Memories of Attending Games at Maple Leaf Gardens
I’ve recently had the good fortune to watch the Toronto Maple Leafs on the road, seeing them take on the Blue Jackets in Columbus, Ohio (Toronto lost) and face the Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina (Toronto lost). Nationwide Arena (Columbus) opened in 2000, while PNC Arena (Raleigh) was finished a year earlier in 1999.
The home of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Scotiabank Arena, also opened its doors in 1999 (at the time known as the Air Canada Centre, or ACC). All three of these hockey arenas have a similar architectural feel, with wide concourses, a variety of overpriced concessions, and a clean, safe corporate type of feel.
Over the last 30 years or so, almost all of the older generation sports venues have been torn down and replaced with modern arenas, ballparks and football stadiums.
Today’s luxuries and conveniences, however, often came at the cost of style and nostalgia.
Old Style Experience of Attending a Toronto Maple Leafs Game
This comparison got me thinking about what it was like to attend Leafs games at the ACC’s predecessor, Maple Leaf Gardens.
The Carleton Street Cashbox. Built in 1931, the Gardens was one of the oldest and most revered hockey rinks in North America (along with similar shrines in the other Original Six cities).
Here’s a few memories that I’m sure many of you share.
Scotiabank Arena is Not Maple Leaf Gardens
The Team
Born in the late 60’s, I suffered with other Leaf fans of my generation the misfortune of growing up in “the Ballard years”.
Harold Ballard was the majority owner of the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1972 until his death in 1990. The man was the poster boy for penny-pinching owners who cared more about making a buck than they did about putting a winner on the ice.
I just had a look back at the season records of those teams, and confirmed my memories that they were not good – just bad and ugly. Any time the Leafs won a few games early in the year, the excitement built that maybe, just maybe, the team might finish over .500 that year.
Usually, the hope died early, and we settled in for another winter of frustration. I don’t know if the Toronto Maple Leafs were the cause of the temper I had in my teens or just an outlet for it – probably a bit of both. Either way, I spent many January Saturday nights yelling at the family television.
There was no salary cap in those days, but no real free agency, either, so it’s not like Ballard could have gone out and used his millions to buy a Stanley Cup. But he could have spent more on scouting, training, coaching, etc to at least give the team some small advantages.
Instead, Ballard’s antics, attitude, avarice and general asshattery rubbed many the wrong way, and resulted in the departures of such Toronto Maple Leafs icons as Dave Keon and Darryl Sittler, among others. On the plus side, it was often entertaining to watch on television (or in person) to see Ballard and his best pal King Clancy holding court during games from “the bunker” (his private box in the lower corner of the arena).
Memories of Maple Leaf Gardens
The Arena
The seats at Maple Leaf Gardens felt even narrower than the ones at Scotiabank, the popcorn was saltier, and the beer was slightly cheaper. The old arenas were built on a steeper grade, so sitting up near the top in the greys wasn’t for those with vertigo. The cheap seat views then were better, though, as it seemed as if you were hanging over the ice.
Even more unsettling than the greys was hanging on for dear life in the blue seats, which were located at the ends of the rink behind each net. These rows went up almost vertically, with guard rails placed between each row to prevent those with balance issues (alcohol induced or otherwise) from tumbling down onto the ice (no netting in those days to prevent pucks from going up, or spectators from coming down).
There was no rock music, or recorded music of any kind, just smooth Jimmy Holmstrom on the organ. The washrooms were old, dirty and crowded. Instead of urinals, there were these big communal troughs (if you know, you know). The escalators to the upper levels were narrow, steep, creaky and kind of intimidating for a child.
The floors were probably mopped occasionally, but they felt like the last time was decades prior. There was no “5 second rule” if you dropped a snack at a Toronto Maple Leafs game. Even a wrapped treat like a chocolate bar, once it fell, would elicit a sigh from Dad, and a “let it be, son, just let it be”.
Rink announcer Paul Morris reported all goals, penalties and “last minute of play” announcements in an even monotone – no hype or excitement. I grew up with his voice on televised Leaf games, thus that was the highest standard for me. I do think current Scotiabank Arena voiceman Mike Ross adds an appropriate amount of enthusiasm to his calls, but some other (American, mostly in sunny climes) teams employ cheerleaders hyped up on Red Bull – no thanks!
Memories of Maple Leaf Gardens
The Tickets
One of the few positives to cheering for a perennial loser during the 1980’s was that it was possible to get tickets. No, not at the box office, the games were all sold out back then too. And no, not online, computers were still something you saw only when watching the Jetsons cartoons on Saturday morning.
To get tickets, you had to brave the crowds and the unsavoury side of downtown Toronto at night, and make a deal with a scalper.
There’s still the odd in-person scalper wandering outside of Scotiabank Arena, but it ain’t like it used to be. Anyone who ever attended a Toronto Maple Leafs at the Gardens will forever recall the feeling of walking the scalper gauntlet just to get into the building.
Dozens of aggressive middle-aged dudes getting right in your face with “You need tickets buddy?”, “Who needs tickets?” “Who’s selling?” Although ticket scalping was illegal, the police mostly left the scalpers alone, but occasionally they would try to run a sting.
This resulted in a verbal dance between scalper and customer. “You want tickets, buddy?” Sure, whatta you got? “What do you want?” Got any reds? Scalper then pulls out his deck of printed tickets, fans through them, and finds an appropriate pair. He looks at you silently, careful not to name his price, ever, lest the customer be a cop.
Then you make him an offer. He laughs at you, insults you, says he has a family to support, etc. You start to walk away, he calls you back, you increase your offer slightly, and the dance continues. You eventually come to terms with him or one of his colleagues, make the exchange, and head happily inside the arena. I was in high school or college at the time, and learned more about negotiating outside Maple Leaf Gardens than I ever did in school.
Scotiabank Arena is Not Maple Leaf Gardens
The Competition
My closest friend at the time was a St. Louis Blues fan (I know, the only one in the GTA), so when the Blues were in town, we’d head downtown and buy a pair of seats on the street, with the agreement that the loser of that night’s game had to pay for the tickets.
Even though the Leafs stunk for all those years, it seemed they would always find a way to beat St. Louis at home, and I’d go for free.
I swear I only ever paid once or twice. On the flip side, my buddy got to see his team hoist the Stanley Cup during his lifetime, while I continue to wait patiently.
Seeing an NHL game at Maple Leaf Gardens was always special somehow. Coming out of the concourse into the seating area and seeing the ice for the first time that night always made me think “Wow, I’m HERE”. It’s possible that feeling came from being younger at the time, but I don’t think so.
Toronto Maple Leafs fans today, myself included, are blessed to have the chance to cheer on a team with enough star power to entertain us every game, win or lose.
Scotiabank Arena is a good place to watch a game, and although it often lacks crowd noise, it’s clean, safe and fun.
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But……..it just isn’t Maple Leafs Gardens.