Howie William Meeker, C.M. (born November 4, 1923) is a professional hockey player for the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League, ice hockey television sports commentator, youth hockey coach, and a former Progressive Conservative Member of Parliament. The Kitchener, Ontario, born Meeker, is the last surviving member of the Maple Leafs from 1947-1949 and 1951 Stanley Cup champion teams and the first NHL All-Star Game.
Hockey Career
Meeker crafted his hockey skills while playing junior hockey with the Kitchener Greenshirts of the Ontario Hockey Association; he played nine games for them during the 1940-1941 season. The 1941-1942 season saw Meeker wearing a Stratford Kist jersey. Meeker had a remarkable regular season that year; in thirteen games, he would tally 29 Goals and 16 Assists for 45 Points, leading all players in points. After playing one more junior hockey year, he joined the Army Corps of Royal Canadian Engineers in 1943. During his overseas fighting in WW2, Howie was seriously injured during training exercises in 1944 in England when a hand grenade blew up between his legs after the war. Howie returned to the OHA and played one season with the Stratford Indians at the OHA Sr. level, registering eight goals, five assists in 7 regular-season games, six goals, and five assists in 5 playoff games.
Howie garnered the Toronto Maple Leafs’ attention and inked the feisty right-winger to a contract for the 1946-1947 season. Howie played in his first NHL game on October 16, 1946, against the Detroit Red Wings. Three nights later, he scored his first NHL goal against Harry Lumley of the Red Wings in his second NHL game. It was the game-winner in what was a 6-3 Leaf win. Later that season, on January 8, 1947, he scored five goals against Paul Bibeault of the Chicago Black Hawks, tying an NHL record for most goals by a rookie in one game. Meeker had an outstanding rookie campaign, scoring 27 goals and 18 assists, winning the 1947 Calder Memorial Trophy, playing in the 1947 NHL All-Star Game, and assisting on the winning goal by Ted Kennedy to win the 1947 Stanley Cup.
Meeker had an excellent sophomore season in 1947-1948, scoring 14 goals and 20 assists during the regular season and notching two goals and four assists in the playoffs, helping the Maple Leafs win their second consecutive Cup championship.
Meeker sustained a collarbone injury that limited him to playing in only 30 games for the 1948-1949 season. However, he didn’t play in any playoff games that year; the Leafs honored him by engraving his name on the Stanley Cup for their third consecutive title.
Meeker had a strong 1949-1950 season, scoring 18 goals and 22 assists, his second-best as a pro. However, the Leafs lost in the semi-finals to Detroit that year, ending their reign as champions.
1950-1951 was remarkable for Howie Meeker; he assisted on the Stanley Cup-winning goal for the second time in his career, scored by Bill Barilko in overtime of game five against the Montreal Canadiens to secure the fourth Stanley Cup victory in five years for the Maple Leafs, enshrining them as a dynasty, it would be the last NHL playoff point scored by the scrappy Meeker. In addition to winning the Cup, Meeker threw his hat into the political ring, running in the Waterloo South, riding in Ontario, and winning the by-election, thus becoming a Progressive Conservative MP.
Howie William Meeker played one more full season for the Maple Leafs in 1951-1952 and 1952-1953. However, due to a persistent back injury, he was only able to suit up for 25 games. After five games from the start of the 1953-1954 season, Meeker called it a career, playing in his last NHL game on November 29, 1953.
Howie William Meeker retired from the NHL with 83 goals 102 assists in 346 regular-season games, and six goals and nine assists in 42 playoff games.
Coaching Career
Not one to be idle, Howie William Meeker immediately turned his eye to coaching upon retiring from the NHL as a player. He coached the Stratford Indians of the OHA Sr. for the remainder of the 1953-1954 season. Meeker began coaching in the American Hockey League with the Pittsburgh Hornets the following year. They won the 1954-1955 F.G. Teddy Oke Trophy as the regular season winners and the 1955 Calder Cup championship.
After one more season coaching in the AHL, Meeker jumped to coaching in the NHL for his former team, the Toronto Maple Leafs. After coaching the Leafs for the 1956-1957 season, Meeker became the team’s General Manager in 1957. Still, the move was short-lived when a volatile confrontation between Meeker and Maple Leaf’s owner Stafford Smythe occurred, “He shoved me, and I popped him between the eyes,” recalled Meeker.
Meeker remained busy. He ran summer camps in Canada and the United States and taught aspiring young boys the fundamentals of ice hockey, skating, passing, and stickhandling.
Broadcasting Career
During the 1970s and ’80s, Howie Meeker worked as an analyst on Hockey Night in Canada. He was very excitable and animated during his telecasts. Meeker would often use phrases such as “back it up, back it up,” “hold it right there,” “Jiminy Crickets,” “Stop it right there,” “Golly Gee Willikers,” and of course, “Keep You’re Stick on the ice,” was coined by Meeker. He would use these phrases while drawing lines on the telestrator to highlight plays. He also worked on Vancouver Canucks broadcasts on BCTV. Meeker later joined TSN in 1987, remaining until retiring in 1998.
Special Olympics
Howie is widely known as a humanitarian due to his extensive 50-year association with Special Olympics Canada. After being invited by former NHL referee Harry “Red” Foster, Meeker helped launch the program shortly after founders Eunice Kennedy Shriver in the United States conceived the Special Olympics initiative. He also worked extensively with the Campbell River Special Olympics in Campbell River, B.C., where he lent his name and support to the Howie Meeker Charity Golf Classic at Storey Creek Golf Club. Howie took a step back from the event after 30 years at age 94 in August 2018. NHL player Clayton Stoner has since signed on as a co-host with Meeker.
In 2004, Howie was invited as a celebrity guest to a golf fundraiser to raise awareness for BC Guide Dog Services. The fundraiser was initially a one-time event, but it was so successful that it became an annual event held in the Metro Vancouver area.
Like Howie Meeker said, “Keep Your Stick On The Ice.”
On November 4, 2020, Howard William Meeker will celebrate his 97th Birthday (Jiminy Crickets), thank you for the memories Howie.
Awards and achievements
- Led OHA in scoring in 1942.
- Calder Memorial Trophy winner in 1947.
- Played in 1947, 1948, and 1949 NHL All-Star Games.
- Stanley Cup champion in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951.
- On January 8, 1947, Meeker became one of 44 players to score 5 goals or more in one game.
- Foster Hewitt Memorial Award winner in 1998 for “Excellence in Hockey Broadcasting.”
- He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998 as a broadcaster.
- On December 30, 2010, Meeker was named a Member of the Order of Canada.
- In 2010, Howie Meeker was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.
- He was the fastest Maple Leafs player to score 25 goals (surpassed by Auston Matthews).
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1940–41 | Kitchener Greenshirts | Big-10 Jr. B | 9 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 2 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1941–42 | Stratford Kist | Big-10 Jr. B | 13 | 29 | 16 | 45 | 20 | 4 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 4 |
| 1941–42 | Stratford Kist | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 13 | 1 | 14 | 2 |
| 1942–43 | Stratford Kroehlers | OHA-Jr. | 6 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1942–43 | Brantford Lions | OHA-Jr. | — | — | — | — | — | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1945–46 | Stratford Indians | OHA-Jr. | 7 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 1946–47 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 27 | 18 | 45 | 76 | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 6 |
| 1947–48 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 62 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 15 |
| 1948–49 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 30 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1949–50 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1950–51 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 49 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 24 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 |
| 1951–52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 54 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 50 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 |
| 1952–53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 25 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1953–54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1954–55 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NHL totals | 346 | 83 | 102 | 185 | 329 | 42 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 50 |
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