McVie headed to WCPHSF’s Wall of Honour

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks on July 29. This time, we will salute 29 past and present-day scouts during an evening that is being billed as A Night With the Sutters. Yes, members of the hockey-playing Sutter family will be on hand to take part in a hot stove session or two. Tickets for the dinner are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . As dinner time approaches, we are highlighting the Class of 2025. This time, we would like to introduce you to Tom McVie.

TOM McVIE

(June 6, 1935 — Jan. 19, 2025)

Born in Trail, B.C., he was long-time player and coach who didn’t go scouting until he was in his 60s. . . . Joined the Boston Bruins’ pro scouting staff in 1998 and worked through 2019-20. Won a Stanley Cup with the 2010-11 Bruins. . . . Got into 1,072 games over 18 seasons during his pro playing career, mostly in the WHL with the Seattle Totems, Portland Buckaroos, Los Angeles Blades and Phoenix Roadrunners. Also played in the EHL and IHL, retiring after 1973-74. . . . Coaching career that lasted 27 seasons began in 1971-72 as player/coach of the IHL’s Fort Wayne Komets. . . . Was NHL head coach with the Washington Capitals, New Jersey Devils and Boston. . . . Won the 1978-79 WHA championship (Avco Cup) as head coach of the Winnipeg Jets. . . . Was one of the game’s great storytellers.

———-

The Wit and Wisdom of Tom McVie

Tom McVie was a rink rat, a hockey lifer, and he was proud of it.

Once asked what he might be doing if he wasn’t coaching, McVie replied: “If I wasn’t coaching hockey, then I’d probably be driving the Zamboni.”

McVie, who will be inducted into the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s Wall of Honour on July 29 in Okotoks, Alta., died in Camas, Wash., on Jan. 19. He was 89.

(Tickets for the dinner — the evening will include a Hot Stove session or two involving members of the hockey-playing Sutter family — are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com.)

Camas is located across the Columbia River from Portland and became McVie’s adopted hometown following his retirement as a player.

He spent 14 seasons playing in the WHL, splitting time with the Portland Buckaroos, Los Angeles Blades, Seattle Totems and Phoenix Roadrunners.

McVie and the Totems won a WHL title in 1958-59, as he played on a line with Guyle Fielder, now 94, and Jim Powers, 89.

As Powers told Geoff Baker, the Seattle Kraken’s vice-president, editorial: “I don’t think there was a joke that he ever forgot. And he would keep repeating them from time to time.”

Indeed!

After ending his playing career, McVie coached from 1973-74 through 1997-98, making stops with the IHL-Dayton Gems, NHL-Washington Capitals, WHA-Winnipeg Jets, NHL-Jets, CHL-Oklahoma City Stars, AHL-Maine Mariners, NHL-New Jersey Devils, AHL-Utica Devils, NHL-Boston Bruins, ECHL-Wheeling Nailers and AHL-Providence Bruins.

After being fired by the NHL-Jets, McVie was quoted as saying: “I’ve been fired more times than General Custer’s pistol at the Little Big Horn.”

Later, after being fired by the New Jersey Devils, he said: “I’ve been fired more times than Clint Eastwood’s Magnum.”

By now you may have guessed that McVie knew his way around one-liners and also could tell a story. In fact, he was recognized throughout the hockey world as one of the game’s great story-tellers.

Here then is a look at some of those stories . . .

Former NHL D Rick Green was a rookie with the McVie-coached Washington Capitals in 1976.

“Tommy was the first man I ever knew who could put two pucks in his mouth at the same time,” Green told nhl.com following news of McVie’s passing. “That’s a talent. I guess his nickname was ‘The Clown’ back in the day when he played in the International league, so you needed a sense of humor back then.

“Someone told me about the puck trick so I went up to him and told him I didn’t believe it. Tommy just took his teeth out, grabbed two pucks and in they went.”

——

In October 1992, McVie talked luggage with Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe, explaining how he used one Samsonite suitcase for 32 years:

“My first two years of pro hockey, I never had a piece of luggage. I was playing for Seattle — Keith Allen was the general manager — and I got hurt in Calgary on a trip that was going to Edmonton. Well, they decide to send me home, and Allen takes my meal money; that’s the way it worked — no play, no meal money.

“Like I say, I never had a suitcase. Those first two years, I threw what I needed into a bag with Les Hunt — he played in the Detroit organization. I’ll never forget, I’m standing on this train platform in Calgary, and Les just hands me my clothes. They’re going on, and I’m going home. My clothes, all over the platform. I had to go get a paper bag and throw all my stuff in it.”

Upon being traded to Portland in 1961, McVie was given monogrammed luggage, which he still was using in 1992.

“I vowed that day, wherever I go, it goes,” McVie told Dupont. “It’s sort of a conversation piece, I guess. In 36 years of pro hockey, I’ll bet that I’ve received 20 sets of luggage, and I’ve given them all away — every one of them.”

