Ron Hurst, the oldest living Maple Leaf, continues his storybook career

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For a dollar a day’s pay, not including his TTC bus token to Maple Leaf Gardens, Ron Hurst thought he was in NHL heaven.

“They treated me wonderfully,” Hurst said of answering the first of many Leafs call-ups 70 years ago. “But my first game, I got hit in the eyebrow by a puck, just sitting on the bench in New York. George Armstrong saw it coming and ducked. He had better reflexes than me.”

The diminutive-but-muscular 5-foot-9 right winger was stitched up and completed his debut, one of many great yarns Hurst can spin as the oldest living Leaf. A few months shy of his 94th birthday, he could count Armstrong — the club’s original ‘Chief,’ the franchise games played leader and team’s most recent Stanley Cup captain — among many friends and teammates in a who’s who of the hockey world.

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Hurst and Armstrong were on the 1949-50 junior Toronto Marlboroughs, coached by Hall of Famer Bob Davidson with Larry Regan, later the first general manager in Los Angeles Kings history and first head of NHL Alumni. Hurst’s second year introduced him to future Leafs such as Ron Stewart, Eric Nesterenko and Earl Balfour.

Senior hockey in the Martimes in Saint John and Charlottetown provided vital experience, alongside Leafs such as Pete Langelle, a hero in the ‘42 Cup, which rallied from an 0-3 hole in the final. Coach John (Peanuts) O’Flaherty, another ex-Leaf, advised Hurst to stop running over foes and stick to his scoring strengths.

Closer to home with the Soo Greyhound seniors, Hurst’s goalie was Ed Chadwick, about to be No. 1 in Toronto before Johnny Bower’s arrival.

Hurst had played local Jr. B, but was realistic that a six-team NHL only held limited job opportunities. Before his first summoning to the Marlies, his dual athletic pursuits included halfback on the Weston Collegiate Ironmen — 12 tough kids who played all 60 minutes on offence and defence. That put him on the verge of a football scholarship to Queen’s University.

In the midst of entrance exams, the Leafs-sponsored Marlies offered him a job. Joking that the buck-a-day was all the incentive needed to stay on ice, the youngest of seven sports-minded kids unpacked his skates.

Ron had wanted to one day emulate brother Art of the Kitchener Dutchmen, Canada’s 1956 Olympic Games hockey entry in Italy.

“He’d always talks about Art and how strong he was,” Ron’s daughter Megan said. “Art used to do pushups as a teenager with my Dad sitting on his back.”

Ron’s final pre-Leafs stop was 1955-56 on their Pittsburgh Hornets AHL affiliate. Coached by the great Howie Meeker before his promotion to Toronto, Hurst was among 10 players on their way up or down the Leafs chain who’d play anywhere from 1-100 games in coming years. Hurst adopted Meeker’s crew-cut hair style and kept it his whole career.

The minors held enough talent for expansion had the six-team NHL not waited another decade and, when autumn injuries struck, Hurst, Stewart and Jack Bionda were among those summoned by the Leafs for a game in New York. He received $10 per game and $27 for a back-to-back.

Hurst survived that puck in the face — not recalling if a Leaf or Ranger who fired it into the bench — to assist on Dick Duff’s first-period goal. In his Gardens debut versus the Canadiens, Ron had a go-ahead goal on Jacques Plante.

Video archivist Paul Patskou found footage of it with linemate Billy Harris fishing the puck from Plante’s net to give to Hurst, though both watched Rocket Richard pot the Habs’ winner.

As a Leaf, Hurst was subject to Armstrong’s many pranks, such as switching everyone’s dentures in the room when no one was around. It was an Armstrong injury that had unwittingly helped Hurst extend his NHL shot, as did Gerry James’ decision to split that season with the CFL’s Winnipeg Blue Bombers. Hurst turned it into an impressive 10 points in 10 games.

Coach King Clancy called him a revelation, while after another spirited night against New York, its coach, Phil Watson, remarked Hurst “kicked the devil out of three of my left wingers … we’re wondering, who is this little guy?”

Sportswriters gave Hurst nicknames such as Brawny Ronny and The Try Guy because his work ethos kept saving him from demotion.

“I get that spirit from my father,” he insisted.

William Hurst was wounded in France in World War I. Last seen by comrades laying on the battlefield, he was presumed dead and wife Mable received a letter from authorities to that effect. Two months later, the family heard he’d made it to safety and came home to a long recovery at Toronto’s Sunnybrook Hospital.

