26 ~ Wednesday, August 5, 1998 — North Shore News

THERE was a time —
about 50 years ago this
‘past spring — when the
newly minted
Vancouver Canucks
were playing the now _
long gore Tacoma

. Rockets in the equally.

. long gone Pacific Coast

League playoffs.

' The Rockets were’ a New,
York Rangers farm club, «;
coached and managed by a
latély retiréd Rangers .

defenceman, Murray-(Muzz) .

Patrick, ‘who was 83 when:
' he died the.week before last’
int Riverside, Consieeticut:.
“ There’s a B.C. conneée-
‘tion here, for Muzz, son of
the legendary Lester, was -
\ born.in. Victoria. In the
1930s he: was one of this
» province’s finest all: round
athletes:: :
‘He also had 2 pretty
. good sense of humor, ;
although the Canucks owner

of the day, Coley Hall, really -
"and cameras clicked, there

. didn’t'appreciate it/n this.
parti ular-occasion, which -
‘Was ‘a playoff game‘at the: .
Svald ‘PNE.Forun

inthe ieee .
~ Rockets thought they: had
scored the go-ahcad goal’:
when one of their resident
sharpshsoters, a young +.”
prospect named Doig

Adam, banked in a shot off
the goalpost. But it was not
to be. Of all things, rhe
puck had broken in two.
Once half was in the goal and
the other half was lying in
the crease,

This sort of thing doesn’t
happen today beeause pucks
are laminated. Back then
they were Gne vulcanized
chunk of rubber.-However,
the goal-scoring rule hasn't
changed: the puck must be
sutirely across the. goal line
for the score to count.
Obviously, it wasn’t.

“The Canucks went on to
win in overtime and Patrick
went on. to make a speech to
the assembled reporters,
claiming that Hall was such
a tightwad, he bought his
pucks at Woolworth’s, the ©
five and, dime store. Also, |
that but for these inferior
products, the. Rockets would
have won the game. ‘

» | Onto a.good thing,
* Muzz kept it rolling the: |
next day. He sent the team
{rainer tothe dd 6° +

Voolworth’s stove.on West
“Heine to sec if pucks
actually were sold ‘there.
They were. Children’s
pucks, The trainer brought a.
dozen of them back to the.’
hotel, which, incidentally,
was owned by Hall.

» Suddenly, there was an
impromptu press conference
and,.as flashbulbs flashed

_ stood Patrick in the middle
of the lobby, ‘breaking the
“five and dime pucks in ‘half
as if they. were ginger snaps.
These; he told the Teportersy,
were the quality of pucks
the Canucks provided.
Coley, he.added, if not
close, at leist was" highly

Ona roll

adjacent.

Of course, the pictures
made it into al} three
Vancouver dailies (the Nems-
Herald was still in business
then) and Hall was just
short of incandescent when
he confronted Patrick our-
side the Tacoma dressing
room before the next game.

“You big s.o.b.!" he
shouted. “Are. vou trying to
make me look cheap?”

Muzz merely grinned and
replied, “Well, aren*t vou?™

For a few seconds it

_ looked as if Coley wanted to
rumble. But he thought bet-

cer of it and walked away,
Likely a good thing. Muzz
not only was younger and
bigger, ‘bur many years carli-

‘er, before concentrating on

hockey, he was the Canadian
amateur heavyweight boxing
champion.

“Bur in hockey he wasn’t
a fighter,” reports West Van
resident and former Rangers
teammate, Clint Smith.
Smith should know. He and
Patrick. were roomie’. They

” must have made, a Mutt and

Jeff pair — Smith, the small-
est player on the team, and
Patrick (except for Babe
Pratt) the‘biggest.

Despite scattered media
charges of nepotism — his
dad, Lester, was coach and
manager when Muzz gradu-
ated to the Rangers in 1938
— Clint insists. he earned his
spurs, “He wasn’t the great-

“est looking player out there,

but he was smart and deter-
mined. He knew what he

- was doing at all times.

_ “Lester made a deal with
him when he came up — no

fighting. Lester wouldn't let
him: And he didn’t, except

for that one fight with

NEWS photo Paul McGrath ©

PARK. Royal Bowing t Lanes’. Erin Reid finished 10th at the recent America Zone
- 10-Pin Bowling Championships. The 15-year-old also helped lead the. Canadian
team: toa fourth place i in the team competition.

