break on March 23, 1994? Give up?
3) What's the most goals he ever scored in an NHL season? Give up?
4) How many 60-or-more seasons has he had in pro hockey? Give up?
5) How many All-Star Games has he played in. Give up?
Mike Emmett has been kicking around sports departments in newspapers and online operations around the U.S. for years. Got something to say to the Irishman? Email him with a click here.
Sports Trivia Challenge Archive