The Weirdest Most Outrageous Toronto Maple Leafs Items Ever Made

Busts of Former Toronto Maple Leafs Made From Toothpaste

Some fans may believe that their collection of memorabilia is complete, but is it really without a miniature bust of your favourite player?

An artist decided that the 1971-72 NHL season needed to be captured in a fun and unique way. Perhaps, the epiphany came while brushing their teeth. The artist decided the best way to do it was to create something never been done before. What made these busts truly one of a kind was that it was believed that they were constructed out of Colgate toothpaste.

Those busts included a smiling Norm Ullman. This is a player who centered a line of Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay for the Detroit Red Wings before being traded along with Paul Henderson and Floyd Smith to the Leafs. Perhaps, it’s no accident that Henderson has also been immortalized in toothpaste as well.

Going the other way in the deal was the Big M, Frank Mahovlich. And, you guessed it, there’s a Colgate bust of him as well. This artist, or perhaps it was multiple sculptors since it is unclear who created this unique art, has also made Leafs goaltending legend Jaques Plante.

These players were included as part of a set of hockey busts from 1971-72. They are only one and a quarter inches high with a base that’s smaller than an inch. It was believed that these busts were actually made out of toothpaste, but the truth is that they were made of plastic.

These busts were part of a promotion, where those who bought Colgate toothpaste tubes in the winter of 1972 got to also take home the tiny head of a hockey hero. There was an error in series, where some of the Ullman busts had a spelling error. His name was written with two ‘N’s on the end.

This minty fresh series may not have been made from toothpaste but it does remain very unique set of art.