>
Article snippet: Johnny Bower, the Hall of Fame goaltender who helped take the Toronto Maple Leafs to four Stanley Cup championships in the 1960s and became the oldest full-time goalie in National Hockey League history, playing until he was 45, died on Tuesday. He was 93. The cause was pneumonia, his family said in a statement. He had been living in Mississauga, Ontario, outside Toronto. Breaking into pro hockey when the N.H.L. had only six teams, each generally carrying a single goaltender, Bower played for eight seasons in the minors before making his N.H.L. debut with the Rangers at age 29. After playing with them for one full season, he spent four more seasons in the minors before finally arriving in the N.H.L. to stay with the Maple Leafs. Bower was one of hockey’s most talented and durable goalies. Facing flying pucks without donning a mask until his final full season, he lost almost all his teeth and needed at least 200 stitches in his face. He came out of his net to dive at opposing players on breakaways, exposing his face to their sharpened skates as he wielded his stick to poke-check the puck away. Bower played for Maple Leaf teams that won three consecutive Stanley Cups, from 1962 to 1964, and then captured the N.H.L. championship again in 1967, the last time Toronto won the title. He received the league’s Vezina Trophy for outstanding goaltending in the 1960-61 season and shared the trophy with Terry Sawchuk for 1964-65, when they split the Leafs’ goaltending duties. ... Link to the full article to read more