October 30, 2024

By Bob Elliott

Canadian Baseball Network

Ottawa - Former players, fans, admirers, lifelong friends and loved ones gathered in advance of Ottawa 67’s Hall of Fame coach Brian Kilrea’s 90th birthday.

He was either behind the bench as coach or general manager for nearly 40 seasons (32 years as coach), won three Ontario Hockey League championships and two Memorial Cups (1984 and 1999). He guided his teams to 1,193 wins, more than any coach in major junior history. Kilrea was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, class of 2003, with Grant Fuhr, Pat LaFontaine and Mike Ilitch.

Besides knowing his way around a rink as well as reading and knowing people, Kilrea was always a ball fan. He fell in love with a “small-market” team at an early age -- the Los Angeles Dodgers. And he watched every pitch of the World Series ...

Hours before Game 4 with his Dodgers up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series, he explained he fell in love with the Dodgers because his friend Sammy Denofino, who lived in the West End of Ottawa, was able to pick up Dodgers games on radio and then TV from Watertown, N.Y.

“Sandy Koufax and Roy Campanella were my favourites,” said Kilrea, who also followed the Detroit Tigers when CFRA-radio carried Detroit Tigers games.

Kilrea caught for the Ottawa South Red Sox and St. Anthony’s which played in Quebec.

Often on bus trips -- after wins -- the talk would be about what happened or what he expected to happen on the diamond ... not on the ice.

The legendary Clem Kealey covered the 67’s when I arrived at the Ottawa Journal in 1973. Kealey moved on to cover the Toronto Blue Jays and managers Roy Hartsfield and Bobby Mattick, including two 100-loss seasons. He had heart problems one Saturday afternoon at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Broadcaster Tom Cheek basically saved his life.

Next was brilliant writer Ken Fidlin, who covered the Blue Jays from the Bobby Cox days right up until John Gibbons in 2016, either as either a beat man or a columnist.

And I was next covering the 1984 Memorial Cup win in Kitchener and the World Juniors in Sweden for the Ottawa Citizen after the Montreal Expos season was over. Then I left Ottawa after 13 1/2 years to write about the Jays from 1987 until 2016 when I left the paper. In 2019, I had heart problems in Okotoks, Alta. as Savannah Blakely, Angela Burger and Lou Pote saved my life. Fidlin has had a hip replacement.

So in a way all Kilrea’s ball talk helped foster some ball writers ... a combined 64 years on the Blue Jays beat.

Toronto did send scribe Don Brennan to Ottawa ... so on the plus-minus board, Kilrea is a minus two, or a plus two ... depending upon your viewpoint.

* * *

Music man: When I began riding the 67’s buses, my favourite musical groups were the Temptations, James Brown and The Stylistics. There was not a wide variety of music emanating from Kilrea’s eight-track: Annie Murray, his all-time fave, Freddie Fender (or as he would always say ‘Hey throw on some Freddy Bumper’) and Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger.

One night in London, either the motel fouled up or the 67’s made a trade and suddenly had an extra player to house for the night. So, Kilrea asked if I would mind sharing a room -- I forget the name of the motel but it was not the Ritz -- with assistant coach Gord Hamilton. I agreed.

Hamilton brought the tape player into the room. And we went to sleep with Willie Nelson cuts like Time of the Preacher, Blue Rock Montana, Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain, the Red Headed Stranger and Remember Me. And when we woke it was still playing.

Now, you know. Kilrea helped turn me into a country music fan.

* * *

Family trips to see The Coach: Once I was baby-sitting my three-year-old daughter and I arrived late to practice at the Civic Centre. I talked to the player and then found the coach putting on his shirt in front of a mirror wearing only the shirt and his underwear. As a writer, you are used to talking to people in various stage of undress as they head for the shower or get dressed after a shower.

On the drive home, daughter Alicia asked, “Why does Mr. Kilrea not wear pants when it’s so cold outside.”

When I told her I was headed to Ottawa for Brian Kilrea’s night ... now 43 years later ... she asked, “Well, will he be wearing long pants?”

I used to take my son on Sundays to Maple Leaf Gardens and between periods we’d sit in an empty locker room when Kilrea and Bert O’Brien were done talking to the players. My son never played hockey -- which I always told Kilrea -- but every trip he would give him a stick. They are probably still in the garage.

On the drive home one time, my son asked, “Dad, how come in the final minute the Toronto team never ever has a goalie when they play Mr. Kilrea’s team?”