Ron was too young to serve with his siblings in the Second World War, though Art was in the Royal Canadian Navy, Bill the Air Force and Jack the Army. His three sisters married Canadian servicemen, Dorothy working in a Toronto ammunition factory.

He ended ‘55-56 with 12 points in 50 games and two playoff assists in three games. But there was more job competition at forward next season with Sid Smith, Stewart, James, Duff, Bob Pulford, Barry Cullen, Tod Sloan (Dave Keon’s cousin) and the brief return of Hall of Fame captain Teeder Kennedy.

Hurst was held to 14 games, but spent time on their Rochester farm team with more 1960s dynasty Leafs: Bob Baun, Harris and Bob Nevin. Future NHL coaches Al McNeil and Mike Nykoluk were on the Americans, too.

Hurst played a couple of more AHL years with Hershey (including roguish forward Forbes Kennedy) until a broken leg ended his career, limiting him to oldtimers’ games.

He did well as a stockbroker and in real estate, enough for Ron and wife Beryl to purchase a farm outside of Toronto near Newcastle. He tries to attend monthly NHL Alumni lunches at which he’s a guest speaker of old locker room stories and jokes (cover your ears, ladies).

“When informed he was the oldest Leaf, he was so proud,” said Megan, youngest of Ron’s four kids who produced a combined 13 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.  “He tells everybody he meets.”

Hurst now lives in a retirement home in Streetsville, Ont., but his friendship with mates such as Duff endures. When Ron had a bad fall recently, Duff cheered him up with a visit and a Leafs sweater signed by the Alumni.

As for today’s Leafs and NHL, Ron watches games and follows club news, but he’s more interested in baseball and what his favorite player, Shohei Ohtani, is doing with the Dodgers.

“It’s a whole different game, salaries are just wicked,” he noted. “But all things are very different now, aren’t they?”

Some Ron Hurst tales. You don’t hear hockey tales such as these anymore:

PAYING THE PRICE

Hurst and fellow farmhand Noel Price were spending the day before a road game tipping a few pints across the street from the team hotel. The over-served Price spotted some members of the Brown University football team at dinner, decided they didn’t look so tough and proceeded to pick a fight.

Hurst recalled one hulking player took a hard punch from Price and didn’t even look up from his meal, but others obliged with Hurst getting involved.

When police arrived to break it up, Hurst tried diplomacy, explaining they were hockey players who’d be suspended if news of a brawl got out, taking responsibility to get the inebriated Price back to the hotel.

The cops were about to give them a break, but when Price saw the officer huddling with Hurst, he bellowed “get your f***ing hands off my friend Ron!”

That touched off Round 2 and both Leafs were tossed in the paddywagon and spent the night in jail.

Released at 7 a.m., they rushed back to the hotel just as coach Hap Day came downstairs to the lobby, remarking how pleased he was to see two young players up so early on game day.

“He never found out the truth,” Hurst said.

ICE CAPADES

Hurst was kept on the bench to start another game at Madison Square Garden when Day told him to warm up for the second period.

With lights dimmed Hurst took some laps, receiving plenty of boos from the home crowd. The nervous Hurst went to take a shot, fell on his rear and skidded several feet. The faux pas caused so much laughter that Hurst did it again, this time getting up speed for a longer slide into the empty net, getting more roar from the seats.

In the dressing room, Day was trying to keep the team’s attention for a chalk talk, but the crowd noise was distracting. When he found out his own player was hamming it up, he threatened to kick Hurst off the team.

TIM HORTON’S GLOVE SAVE

Hurst was around long enough to get one of the iconic Beehive Golden Corn Syrup collectable photographs, which pre-dated the hockey card craze.

Being a rookie, Hurst forgot to bring his gloves to the shoot. As the players were snapped in alphabetical order, the great defenceman Tim Horton was before him. Ron asked to borrow his gloves and the pic became a true keepsake for Hurst and family, pictured with Horton’s No. 7 mitts.

In the ‘90s, the Parkhurst company created a set of cards for ‘56-57, the so-called ‘missing link’ season as none were produced. Hurst never had any card and was very excited as were his grandchildren waiting for their release.

But he became the missing link in the missing link as his Leafs portrait was omitted. Hurst had planned to donate his $2,000 royalty to charity and a special card was eventually made for him.

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