1968-69 O-Pee-Chee 122 Johnny Bower Hockey Card (Front)
1968-69 O-Pee-Chee 122 Johnny Bower Hockey Card (Back)
1968-69 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Perhaps the most remarkable athlete in hockey, Bower has played 10 years for Toronto after being considered “washed up” in 1958. His lifetime goals against average is under 2.50, the best in the game today. Broke into the NHL with New York.
En Français
Peut-être l’athlète le plus remarquable du hockey, Bower a joué pendant 10 ans pour Toronto après avoir été considéré comme “fini” en 1958. Sa moyenne de buts comptés contre lui est inférieure à 2.50, la meilleure dans la Ligue jusqu’à ce jour. Débuta dans la LNH avec New-York.
Details
When it was done for Johnny Bower in the NHL two years later, his career GAA stood at 2.52 after 21 games on a mediocre Toronto Maple Leafs team over 1968-69 and 1969-70. He finished up his NHL career with 37 shutouts and a pretty impressive .922 save percentage.
“Washed up” in 1958 would be pretty accurate. After playing all 70 games for the New York Rangers in 1953-54, his first year in the NHL, Bower played just seven more games with the club over the next three seasons. In fact, before the Maple Leafs picked him up for the 1958-59 season, Johnny had already played more games in the AHL than he would over his entire NHL career.
Between 1953-54 and 1969-70, Johnny Bower appeared in 552 regular season and 74 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Rangers and Maple Leafs. In the American Hockey League, he played 592 regular season and 55 playoff games between 1945-46 and 1957-58 with the Providence Reds and Cleveland Barons. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976 and his jersey number 1 has been retired by Toronto.