The backdrop for Canada Post’s stamp unveiling was letter perfect.
Inside the Hockey Hall of Fame’s Great Hall, in front of the Norris Trophy, six Canadian defencemen who skated in the Original Six era — Boston’s Bobby Orr, Toronto’s Tim Horton, Detroit’s Red Kelly, Montreal’s Doug Harvey, Chicago’s Pierre Pilote, and New York’s Harvey Howell — were honoured with their own postage stamps.
Typically, Canada Post releases one or two stamps to honour a special centennial anniversary. But in the case of the NHL’s 100th birthday — coming in 2017 — Canada Post has done something unprecedented: a five-year rollout of special NHL stamps celebrating the rich history of the game. So 2013’s jersey stamps have been followed up this year with a Zamboni series (one for each Canadian team) and the Original Six defenceman series featuring legendary blueliners from hockey’s golden age.
“I only played one year with six teams, then expansion started, so it was a little easier for me,” said Orr, 66, the youngest of the honourees. “These guys played most of their career with six teams, and it was a heck of a lot tougher. So if you look at their numbers, they’re incredible.”
Bobby Orr
Stamp of approval: First defenceman to lead NHL in scoring. Won Norris Trophy eight consecutive times. Two-time Cup champion. Signed hockey’s first $1-million contract. Arguably the greatest player ever.
The praise: “Once my dad started playing against Bobby, he said he had to learn how to skate a lot better.” —Glen Harvey, Doug’s son
“I saw Bobby Orr before he was in the NHL. You knew. You knew what was going to happen, and it did happen.” —Red Kelly
“A brushcut blur.” —Pierre Pilote
Orr on speed: “I played a style that coaches didn’t like. Not many players played like that. When I went to junior, I was 14 (and) owned by the Bruins. But they didn’t ask me to change my style. They continued to let me play my way. They thought I was most effective that way, and it certainly helped me.”
“I think teams are looking at L.A. and teams that are more successful and seeing they need speed. There are a lot more good skaters then there were in the past. Without the centre line, you can wind up, go from one end to the other. Guys are coming through the middle with big speed. I think it’s dangerous. I think with the size of the players and the speed of the players, without the centre line, players are being hurt. Teammates are running into each other, and I think it’s dangerous.
“I really do. Back a few years ago, racecars got too fast, so they tried to slow them down a little bit, and I think the speed of the game today, because of the size and the strength of the players, is dangerous.”
Red Kelly
Stamp of approval: Four-time Stanley Cup champion with Detroit. Four-time Stanley Cup champion with Toronto. Only player to be part of two NHL dynasties. Winner of the first Norris Trophy, in 1954.
Kelly on the honour: “I was one of the fortunate ones because there were only 120 positions back then and thousands trying to make it. I dreamed about hockey. I may have even dreamed about winning the Stanley Cup. But I never dreamed I’d get on a postage stamp.”
Kelly on old-fashioned correspondence: “I’ve known the postal service for a long, long time. My wife, before we got married, she was a figure skater traveling around the world, so we corresponded for eight years before we got married. She sent me more letters than I did. I wasn’t a great letter-writer, but I wrote a few. I said I missed her and I love her. She went to Africa for a year. Her parents sent her there so she could forget me. But when she got back, she called me and we eloped. And we’ve been happily married for 55 years.”
Pierre Pilote
Stamp of approval: Once beat up both Henri and Maurice Richard. Earned nickname “Mr. Xerox” for his ability to learn from other players. Three-time Norris winner. Cup champion in 1961. Named an all-star for seven consecutive seasons (1960-67).
Pilote on the honour: “You don’t know how great I feel about this.”
Pilote on shot-blocking back in the day: “First of all, they guys didn’t shoot 100 miles per hour, but defencemen didn’t block that many shots [when I played]. Well, I blocked quite a few. It didn’t hurt me, even though I didn’t have the equipment the players do now. But you had to be careful not to go down too soon, or else you get it in the face. Or if you do it badly, the guy would just go around you.”
Tim Horton
Stamp of approval: Four-time Stanley Cup champion. Three-time all-star. Played 23 seasons. Started a moderately successful doughnut shop.
Kelly on Horton: “Tough. Tough. A great player.”
Pilote on Horton: “We would talk about what we were going to do besides hockey. When Tim opened his shop, we all wondered, ‘Who would want to buy coffee?'”
Harry Howell
Stamp of approval: Played 1,581 games as a pro, more than any other defenceman at the time he retired. Won the Norris and was named a first-team all-star in 1967. Given a year’s supply of cheese during the Harry Howell Night celebration that same year.
Orr on Howell: “Harry Howell was one of the ol’ stay-at-home defencemen. Solid, solid player.” —Orr
Kelly on Howell: “He played football before he played hockey. He played hockey a lot like he did football.”
Doug Harvey
Stamp of approval: An all-star 11 consecutive times. Seven-time Norris champion. Six-time Cup champion. Honoured with a postage stamp in 2000 as well.
Kelly on Harvey: “We’d play Harvey’s team in the final, and they had a powerful team — Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournyouer. But Harvey was the mainstay on the blueline. And in order to beat the Canadiens, you had to find a way to get around Harvey.
Fans can buy the Original Six and Zamboni stamps online here or anywhere that sells stamps.