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Top 5 Most Beloved Toronto Maple Leafs of All-Time

By Stephen Nixon

TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 15: Retired Maple Leaf legend Doug Glimour watches as his #93 is formally retired and raised to the rafters prior to action between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in an NHL game on October 15, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ON - OCTOBER 15: Retired Maple Leaf legend Doug Glimour watches as his #93 is formally retired and raised to the rafters prior to action between the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Boston Bruins in an NHL game on October 15, 2016 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Leafs defeated the Bruins 4-1. (Photo by Claus Andersen/Getty Images) /
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TORONTO, ON – JANUARY 05: Statues of former Toronto Maple Leafs goalies Johnny Bower and Turk Broda  (Photo by Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images) /

#1. Johnny Bower

What’s not to love about Johnny Bower? Playing well into his 40s, Bower made Tom Brady look young by how long he played in the NHL.

Nicknamed, “The China Wall,” it was tough to score a goal on the brilliant net-minder, who led the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cups during his career. Despite his popularity in the 1960s with the Toronto Maple Leafs, that stardom and love got stronger as the years passed.

Even those fans who were 80 years younger than Bower fell in love with him because of how nice of a human-being he was. He always had time for a fan and the thing that made him so special was his autograph. If you ever got a signature from Bower, you knew it was his because of how legible it was.

Some players today sign their autograph like a doctor on a prescription pad, and the only way you know it’s that player is if they put their number above it. Bower, on the other hand, made sure that his signature was written in perfect cursive, because that’s how special that moment meant for him and for the fan. If someone wanted your autograph, you better make it legible.

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Bower’s public service after he died was one of the most special moments I can remember in recent years. Being in the building for that and then also watching the video tribute prior to the Leafs playing the Tampa Bay Lightning on January 2, 2018 was so special as there wasn’t a dry eye in the crowd that night.

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