It Wasn't Easy Being Cheesy

… But who could forget the crazy goalie with all the stitches on his mask?

Born on December 7th, 1940 in St. Catherines, Ontario, Gerald Michael Cheevers would eventually become a hockey legend in Beantown. And, although Cheesy never won a Vezina as the NHL’s top netminder, he will go down as one of the greatest (and most popular) goalies in league history.

Cheevers began making a name for himself while playing for the Rochester Americans in the American Hockey League. In 1964-65 Cheesy was impressive between the pipes while helping Rochester capture their first ever Calder Cup. Along the way, Cheevers won an astonishing 48 games out of 72 in 1964-65 (still the AHL single season record for wins by a goalie).

In 1967 Cheesy made the leap and joined the Big Bad Boston Bruins, a match made in heaven for the passionate, off-the-wall, netminder. Cheevers’ aggressive and emotional style of play made him a fan-favorite among the Boston faithful. While Orr and Esposito dazzled fans with their offensive wizardry, Cheesy would leave his crease to challenge all shooters, earning the reputation as a money goalie and winning two Stanley Cups with the Bruins in 1970 and 1972.

However, the turning point of his famed career may have been the day the quirky Cheevers took a puck to the face during practice. After the shot rang off his noodle, Cheesy retired to the dressing room for repairs. When he didn’t return shortly, Bruins coach Harry Sinden went to check on his backstopper and found him leaning back in the dressing room with a beer in one hand and a smoke in the other. At that point, Cheesy had the Boston trainer Frosty Forestall paint a stitch on his mask where the puck hit him. From that point on, each time Cheevers took a shot up high, another stitch would be added to the ever-popular mask.

In a 1999 interview with “Be A Player, The Hockey Show,” Cheesy shed some insight on the birth of his stitches mask: “Well, when the mask first became a reality in the game of hockey, the first ones were all plain white and I hated wearing anything white. It was to me a sign of purity and I wasn't in a pure business as far as I was concerned, playing goal and hacking away and all that stuff. And I also had a daily practice of trying to get out of practices. Going to practice, all I could think about was getting out of it. And one day this puck flipped up and hit me in this new white mask I had. It wouldn't have cut me if I didn't have the mask on but I acted like I was seriously hurt, went to the dressing room, and Harry Sinden, who was coaching, came in and told me to get the heck out of there. And so I was about to go out onto the ice and our trainer, John Forestall, said to wait a minute and he went and painted a big 12-stitch cut on my mask and I got a chuckle out of that and we went from there. A very, very simple thing happened there but maybe, just maybe I was the pioneer in the art of decorations of masks. That's what I'd like to think about it.”

In 1972, Cheesy packed up his stitches mask and headed to the bizarre World Hockey Association to play for the Cleveland Crusaders. After a short stint in the WHA (close to four seasons), Cheevers returned to the Bruins in 1976.

Cheesy finished his career in Boston in 1980 and took a job as the Bruins bench boss, coaching the team until 1985. During his 13-year NHL career, Cheesy compiled 230 wins, 26 shutouts, a 2.89 GAA, and a fond reputation as one of the game’s greatest characters.

-- TGOJ

Super Seven - Shoulder Patches

7. Pittsburgh Pirates
Yes, there was once a hockey team in the NHL called the Pittsburgh Pirates. They joined the league in 1925, and they were only in the league for 5 years. When the Great Depression hit they moved to Philadelphia to become the Quakers. Their patch is a replica of what used to be worn by Pittsburgh’s finest.

6. Quebec Nordiques
In many people’s opinion the Nords have one of the nicest jerseys ever in the NHL, in part because Quebec decided to put the fleur-de-lis on the shoulders and and along the bottom of their jersey. Hockey die-hards would like nothing better than to see those baby blue uniforms in full flight once again.

5. Toronto Maple Leafs
In 1992 the Leafs changed from their clean cut maple leaf patch to the older more rustic style one that the boys in blue used to wear as their crest in the early days of the NHL.

4. Boston Bruins
The Bruins decided to go old school when the new Reebok jerseys came out as they put the Bruins logo from the 1920’s on their shoulders.

3. Hartford Whalers
When the Whalers broke onto the scene in 1979, Gordie Howe was not only rocking his full name on the back of his jersey, but a cartoon whale on his shoulders. The Whale unfortunately abandoned the patch in 1985.

2. Vancouver Canucks
In 2003, the Canucks just like the Bruins and the Leafs went old school and put the simple, but ever popular stick logo on their shoulders. This patch was such a hit they decided to make it their third jersey before switching over to the new style Reeboks.

1. Chicago Blackhawks
It doesn’t get much better than the crossed Tomahawks over the “C” on the Blackhawks jersey. The hawks started wearing it in 1955 and has continued to do so for over 50 years.