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I was saddened this morning to hear about passing of hockey legend Ted Lindsay at the age of 93. To me, Mr. Lindsay embodied not just the brand of hard-nosed hockey he played during his Hall of Fame career but a legacy of fighting for what he believed.
The hockey world is a small one. Ted Lindsay was one of the last living hockey people who personally knew my grandfather, the late Bill Stewart. Although Grampy was no longer coaching or refereeing in the NHL by the time Detroit's famous "Production Line" emerged, he was still very much around the game at that time despite his Major League Baseball commitments. Perhaps that is at least partially why, many years later, Ted personalized a photo he autographed for me by saying that I was one of only two refs he ever liked!
Along with the late Gordie Howe and the late World War II veteran Sid Abel, Lindsay's "Production Line" was one of the top trios the NHL has ever seen. Apart from their considerable skills, the combo of Gordie and "Terrible Ted" also made the line one of the toughest of all time. Although I was born and raised in Boston, Gordie in particular was one of my idols growing up and I always had immense respect for the way all three players on his line played the game.
Something else I always admired about Ted Lindsay: his willingness to stand up for what he believed to be right. Today's NHL players owe a debt of gratitude to Mr. Lindsday for the role he played in the formation of what evolved into the National Hockey League Players' Association. He had to initiate an anti-trust lawsuit claim against the NHL and go to the mat with the sultan-like Conn Smythe and others, but eventually the players gained a semblance of rights including a league minimum salary standard, a pension plan schedule, and an end to teams being able to use the cancellation of a contract as a threat team owners could wield over an injured player if he deemed himself unable to play due to his injury.
It was a start. Players were bound to the same team (barring trade) for the duration of their careers via hockey version's of the reserve clause. Free agency was still a long way off, although the league opposed the Players' Association formation on the basis that all players were "independent contractors" and not team employees, thus both having and eating their cake at the same time. But at least now players had at least some semblance of basic rights, protections and benefits that later generations of players take for granted.
NHL players vote on the Ted Lindsay Award (formerly named after the late Canadian prime minister and former amateur hockey player and coach Lester Pearson) to select the league MVP. The media votes on the Hart Trophy for the same purpose. However, how many players know or understand what Ted Lindsay's role was in the formation of their union -- and why his own playing career make him an ideal namesake for the award?
Mr. Lindsay had to withstand people such as Conn Smythe and Jack Adams slandering him for having the audacity to suggest that players should hold even modest rights and protections. He was called greedy, selfish and someone who was out to ruin the game and the league. The final claim was the one that Lindsay resented the most. He loved the sport -- hockey was his life -- and had no grudge with the league itself apart from wanting some rudimentary protections for his playing brethren. As prominent stars in the league, Ted Lindsay and Montreal Canadiens defenseman Doug Harvey (who was also vital to the foundation of the NHLPA), were too valuable to their teams to be simply fired or demoted to a minor league for their supposed defiance of the fabric of the league.
As a matter of fact, Ted Lindsay's deep love of the game never left him. Hockey remained his passion for the duration of his life; long after his playing days were over. He spent his life giving back to the game and to the community that enabled him to make his life in the game. He was a broadcaster, a general manager, an ambassador for the game, and lived to see how his legacy of service to the game became as immortal as the fierce competitiveness that earned him the "Terrible Ted" nickname.
When is it time to get away from the game? When you stop loving it, and getting joy from being at the rink. When it becomes just another job. The passion for hockey never left Mr. Lindsay, and that's what I will always think of first whenever his name is mentioned.
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A Class of 2018 inductee to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee. On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games. Today, Stewart is the director of hockey officiating for the ECAC.
Visit Paul's official website, YaWannaGo.com.
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