A Maple Leaf link in the storied Conacher family has died.
Pete Conacher, the son of Toronto’s first superstar Charlie Conacher and himself a Leaf for part of his 229-game NHL career, was 92 and recently in poor health. While Charlie played nine seasons with the Leafs, was a three-time all-star, a captain and won the 1932 Stanley Cup, Pete had a more modest career with the Chicago Blackhawks and New York Rangers as well, but was grateful for the chance to follow his father to Maple Leaf Gardens.
He’s the cousin of Brian Conacher, who was on the last Leaf Cup team in 1967, and nephew of both multi-sport athlete Lionel Conacher, who was Canada’s athlete of the half-century from 1900 to 1950, and Roy Conacher, a two-time Cup winner with Boston.
Pete was a minor-leaguer with the Buffalo Bisons after the Rangers demoted him, but the scoring forward was recalled by new Leaf coach Billy Reay in the autumn of 1956.
“To be there at the Gardens was the ultimate,” Pete told the Sun last year. “Dad was a star player, but being the son of Charlie was never really thrown at me. I never had management, players or anyone else bring that up as a positive or a negative.
“It was just too bad I got hurt before training camp (a leg injury) and when I came back I was more than a step behind. Billy said he wanted me to go down to Rochester a while, but I wanted Buffalo to play with my friend Kenny Wharram.
“Then Billy got fired (replaced by Punch Imlach) and the Belleville McFarlands hired him as an adviser. I’d quit playing and gone home to work for Seagram’s (Distillery), but Billy must have gone to Belleville and urged them to put me on their team.”
The Macs would win the 1959 world championships in Prague, then a part of the old Czechoslovakia, a tournament played under heavy East Bloc scrutiny.
“We got medals and the Czech people gave us crystal vases,” he said. “I still have mine, a beautiful piece. They were very good to us and you knew the Russians and Czechs didn’t get along, so the Czech fans were definitely pulling for us against them (a 3-1 win over the Russians).”
Pete played another six years in the American Hockey League with Buffalo and Hershey, then became active for many years on Bay St. as a floor trader before retiring.
“A great but humble man,” said hockey video archivist Paul Patskou. “He helped establish the NHL Oldtimers hockey team that raised money for charities. An all-round good guy who will be greatly missed.”
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