Howard William Meeker was a Canadian professional hockey player in the National Hockey League, youth coach and educator in ice hockey, and a Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament.
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29 Facts About Howie Meeker
2.
Howie Meeker became best known to Canadians as an excitable and enthusiastic television colour commentator for Hockey Night in Canada, breaking down strategy in between periods of games with early use of the telestrator.
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4.
Howie Meeker was the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs 1947 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1949 Stanley Cup team, the Maple Leafs 1951 Stanley Cup team, and the inaugural NHL All-Star Game.
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6.
Howie Meeker played one more year of junior hockey before joining the Canadian Army.
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7.
Howie Meeker was badly injured during the war, but he made a full recovery.
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8.
Howie Meeker scored 27 goals and 45 points during his NHL debut and he was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy.
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10.
Howie Meeker won his first Stanley Cup with the Leafs that season, the first of three consecutive Stanley Cups.
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11.
Howie Meeker helped the Leafs win their second consecutive Stanley Cup.
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12.
Howie Meeker continued to play hockey sporadically for 15 more years with different senior clubs, finally retiring from playing in 1969.
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13.
Howie Meeker spent two years as a Progressive Conservative MP while playing for the Leafs.
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14.
In June 1951, Howie Meeker won the federal by-election in the Ontario riding of Waterloo South.
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15.
Howie Meeker later ran hockey schools as summer camps in Canada and the United States.
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16.
Howie Meeker felt the game was not being taught properly so his message was directed at coaches across Canada.
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17.
Howie Meeker made vocal and detailed complaints about poor quality hockey equipment for child players, especially concerning protective gear.
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18.
When TSN gained NHL cable TV broadcast rights in 1987, Howie Meeker joined their team, where he stayed until retiring in 1998.
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19.
Howie Meeker often used the phrase, "Keep your stick on the ice" during his educational segments on Hockey Night in Canada.
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21.
Howie Meeker helped launch Special Olympics Canada after being invited to participate by former NHL referee Harry "Red" Foster shortly after the Special Olympics movement was created by Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the United States.
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22.
In 1988, at the age of 64, Howie Meeker was contacted by Campbell River Special Olympics in Campbell River, British Columbia, to help with setting up a fundraising golf tournament for the local Special Olympics organization.
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24.
Each year for the next 30 years, Howie Meeker participated in the successful fundraiser in person.
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25.
NHL player Clayton Stoner had signed on to be co-host with Howie Meeker to ensure the fundraiser continues in Howie Meeker's name into the future.
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26.
In 2004, Howie Meeker was invited to headline a golf tournament fundraiser to benefit BC Guide Dog Services.
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27.
Howie Meeker moved to St John's, Newfoundland, later in life, calling it home for several decades.
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28.
Howie Meeker was married to his first wife Grace for 55 years, raising six children, until her death in 1998.
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29.
Howie Meeker died on November 8,2020, in hospital in Nanaimo, British Columbia.
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