Being the hockey savant that I am, I answered “because Mr. Kilrea’s team is better than the other guys.”

The coach: I am sure over the years I have asked some really dumb questions that infuriated the person I was interviewing. Hall of Fame Montreal Expos manager Dick Williams for sure. Even Gentleman Jim Fanning, Bill Virdon and Buck Rodgers with the Expos, plus Bobby Cox, Jimy Williams, Cito Gaston (twice), Tim Johnson, Jim Fregosi, Buck Martinez, Carlos Tosca, John Gibbons (twice) and John Farrell.

Looking back, I don’t recall Kilrea ever losing his temper with me. The closest I could think of was one night Cornwall Royals scout Gord (Valdor) Wood, who played first base for my father in Kingston walked down the hallway. Wood had won three Memorial Cup rings with the Royals with three different coaches -- Orval Tessier (1972), Doug Carpenter (1980) and Bob Kilger (1981). Kilrea had yet to win his first.

To my left was Kilrea, to my right was Wood walking with his left hand lower than his right from the fictional weight of his three rings.

“Brian-eee I can see why you don’t win one of these ... the weight of one ring is unbearable,” Wood said.

Kilrea gave a glare/stare as if neither Wood nor I were backchecking. That was the closest I came.

* * *

Mount Kilrea: In Sweden at the Worlds, Canada tied a winnable game against the Russians. A tall Canadian radio reporter arrived to say, “I’m riding back to the hotel with the host in his Saab because the bus is too cramped for my long legs.”

Biting on an unlit cigar Kilrea exploded: “I know you’ve got long legs, but I didn’t know how short your arms were. We’ve been here five days and you haven’t bought a round yet!”

* * *

Bus story I: One year the 67’s had Jimmy Fox, Randy Boyd and Chris Veno from the Sudbury area. Their families were all at the 67’s game in Sudbury and the next night boarded the bus for Sault Ste. Marie.

The bus was chugging along a few miles down the road when someone alerted Kilrea that the parents and friends were seated and not all the players had seats. Plus there was always The Entourage — long before the TV show hit it big… men like Stump Merrill, Gord (Tank) Hetherington, Dave (Lone) Ranger and others.

Kilrea stood up and yelled “the only player that needs a seat is Mike Vezina and if he does not play well in goal he may be standing for the ride home.”

Bus story II: The 67’s regular busie in the early 1980s would watch when someone went into the washroom. After waiting a few seconds, the busie would swerve on the deserted highway.

More than once we saw someone emerge and head to the front of the bus wiping trying to dry either his left or right pant leg.

* * *

A friend of mine belongs to Ottawa sporting royalty: The capital is made up of many famous sporting families like the Hamiltons (Gordon, Bruce and Gary, paragons of amateur sports), the Riopelles (who bought skates for many a youngster in the Preston Street area).

Mike Arundel, grandson of Ottawa Montagards club founder Hugh Riopelle send a note:

“On behalf of Mr. Rip, Harold, Hughie Jr. and the rest of the Riopelle clan, we wanted to wish you a healthy and enjoyable 90th birthday.

“Eddie MacCabe once wrote that folks like Brian Kilrea are truly great people. Not necessarily of lofty station or wide fame perhaps, but salt of the earth types and the soul of communities. There is no show with Brian, no pretense, no affectations; just down-to-earth, do your job, give your best, and don’t be coming around with a lot of excuses either.

“That’s Brian Kilrea. So Brian, enjoy the thank yous and the attention as it is heartfelt and much deserved. Your record of achievement is recognized and appreciated.

“American author Kristin Hannah once wrote “The measure of a man comes down to moments, spread out like dots of paint on the canvas of life. Everything you were, everything you’ll someday be, resides in the small, seemingly ordinary choices of everyday life. Some of the choices may seem insignificant but the decisions accumulate until you realize one day that they’ve made you the man you are.”

“Well coach in the parlance of an old ball player you are a strike zone that doesn’t move. People were/are always able to count on you because of your dependability, and steady resolve. You didn’t make decisions predicated on the popular belief at the time or which way the wind was blowing. Your relationships weren’t transactional. They were grounded in common principles and common beliefs. I thank you for your friendship, we thank you for all you have done for the city and hockey.

“Thank you, kindest regards and Happy Birthday coach.”

Mike Arundel

Atlanta, Ga.

