Post-Game Talk: Devils @ Leafs Part II | Smells Like Teen Spirit [PGT starts page 13]

[ACC1224]

Never heard of it. What was the story?

Glad to hear that I'm not alone.

Apparently after the 67 win, Hillman was looking for a new contract and Punch Imlach wouldn't give him a raise. Hillman sat out for a few weeks and was fined. When he finally returned he wanted his money back and Punch refused. Once he was selected by the Seals in the expansion draft he put a curse on the Leafs that they would never win again until he got his money back and that he would only lift the curse after 50 years. Apparently Shanahan asked him to lift the curse and he has.

 

[Mess]

Not often I watch Intermissions but I caught the one last night when they talked about the Larry Hillman curse and was surprised I had never heard that story before. I asked around the room at my beer league game afterwards and no one knew of it.

Was the curse common knowledge?

Yup, it was in Leaf folklore much like the Billy Barilko earlier one.

However what I didn't know was the Hillman claimed he lifted the "so called curse" at an event earlier this year. I'm not superstitious so it didn't mean much

It came to light in the 1990's just before the Dougie Gilmour rise.

This next tale was virtually unknown until a Hockey News interview in 1992 made a passing comment on it. But in April 2012 the full revelation came to light. Larry Hillman, who is considered by many hockey icons to have been the unsung hero of the Toronto’s last World Championship in 1967, confessed having “put a curse on them”, as a result of the shabby treatment he received following that triumph.

The hex was the result of Punch Imlach’ s refusal to consider a raise in pay, which would have given the middle brother of the Kirkland Lake family trio $21,000 as opposed to the $19,000 the club offered him. When he balked they took his equipment out of his stall, and fined him $100 per day for the time they made him sit out.

The impact of Hillman’s jinx was to prevent them from winning another Cup until they repaid him that $2400 he lost through fines—plus interest! (This account was reprinted on April 18 of this year.)

Here is another not so well known about the trading of Frank Mahovlich

The December 26, 2009 issue of the Toronto Sun included a feature article on “The Curse Of Sam Lane”. It was written by Sam’s son, Gary, who spent several years in Los Angeles as a TV writer and producer.

In this column his bold preface stated: “When Frank Mahovlich was traded by the Leafs in 1968, this disgruntled fan declared to his sons that the team wouldn’t win another Stanley Cup for 50 years! Who knew just how prophetic his words would be?”

Lane mentions that upon hearing the announcement about the famous swap, which took the “Big M”, Pete Stemkowski, Garry Unger, and the rights to Carl Brewer to Detroit, and shipped Norm Ullman, Paul Henderson, and Floyd Smith to Toronto, his father made the above prediction.

The underlying reason for this “curse” stemmed from the fact that Simon Lauc (aka Sam Lane) was from Croatia, and Frank Mahovlich is the son of Croatian immigrants. Lane concluded his submission with these words: “But if the Leafs don’t win the Stanley Cup until then (2018), or later, well, I guess you can blame my father—and the Leafs’ management, who traded away Frank Mahovlich on March 3, 1968.

 

[Mugzy97]

In this column his bold preface stated: “When Frank Mahovlich was traded by the Leafs in 1968, this disgruntled fan declared to his sons that the team wouldn’t win another Stanley Cup for 50 years! Who knew just how prophetic his words would be?”

50 years is next year?

 

[Mess]

Glad I'm not a Devils fan as that team looks like an AHL team and not much hope in the near future.. That is a bad team.

 

[the halleJOKEL]

they'll beat carolina, of course