; Men ‘s/Women’ s/3r.

Leagues
Recreational,
Intermediate,

. and Elite

B

Referces needed:
wages/trainirig provi Jed

Registration:

' Wed. Aug. 12, 6:30PM
Burnaby Lake Sports.
Complex * “

9 Naty
Cail the.
TouchLine:
444-8223
non-contact

‘www.touchfootball.bc.ca

le

Eddie Shore. No more than
three or four punches. Muzz
knocked him cold. End of
Shore.”

Both Muzz and Smith
were members of the 1940
Stanley Cup champions, the
last Rangers team to win the
cup until the 1994 edition
that beat the Canucks in
seven.

Four years of wartime
army service shortened
Patrick’s career. He came
back for one post-war sea-
son, then moved into coach-
ing and managing. He

in 1953 and was gam. from
1955 to 1964,

As a youth in Victoria, he
excelled in all sports. Not
vet 14 when his dad’s rink
burned down in 1929, and
there being no other sheet
of ice in town, he tried all
sports, setting high school
track and field records and
playing Canadian champi-
onship men’s basketball with
the Victoria Blue Ribbons.

Larter on he won thar
boxing championship and
tried his hand at six-day bike
racing, largely because his
best buddy in Victoria,

Doug Peden, was doing it.
After several spectacular
spills, he decided to preserve
his battered body for hock-
cy

Years betore the first
NHL expansion in 1967 and
when he was in charge ar
New York, he pitched the
the Rangers” pre-season
training camp in Vancouver’ |
a couple of times. He and
the team bivouacked at the
now departed Rirz Hotel,
on Georgia between Burrard
and Thurlow.

The kindly inn-keeper?
Coley Hall, of course.”

became the Rangers’ coach

NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
ZONING BYLAW AMENDMENT

EAR YE HEAR YE >

NOTICE is by given | by the: City of North Vaneo OUVEr, pursuant to
Section 957 of the Municipal Act of British Columbia, that ‘a’ Pablic Hearing:
will be held on MONDAY, AUGUST 10, 1998 at 8:30 P.M. inthe Council
Chamber, City Hall. 141 West f4th Street, North Vancouver, RCL; ‘to re
representations in conncetion with the following proposed” an
“Zoning, Bylaw, 1995, No. 6700". and the “Zoning Map of thé Cit
Vareanver”, which is an integral part of “Zoning Bylaws it 995 5. Ne. O70

>» BYLAW NO. 7060 |

To rezone Lat 02, Black 177 oD. L. 271. Plan 5489, loi rated at I Lanindate
Avenue, and inulicated on ‘the map. The amenditig bylaw’ would have)
the effect of removing the said property 1
te permit: development of a. 3-storey”
- commercial building on the's Se

FROM: CD-276 Lo
(Comprehen Development 276. Zone)’

TO: CD-377

(Comprehensive Development.

377 Zone) ak

“CROCKART ARCHITECT

Bi) BYLAW NO. 7061,

‘To rezane Lot 38, Block B, D.L. 265/352, Plan 7199, ivcated at 908 We
Street, and indicated on the. map..The ame nding. bylaw, would have
the effeet of removing the said property

toy permit.a residential/commercial devel-

opment on the site.

FROM: CD-123 ; ;
(Comprehensive Development 123 Zone)

TO: CD-378
- (Comprehensive Development 378 Zone)

APPLICANT: R. TAVAKOU/R:.
SADEGHIEH/HR. HATCH ARCHITECT ND.

ALL PERSONS who believe that their-interest in property is yo.
proposed Bylaw No. 7060, and Bylaw No. 7061 shall be afforded a reasonable.’
opportanity ie be heard in person. by attorney or by petition, The proposed’
Bylaw may be inspected at the office of the City Clerk benwerin 0:30 a, oat. aannel
4:30 pam., Monday to Friday. except. Statutory Holidays, From JULY 27+:
AUGUST 10, 1998. Written sabia t

AUGUST 10, 1998, but subsnissions will NOT be aceepled alter 1 the cone

of the *ublic Hearing. |