While I always knew how successful Johnny Bower was as a leading goaltender in the AHL, this memoir taught me something new: Johnny was very happy there! And, with typical retirement age for athletes not far away after he turned 30 years of age, Johnny Bower contentedly expected to finish his hockey career with the Cleveland Barons. It was at the suggestion of others that he took seriously the chance to join Punch Imlach's Toronto Maple Leafs, ostensibly at first to mentor younger netminders.
All told, what surprised and informed me most was the overall attitude that governs this memoir: Johnny seems to have been able to take everything in stride, with equanimity. The book recalls Johnny Bower's life, on and off the NHL ice, as he lived it: one grand package made of hockey, family, expectations, surprises, contingency plans, etc.
Having grown up watching the televised Johnny Bower in the Maple Leaf nets every Saturday night, I remember that he somehow exuded mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, no matter what difficult situation opposing teams created around his goal crease. That secure feeling seemed to transmit itself into Bill or Foster Hewitts voiceover when theyd gasp first, then relax, saying Ooooooo . . . and Bowwww- . . . Er . . . stopped that!
This memoir surprised me in many ways due to this equanimity of attitude. Hockey season paychecks stop in the summer months? No problem! The Bower Family packed up the car and drove north for the summer: Bowers Big Boy was my restaurant and coffee shop in Waskesiu, Saskatchewan. They came from miles away for my world famous hamburgers, writes Johnny Bower, the China Wall.
All told, what surprised and informed me most was the overall attitude that governs this memoir: Johnny seems to have been able to take everything in stride, with equanimity. The book recalls Johnny Bower's life, on and off the NHL ice, as he lived it: one grand package made of hockey, family, expectations, surprises, contingency plans, etc.
Having grown up watching the televised Johnny Bower in the Maple Leaf nets every Saturday night, I remember that he somehow exuded mental calmness, composure, and evenness of temper, no matter what difficult situation opposing teams created around his goal crease. That secure feeling seemed to transmit itself into Bill or Foster Hewitts voiceover when theyd gasp first, then relax, saying Ooooooo . . . and Bowwww- . . . Er . . . stopped that!
This memoir surprised me in many ways due to this equanimity of attitude. Hockey season paychecks stop in the summer months? No problem! The Bower Family packed up the car and drove north for the summer: Bowers Big Boy was my restaurant and coffee shop in Waskesiu, Saskatchewan. They came from miles away for my world famous hamburgers, writes Johnny Bower, the China Wall.
