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Wednesday, November 8, 2000
Sawchuk's life was great, tragic
By George Johnson
Special to ESPN.com
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Terry Sawchuk was a loner. A man who wasn't adverse to the occasional beverage. A man who loathed signing autographs and being in the public eye. A man who loved the game but disdained its decorative trappings.
A man about to be passed in history but who will forever remain unsurpassed in the estimation of those who knew and saw him.
"And about as competitive a cuss as you'll ever meet," says former Detroit Red Wings' defenseman Doug Barkley. "I remember one game against Toronto particularly. He used to wear a baseball glove for a catching mitt. Those gloves have a hole in the back, no protection.
"Well, he put his hand, the left one, I think, down on the puck and a guy -- can't remember which Leaf it would've been -- skated right over it. Cut all the tendons.
"There was blood everywhere. I grabbed his arm and helped lead him to the bench. I could actually see the white of the tendons through the gash in his hand. But they sewed him up and next year he came back, better than ever."
With Patrick Roy on the verge of breaking Sawchuk's record of 447 all-time wins by a goaltender -- he's only three shy -- the spotlight has shifted back onto the reclusive, moody Red Wings' star who died under tragic circumstances on May 31, 1970 while winding down his career with the Rangers. Doubtless were he alive today, the scrutiny Roy's pursuit has prompted would make Sawchuk acutely uncomfortable.
Beginnings of magic, tragic career
Right from the beginning, it seemed, Sawchuk's life was beset by sadness. His brother died at 17 and Sawchuk, seven years his junior, inherited his goalie equipment.
"The pads were around the house," he once reminisced. "And I fell into them."
A fortuitous fall, indeed. Because in a golden age of NHL netminding that included Glenn Hall and Jacques Plante, he stood out as arguably the greatest of the day -- and therefore of all time.
His was a career that would include nervous collapse, injuries that ranged from facial fractures to ruptured spinal disks, to a string of achievements unmatched at the position.
"I wouldn't take two Patrick Roys for one Terry Sawchuk!" rails Jimmy Skinner, coach of the Red Wings team that Sawchuk helped win the Stanley Cup in 1955. "Just the best goaltender I ever saw, and I had Glenn Hall in junior and pro. I saw Plante and big (Bill) Durnan. But this guy, Sawchuk, he was the best."
Many wouldn't quibble with that statement.
"People forget he came into his first camp at 210 pounds, but he was quick as a cat," says Detroit's all-star left winger of the time, Ted Lindsay. "Size. Quickness. Anticipation. Drive. He had it all. So talented. I mean, one year we won the Stanley Cup, we swept Toronto aside in four games and then Montreal the same. And we didn't allow a goal at the Olympia in either series.
"That's something Mr. Roy could only accomplish in his dreams."
One of the best and worst in a great era
While comparisons of eras are a foolish, though lively, endeavor, it's clear that the great goaltenders of Sawchuk's time would've excelled at any point. And each had his own trademark.
Hall had his pregame ritual of the mad dash for the toilet to dispose of his anxieties (and his lunch). Plante had his knitting. Sawchuk had his flinty glare.
"A cranky SOB," says Lindsay.
"He was a difficult person, no question," agrees Skinner. "A miserable guy in a lot of ways. I think a lot of that was because he lived hockey 24 hours a day. He'd take the game home with him. He'd take the game to bed with him. It consumed him.
"To him it was a career, and he wanted to be the best. He was almost ruthless in that way. I think he loved hockey but he didn't enjoy it, if you understand what I mean.
"You could forgive the guy a lot, though, because when that puck was dropped and the game was on, the man was pure gold."
Barkley says Sawchuk was "the worst practice goalie ever. Sometimes, if he was in a bad mood, he'd just step out of the net."
"Uke (Sawchuk) used to sit next to Marty Pavelich in the room. Marty, well he'd smile 365 days a year," recalls Lindsay. "For a month maybe, Marty'd come in and say 'Hi, Uke!' and Uke'd say 'Hi, Marty.' Then for the next two months, Uke wouldn't say anything in reply. Not 'Hello'. Not 'Go to hell.' Nothing.
"Poor bastard. If he had more common sense, he'd still be living today."
A squabble with Ranger teammate Ron Stewart, apparently over $92 owed in rent, started at a bar on Long Island that May evening three decades ago. It flared up again on the lawn of their apartment building. Sawchuk fell on Stewart, striking his midsection on either Stewart's knee or another object that had fallen during the scuffle.
The injuries proved fatal.
After a month and three operations to try and correct internal injuries, Terry Sawchuk died of a heart attack.
What he left behind were records many thought untouchable. Until now.
"Sure it's sad to see them go," says Barkley. "Same as when (Wayne) Gretzky was on the verge of breaking all Gordie's (Howe) records. But you can't compare the eras. They're too different. And no one will ever touch the 103 shutouts Terry had. That one's safe."
Roy will have played 120 less games to break Sawchuk's standard, be saddled with 60-some fewer losses in the process and in five fewer seasons. But, as Barkley said, those 103 shutouts are safe (Roy being 55 behind at the moment), while his GAA isn't as pristine -- 2.63 as compared to 2.52. Roy also trails in All-Star team selections -- seven to five -- and Stanley Cups, four to three.
"For the first five years of his career, there has never, ever been a better goaltender to play this game than Terry Sawchuk," Lindsay states, challengingly.
"And as far as I'm concerned they can play for another thousand years and still won't find another like him."
George Johnson covers the NHL for the Calgary Herald. His NHL National column appears every week during the season on ESPN.com.
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