Book Feature Father Bauer And The Great Experiment: The Genesis of Canadian Olympic Hockey (by Greg Oliver)

[Theokritos]

Father Bauer was an everything kind of person -- he mainly let Jackie do the coaching, but would be in the stands making notes, helped arrange the players, the schedule, the funding, and all that.

His brother Bobby Bauer had been an NHL star in his own right and later coached Canadian clubs in international hockey in the 1950s before he passed away in September 1964. Had he been involved with David Bauer's efforts to start a Canadian national team?

 

[goliver845]

His brother Bobby Bauer had been an NHL star in his own right and later coached Canadian clubs in international hockey in the 1950s before he passed away in September 1964. Had he been involved with David Bauer's efforts to start a Canadian national team?

Absolutely. Even before that, their older brother Ray Bauer played for a Sudbury Wolves team that went to the 1948-49 World Championships (before they were really world championships). Ray ended up being the businessman of the family, and helped fund the further international dreams of Bobby with the KW Dutchmen and later Father David.

 

[Theokritos]

Absolutely. Even before that, their older brother Ray Bauer played for a Sudbury Wolves team that went to the 1948-49 World Championships (before they were really world championships).

Wow, I didn't know that.

Did David Bauer ever write anything about his experience with the Canadian national team? Any diary that became available or articles for hockey magazines?

 

[goliver845]

Wow, I didn't know that.

Did David Bauer ever write anything about his experience with the Canadian national team? Any diary that became available or articles for hockey magazines?

I found some, not a ton. He was an easy quote and knew all the newspapermen (and they were all men), so there was lots.

As happens way too often, I later learned that there is a Basilian archives where I could have found more goodies. But maybe not a lot.

 

[Theokritos]

Again, fast forward to even the 1980 Olympic team that Father Bauer was a part of

I wasn't even aware of that. What did he do between 1969 and 1980?

 

[goliver845]

I wasn't even aware of that. What did he do between 1969 and 1980?

Well, remember that Canada dropped out of international play from 1970, when they got hosed over hosting the World Championships, until the 1977 World Championships, so there wasn't any need for Father Bauer's program.

He was a priest and teacher mainly, but traveled abroad too. The book goes into his influence on hockey in Japan and Austria, and even an aside into China. He was truly a remarkable person.

For the 1980 team, he was a part of the group choosing the team, like a committee, so he didn't have the pull he did previously, but all the players and staff I talked to raved about his contributions in Lake Placid. Canada was a bad goal away (and a very bad goal) to maybe changing the whole Miracle on Ice narrative. (Of course, Miracle on Ice was majorly important for the growth of hockey in the US, so I'm okay with it!)

 

[Theokritos]

Well, remember that Canada dropped out of international play from 1970, when they got hosed over hosting the World Championships, until the 1977 World Championships, so there wasn't any need for Father Bauer's program.

Right. But a quick glance at Wikipedia tells me that Father Bauer actually said goodbye to the national team program before Canada dropped out of international hockey: he left when the IIHF allowed Canada to use professional players and several of them were added to the team. (Of course, the IIHF decision was reversed a few months later, which caused Canada to drop out.)

He was a priest and teacher mainly, but traveled abroad too. The book goes into his influence on hockey in Japan and Austria, and even an aside into China. He was truly a remarkable person.

That's an aspect I'm looking forward to reading about. These two countries, Japan and Austria, were subject to both Canadian and Soviet hockey influence in the 1970s with Canadian coaches as well as Soviet coaches playing a role.

 

[goliver845]

Well, there's goodbye and there's goodbye. Father Bauer really was the father of the program, so was around even if he wasn't!

I'm looking forward to your thoughts on the book. Unlike some of the others I've written, this one isn't out of date years after its publication, other than a few of the people I interviewed having passed away, like Clare Drake.

 

[Theokritos]

Greg, Wikipedia says that David Bauer was offered a contract by the Boston Bruins when he was 15. Are there any accounts of how talented a hockey player he was (for example in relation to his older brother Bobby)?