* * *

Former boss of bosses: Mike Koreen, sports editor of the Kingston Whig-Standard, Ottawa Sun, Canadian Press and countless other bugles, now a head honcho at Sportsnet, told me to congratulate Kilrea. I forgot. Koreen said the book TSN’s James Duthie, MC for the evening, wrote, is one of his favourite all-time books.

* * *

Up next: Speakers were invited to roast their former coach in the event hosted by Ottawa Sports and Entertainment at Lansdowne’s Horticultural Building, but it was more a series of toasts than anything resembling the Tom Brady or Dean Martin roasts ...

Some of the speakers included

Former OHL commissioner David Branch.

Branch said that Kilrea helped mentor him.

“He also helped mentor officials,” Branch said. “Like Don Lever. One night I am in Cornwall and the two of them were arguing at each other. Yelling at each other. All of a sudden a water bottle was thrown onto the ice from the Ottawa bench. Then another.

“They asked me after the game how many games I was going to suspend Brian for. I said, ‘I didn’t see it.’ For the most we agreed on our assessments of the referees.”

If memory serves on Kilrea, one of the people he disliked the most was former Toronto SunShine Boy John Houston.

Branch congratulated Kilrea saying “he belonged in the ‘90s ... with Wayne Gretzky (No. 99) and Connor McDavid (97).”

Former 67’s netminder Darren Pang (Meaford, Ont.) played 81 games with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Pang was drafted into the OHL by the Belleville Bulls in 1981.

“The best day of my life was when I received a phone call that I had been traded to the Ottawa 67’s,” Pang told the crowd. But he made the mistake of going into a butterfly. Coach Kilrea did not like goalies going down. “So here I am like Les Binkley.”

One night he allowed in a couple of soft goals in the second period and was pulled by Kilrea. Come the third period, Pang was back in goal and the next day the papers Kilrea was quoted as saving the day and winning the game. He was down, he was up, he was all around and finished on a high note.

* * *

Centreman Zenon Konopka (Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ont.) played 346 NHL games with the Anaheim Ducks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Tampa Bay Lightning, New York Islanders, Ottawa Senators, Minnesota Wild and Buffalo Sabres.

Konopka told about a trip to North Bay, Sudbury and Sault Ste. Marie when the flu bug was going through dressing room.

“We were down to two lines and one extra forward, then someone got hurt,” Konopka said. “So, I played a lot in the third period. We’re up 3-2 and we hang on for the win. I get on the bus and (assistant coach) Bert O’Brien congratulates me for playing so much in the third period.”

According to Konopka, Kilrea scoffed and said, “Michael Pecca played the whole third period one night.”

So, five or six seasons later Konopka was with the Columbus Blue Jackets with Pecca as a teammate. He asked Pecca the question? “Did you play a full 20 minutes?”

“Pecca told me it was true ... saying ‘Brian was concerned about the length of his shifts’ so he left me out there,’” Konopka said.

* * *

Sherry Bassin has been in the OHL for 36 years, winning five J. Ross Robertson Cups, appearing in six Memorial Cups, winning once, operating the Oshawa Generals, Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Erie Otters. Bassin entered the 67’s room after they reached the Memorial Cup and gave a rousing speech on why they deserved to beat the host Kitchener Rangers in 1984. They did ... 7-2.

Bassin said success when you are four years old is not wetting your pants, success at age 12 is having friends, success at 16 is a driver’s license and success at 20 it was having sex. At 35, success is having money, at 60 success is having money and at 70 success is having sex. At 80 success is having a driver’s license, at 85 success is having friends and at 90 success is not wetting your pants.

He told of an Erie assistant arriving in his office with a trade offer. Bassin said he had not discussed a trade with the Ottawa GM. Then, the assistant read the offer “two cases of Molson’s and three cigars for two cases of Budweiser and three chocolate bars.” Bassin said “it was the only trade with Brian I won, send it back ... as approved.”

“Brian is like Muhammad Ali, who once said ‘I don’t have to be what you want me to be, I have to be what I want to be,’” Bassin said.

Doug Wilson (Ottawa, Ont.) played 1,024 games for the Blackhawks and the San Jose Sharks. He is a former James Norris trophy winner, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame and the former GM of the San Jose Sharks. He is now a senior advisor with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

“I’m a friend of Brian Kilrea’s and I do not know how many times in my life I have thought to myself ‘what would Brian do in this situation?’ And then I did it,” Wilson said. “I worked in the Silicon Valley with some of the most intelligent people in the world, but you are the wisest man I have ever met.”