——

Paul Friesen of the Winnipeg Sun remembers chatting with McVie about Dec. 15, 1979, the night of the Montreal Canadiens’ first visit to Winnipeg to face the Jets.

McVie was the Jets’ head coach and Bobby Hull was scheduled to play until he showed up late for the pre-game warmup, the game time having been moved for TV reasons.

Well, McVie had a rule about being on time; Hull was in violation of said rule so was scratched.

“He was mad . . . he pulled his tie off – I thought we were gonna go at it,” McVie told Friesen. “Out the (bleeping) door he went.”

And in came general manager John Ferguson.

“It’s not lit, but he’s got a cigar in his mouth,” McVie recalled. “His (bleeping) face is like tomato juice. He casually says to me, ‘Where’s Hull?’ I said, ‘Oh (bleep), he came in late so I told him he wasn’t playin.’ He said, ‘Hey, quit (bleeping) around. Where is he?’ I said, ‘I guess you didn’t hear me. I said he (bleeping) came in late and I told him he can’t (bleeping) play.’ ”

Ferguson reminded McVie that it was Hall of Fame night with a number of locals being honoured.

To which McVie replied: “I don’t give a (bleep) if I’m gettin’ an award. He ain’t (bleeping) playin’.”

What about the fact the game was being televised from coast-to-coast-to-coast as Hockey Night in Canada visited Winnipeg for the first time?

McVie told Ferguson: “I don’t give a (bleep) if it’s shown right around the world. He ain’t (bleeping) playin.’ ”

On his way out, Ferguson kicked at a door.

“And it’s one of those wooden, hollow doors,” McVie said. “His foot goes right through the (bleeping) door and comes out the other side. And now he can’t get his leg out, and he’s (bleeping) hopping around . . . he just goes (bleeping) crazy.

“And now he (bleeping) kicks the door again and he (bleeping) walks out and he’s (bleeping) red. And he comes back and he says, ‘OK, I’m (bleeping) leaving. But I’m going to ask you one more (bleeping) thing.’ I said, what’s that? He says, ‘Do you know he’s one of the (bleeping) owners of this (bleeping) team?’

“I said, ‘Well, geez, I didn’t know that.’ ”

Still, Hull didn’t play, and the Jets won, 6-2.

——

In his conversation with Friesen, McVie also recalled a time in the early 1960s when Portland Buckaroos coach Hal Laycoe called a noon team meeting for poolside at a Los Angeles hotel.

“I used to be a springboard diving champ,” McVie said. “So I’m on top of the hotel. He’s walking around, and I’m the only guy not there. He’s looking at his watch . . . the guys are sitting on the deck chairs. They know I’m (bleeping) up there. But he don’t know. With about a minute to (bleeping) noon, off the building I go. With all my clothes on. I hit the (bleeping) pool . . . and just scared the sh– out of him. And then up I come out of the (bleeping) water with all my clothes on and I sat down on the deck chair and said, ‘Well, I’m on time.’

“The (bleeping) team, they were literally laying on the (bleeping) deck, howling.”
——

“I never leave a job until I’m fired,” he said at one time. “It could happen any day. I’ve been fired seven times.

“One day, a guy’s interviewing me and he says, ‘I’m looking at your bio as a player and it says you were traded five times. And it says you’ve been fired seven times as a coach.’ He says to me, ‘You ever thought of quitting?’ I said, ‘Hell, no, hockey’s the only thing I’m good at.’ ’’

——

There also was this version of that anecdote, as told to The Athletic in 2018:

“This writer, a young fellow, comes along and I’ve never seen him before. He was carrying a recorder, comes in and sticks the microphone in the face and asked, ‘Are you Tom McVie?’ Like, who doesn’t know who I am? Everyone knows who I am (laughter). So, I said, ‘Yeah.’ He said, ‘Well, let me ask you something. Are you the Tom McVie that coached the Washington Capitals and they set a league record for losing games?’ I said, ‘Yes. I’m Tom McVie.’ He said, ‘Are you the Tom McVie that coached the Winnipeg Jets and you broke that losing record? Now, you’re coaching the New Jersey Devils and you’re in danger of setting a new losing record?’ I said, ‘Yeah.’

“He said, ‘Did you ever think of quitting?’ And I said, ‘F–k, no. This is the only thing I’m really good at.’ ”

——

Even as he turned 80, McVie didn’t mind the travel involved with scouting.

“Are you kidding? Gets me out of the house,” he said. “I can’t stay home. My late wife used to say, ‘You love hockey more than you love me.’ I said, ‘Yeah, but I love you more than I love baseball.’ ’’

——

There was a time, when he was coaching the New Jersey Devils’ AHL affiliate in Portland, Me., when home was a hotel room.

“Believe it or not,” he recalled, “I lived in the Holiday Inn, Room 424 in Portland, Maine, for five years when I was coaching there. When I coached the Jets in Winnipeg, I lived at the Viscount Gort for two years. Room 200. That’s seven years I spent in a hotel room.”

Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal asked: “Why didn’t you get an apartment?”