 

[goliver845]

Well, a contract back then meant signing your life away, and he wasn't about to do that. His father always insisted that the children get their education.

Now, would he have been a good pro? I think so. Not an all-star or a Hall of Famer like Bobby was, but he could have carved out a career.

 

[Theokritos]

Well, a contract back then meant signing your life away, and he wasn't about to do that. His father always insisted that the children get their education.

Right. There were quite a few talented players who chose that road. Some ended up earning good money as lawyers or in other well-paying capacities, so even financially that decision could make sense as the average NHL salary wasn't what it is now. Others simply had different priorities, as was obviously the case with David Bauer.

 

[eramosat]

Intriguing.

One of my most favorite hockey books of all time is "War on Ice", written by Scott Young in 1976. It chronicled the day-to-day and season-to-season experiences of Canada's international hockey teams from 1954...the first time Canada played the Russians...to 1974 and the relatively obscure 8 game series between the WHA stars and the Russian national team. This book is pretty much the sole source that informs me about all the things discussed in this thread so far.

Of course, Father David Bauer and the exploits of the initial national team program get a chapter of their very own. Just fascinating and entertaining stuff.

 

[therealkoho]

I remember as a kid watching International games and listening to Johnny Esaws' call of a Fran Huck goal with assists going to Danny O'Shea and Carl Brewer(in a dispute with Imlach at the time and played with the amateur team)but in the end I would be so disappointed that they lost to the Russians once again

 

[kaiser matias]

Glad this got bumped, as I finally just read it.

It was an interesting book. A mix of biography of Bauer and a look at the national team, and the struggles they faced. It seems like there was nothing that went right for them, and they were stonewalled at every attempt by all sides (NHL, IIHF, CAHA, even the government). Really makes you wonder what Bauer could have done had he been given the proper resources, or even allowed to work in one place for an extended period of time.

 

[goliver845]

I remember as a kid watching International games and listening to Johnny Esaws' call of a Fran Huck goal with assists going to Danny O'Shea and Carl Brewer(in a dispute with Imlach at the time and played with the amateur team)but in the end I would be so disappointed that they lost to the Russians once again

I was too young to remember those games, but I can remember calling up Johnny Esaw at CTV out of the blue when I was a teenager trying to confirm something for my Canadian Wrestling Report newsletter! It was pretty cool to hear his voice ... but man, looking back, there's so much I wished I'd asked him about.

Ditto meeting Dick Beddoes in person once.

 

[goliver845]

Glad this got bumped, as I finally just read it.

It was an interesting book. A mix of biography of Bauer and a look at the national team, and the struggles they faced. It seems like there was nothing that went right for them, and they were stonewalled at every attempt by all sides (NHL, IIHF, CAHA, even the government). Really makes you wonder what Bauer could have done had he been given the proper resources, or even allowed to work in one place for an extended period of time.

Agreed 100% -- or what the team would have been like with resources and support of the NHL. Greed always wins.

 

[eramosat]

I remember as a kid watching International games and listening to Johnny Esaws' call of a Fran Huck goal with assists going to Danny O'Shea and Carl Brewer(in a dispute with Imlach at the time and played with the amateur team)but in the end I would be so disappointed that they lost to the Russians once again

if you're sure Brewer was involved, then it must have been the 2-1 heartbreaker loss in the 1967 world's in Vienna. the last competitive Canada v Russia game until the 1972 series.

HFS...I just realized today is the anniversary of that first game in 1972! When all of Canada finally realized how good the Russians had been! I bet Father Bauer held back a lot of "I told you so."s that night

 

[Theokritos]

I bet Father Bauer held back a lot of "I told you so."s that night

Are we so sure of that? Prior to the tournament, he went on record as saying that he expected "total victory from the National Hockey League All-Stars in their series against the Soviet Union".

 

[eramosat]

Are we so sure of that? Prior to the tournament, he went on record as saying that he expected "total victory from the National Hockey League All-Stars in their series against the Soviet Union".

nope, I am not sure at all. but I bet he expected a much more competitive series than most Canadians did. and that he wasn't at all surprised by the first game result.