* * *

Defenceman Brian Campbell (Strathroy, Ont.) played 1,082 games for the Sabres, Sharks, Blackhawks, Florida Panthers and is a Hockey Hall of Famer.

He spoke referring to notes on his cell phone “I’ll bet you’ve done it this way before coach?”

Campbell told him of his first days with the 67’s and asking his father, “Dad what am I doing here?” His father replied, “You’re in good hands.”

He said he had the privilege of playing for two great coaches: Joel Quenneville and Kilrea. And how Kilrea taught them the rules of the road: “Every restaurant we went into we had to thank the servers and the staff. We could not leave the bus a mess.” He also thanked Kilrea ‘for being a father figure.’

* * *

Centre man Bobby Smith (Ottawa, Ont./North Sydney, NS), who played 1,077 games with the Minnesota North Stars, the Montreal Canadiens and is a Hockey Hall of Famer.

Smith told the story how he had a phone call from Tim Young the night before at midnight.

“Timmy thought I was in Arizona, I told him I was in Ottawa for Brian’s 90th birthday and Tim said, ‘I love that man.’” Smith replied. “I thought you hated him.” Smith explained in his junior days the No. 1 power play was practicing at one end of the rink and Young (Scarborough, Ont.) was headed that way. Kilrea told him to get to the other end of the rink ... adding “Only Ottawa guys are on the first power play.”

He told of a night at the 2013 Memorial Cup in Halifax, where he visited Kilrea’s room. Don Cherry arrived in his pajamas and slippers. I was the first to leave after hearing all those wonderful stories. The next day I saw a guy in the lobby and he said “So, you couldn’t hang with the big boys.”

* * *

Tim Higgins (Ottawa, Ont.) played 706 games with the Blackhawks, New Jersey Devils, the Red Wings and is a Hockey Hall of Famer.

Higgins told of how the 67’s had too many right wingers: Peter Lee, Dan Blair, Bruce Baker and Randy Pierce, but Kilrea said he’d “have a spot for him by Christmas.” Sure enough Christmas came. So did Higgins, after a deal was made.

Higgins graduated the final year of the WHA and his agent did not want him attending the NHL draft in Montreal.

“Brian is not a fan of agents, but he told me I HAD to go to Montreal and Chicago drafted me,” said Higgins, who was drafted in the first round (10th overall). “I was traded and the coach told me, you’re here because of Brian Kilrea. Play well or I’ll bury you so deep The Hockey News won’t be able to find you.”

He told of playing against the New York Islanders and looking up in time to see a blur named Denis Potvin, who barely missed delivering a hit. Later Potvin whispered to Higgins “Kid, you’re lucky that you are from Ottawa.”

When it came time to scout Kilrea told Higgins to follow Alex Smart of the Los Angeles Kings and Leo Boivin of the Hartford Whalers.

“And when I had problems and needed to go into recovery, he told me what to do,” Higgins said.

* * *

Former 67’s in the crowd: Buddy Clouthier, Ron Davidson, Lukas Mensator, Roy Myllari, Johnny Olson, Phil Patterson, Doug Smith, Jeff Vaive and Hungarian goalie Levente Szuper.

On the road again: No matter when the season ended, Kilrea was happy to fly to Manitoba, Judy’s home and enjoy the local wild life and BBQs. Billy, as an assistant trainer, was my roommate in Sweden. Daughters Dianne and Linda have their mother’s looks. In all the next Kilrea generation includes nine grandkids: Paige, Morgan, Dan, Dave, Jack, Katie, Ben, Ryder and Nigel. And there are three great grandchildren Sophia, Mac and Maeve.

* * *

Also on the card: Roger Greenberg, said the Senators would erect a statue of Kilrea outside the new arena at Lansdowne. Cigar or no cigar? Also speaking were 67’s GM James Boyd, former Ottawa Citizen/National post scribe Donald Campbell and former 67’s owner Jeff Hunt.

* * *

Clean-up hitter: When it was his turn, Kilrea told of a reporter asking him if he could “name five good friends?” Kilrea said he probably had “500.” And the Hockey HOFer finished with a line from old Yankee Stadium.

“I feel like (former Yankees great) Lou Gehrig, when he had ALS, and stood in front of a microphone and said, ‘I’m the luckiest guy in the world.’”

A loyal Dodger fan quoting a Yankee great? During a Dodger-Yankee World Series?

Strange things happen.