1969-70 O-Pee-Chee 187 Johnny Bower Hockey Card (Front)
1969-70 O-Pee-Chee 187 Johnny Bower Hockey Card (Back)
1969-70 O-Pee-Chee NHL Checklist
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Card Notes
Audio Version:
Johnny spent eleven years of his first twelve as a pro, playing in the minor leagues. Toronto gave him a second chance in 1958-59 season and he has starred for the past eleven years with the Leafs.
En Français
Johnny a passé onze ans de ses douze années comme professionnel, dans les ligues mineures. Toronto lui a donné une deuxième chance en 1958-59, et il fut la vedette des Leafs depuis ces onze dernières années.
Details
Between 1945-46 and 1957-58, Johnny Bower appeared in 592 regular season and 55 playoff games in the American Hockey League with the Providence Reds and Cleveland Barons. During that phase of his pro career, Bower also played in 77 games with the New York Rangers, 70 of those during the 1953-54 NHL season.
Over his AHL career, Johnny helped the Barons to two Calder Trophy wins and the Reds to one. He was a three time winner of the Les Cunningham Award as AHL most valuable player and was also a three time winner of the Harry Hap Holmes Award as the league’s top goalie.
Finally, at the age of 33, Bower became a full-time goalie in the National Hockey League with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1958-59. With Toronto, he was a four-time Stanley Cup champion and took home the Vezina Trophy twice.
Between 1953-54 and 1969-70, Johnny Bower played 552 regular season and 74 playoff games in the National Hockey League with the Rangers and Maple Leafs. In that final 1969-70 season, Bower appeared in just a single game.
That final game came against the Canadiens at the Montreal Forum on December 10, 1969. The Habs won 6-3 with Johnny allowing five with Claude Provost scoring the sixth into the empty net with four seconds left in the game. Bower was pummeled with 38 Montreal shots. Serge Savard led the way with six shots and two goals.
Johnny was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976. His jersey number 1 was retired by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 2016 (shared with Turk Broda). The Cleveland Monsters of the AHL have also retired Bower’s number 1 in honour of his time with the Barons. He was inducted into the AHL Hall of Fame in 2006.