Summit Series hero visits Halifax

Paul Henderson recalls country’s greatest hockey moment

Paul Henderson. Photo by Bianca Müller

Thirty-nine years after it was scored, Paul Henderson’s 1972 Summit Series winner is still remembered as the most memorable goal in Canadian hockey history. While there have been contenders since—the Canada Cup goals by Bobby Orr in 1976 and Mario Lemieux in 1987, or perhaps Sidney Crosby’s golden goal at the 2010 Olympics —Henderson’s tally has stood the test of time.

This past Saturday, the Henderson Jersey Homecoming Tour rolled into Halifax. An all-ages crowd visited a mobile trailer at the BMO Centre in Bedford to meet the Summit Series hero.

Willis Eisner, 80, a former member of the Canadian Forces, was stationed in Summerside, P.E.I. during the 1972 series. He and his now-51-year-old son Brian recalled how shocked they felt seeing Russia dominating Canada at “our game.”

“It seemed to bring the country together, let’s put it that way,” said the elder Eisner. “We thought we were the best in the world. We got an awful surprise when they come over here and they beat us. We got a wake-up call, we did.”

Henderson warmly addressed the group in the intimate confines of the tour’s trailer, allowing everyone to share in the memory of that 1972 tournament. A natural speaker, he joked that the most memorable of his seven goals in the series—the Game 8 winner—was the one he was least proud of, skill-wise.

“The winning goal I scored in the seventh game where I go through the whole team, man, you’ve got to watch that thing,” he said.

Prompted by an audience member to explain how he managed to score the series-winning goal, he said he wasn’t even supposed to be on the ice but felt inspired to get out there.

“I found myself standing up and yelling at Peter Mahovlich, maybe because I’d scored the goals in the two previous games,” he said. “I’d never done it before in my life, and I never ever did it again.”

He went on, joking that Mahovlich must have thought it was head coach Harry Sinden yelling as he headed to the bench.

“Players do not call other players off the ice, the coaches do,” he said, emphatically. “There was about 30 seconds left and I scored that goal.”

The jersey tour was the brainchild of Canadian Mitch Goldhar, owner of SmartCentres Inc., who bought the uniform in June 2010 for $1.27 million. The uniform has been owned by a number of parties over the years. It was the largest sum ever paid for a hockey jersey.

Henderson, who gave the jersey to trainer Joe Sgro after the game, described his family’s reaction when they found out how much it sold for.

“My grandsons were saying, ‘Grandpa, how could you be so stupid?’ My excuse is, ‘I had six concussions, boys. I’m not very sharp.’”

The tour kicked off in January and travelled through Ontario and Western Canada before beginning its second trip in Eastern Canada.

To many people in attendance, Henderson was a childhood hero, and his presence had been long-awaited.

Frank Kirby, 60, of Bedford donated his parents’ Game 2 tickets for display on the tour. He explained to everyone in attendance how his mother had entered the ticket lottery by mailing in hundreds of applications.

“I haven’t seen these for two years,” he said, pointing at the display case where his tickets now sit. “It’s just so nice to see people enjoying them. That’s why I put them here, to share with Canada.”

Another person waiting for the tour to come through Halifax was author Jim Prime, who recently co-wrote the book “How Hockey Explains Canada” with Henderson. After months spent doing phone interviews, it was the first time the two met in person.

Following the meeting, Prime shared his insight into the type of person the hockey legend is.

“He’s just so self-deprecating, so humble about what he did. He’s always deflecting praise to his teammates. You don’t see that too much anymore,” said Prime.

“It’s kind of nice to see a humble hero.”