McVie’s response: “Why bother. I used to say, ‘If you fire me, I can have my stuff from my hotel room and be out of town in 30 minutes, unless I have stuff at the cleaners. Then maybe it’s an hour, and I’m gone’.”

——

Courtesy of Matheson, here’s a McVie story from a time when he was coaching the Devils . . .

“One day Bob Butera, president of the team, comes into the dressing room and asks who this guy helping out (trainer) Keith Parker is. Parker says, ‘his name’s Norman Bates . . . says he’s just working training camp. Says he doesn’t really need the job. Says he owns a motel with his mother outside of town.

“Next day, Mr. (John) McMullen, the owner, comes up and sees the guy go by him and asks Bob Butera who the new guy is. Butera says ‘He’s, uh, Norman Bates. He and his mother own a motel outside of town.’ Mr. McMullen says, ‘Are you bleeping crazy?’ A week later Butera, who was an attorney, was gone, and here comes Lou Lamoriello in (as president).

“Hockey wasn’t Butera’s business.”

——

Through all the stories and the jokes, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that McVie influenced a lot of young men during his well-lived life. Yes, he really was more, a lot more, than a jokester.

Tim Lenardon, the Foundation’s co-ordinator, will be inducted into the Wall of Honour alongside McVie in July. Lenardon played for McVie with the AHL’s Utica Devils.

“Tommy was a great person and a great coach,” Lenardon said. “He knew how to get the best out of everyone. He was like a second dad to me . . . hard but fair.”

Lenardon recalls a couple of times when he was on the receiving end of coaching tips from McVie: “Hey, Kid, you gotta shoot the (bleeping) puck more . . . and when you shoot hit the damn net” and “Don’t go offside for F sakes; it’s like back-checking for the other team.”

Eric Weinrich, a defenceman who played 1,157 NHL regular-season games, began his pro career under McVie with Utica in 1988-89. All these years later, Weinrich would leave this message on McVie’s obituary:

“Tommy was one person who changed my life and career as a player. He taught me about being a professional and a good teammate. I wouldn’t have been the player or person I am today without his mentorship and guidance. I will miss him and his friendship dearly.”

—30—

Churla among those to be honoured at Wall of Honour gala

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation will hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. We will salute 29 past and present-day scouts as they take their spots on our Wall of Honour. We also will spend A Night With the Sutters, with members of the hockey-playing family from Viking, Alta., joining us. . . . Tickets for the dinner are available at tickets.hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . Before we get there, we want to introduce everyone to some of those who will be honoured, so let’s meet Shane Churla. . . . 

SHANE CHURLA

(June 24, 1965 —)

From Fernie, B.C., he got into scouting in 2000 with the Phoenix Coyotes. Spent five seasons there then worked eight seasons (2005-13) with the Dallas Stars. . . . Joined the Montreal Canadiens as head amateur scout in 2013. Was director of amateur scouting when he signed in 2020 with the Florida Panthers as their director of amateur scouting. . . . Won 2024 Stanley Cup with Panthers. . . . A sixth-round selection by the Hartford Whalers (1985), he split 488 games over 11 seasons — 26 goals, 71 points, 2,301 penalty minutes — between them, Calgary Flames, Minnesota North Stars/Dallas Stars, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers. . . . Emile Francis, then Hartford’s general manager, said Churla had the “guts of a slaughterhouse.” . . . A knee injury resulted in his retirement after he spent 1996-97 with Rangers. . . . Cousin to former NFL quarterback Mark Rypien.

——–

Wheat Kings’ Macpherson will be on Wall of Honour

It is less than two months until the Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation holds its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner. It is scheduled for July 29 in Okotoks, Alta., with 29 past and present-day scouts to be inducted. . . . It also is going to be a chance to spend A Night With the Sutters, with members of the hockey-playing family from Viking, Alta., on hand. . . . Tickets for the dinner are available at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . In the meantime, we are introducing folks to some of the inductees, like Al Macpherson. . . . 

AL MACPHERSON

(May 2, 1941 — Oct. 25, 2024)

Born in Eston, Sask., John Allan (Al) Macpherson grew up on the family farm at Lacadena, Sask. . . . He spent 36 years with the WHL’s Brandon Wheat Kings. He began as a part-time scout in 1986, was hired on a full-time basis in 1998 when he was named director of player personnel. After retiring in 2013, he continued as a valued member of the organization in an advisory role. . . . With him as director of player personnel, the Wheat Kings reached two WHL finals and four conference finals. They also appeared in the 2010 Memorial Cup as host team. . . . Macpherson farmed at Lacadena until retiring in 2020. He also had his private pilot’s license. . . . After retiring from farming, he moved to Lacombe, Alta. He passed from cancer in Red Deer Regional Hospital Centre on Oct. 25, 2024.

Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends banquet coming to Regina

REGINA (May 13, 2025) — The non-profit Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is partnering with the Regina Hotel Association to celebrate Indigenous hockey.

A dinner, billed as ‘Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends’, is scheduled for Sept. 30 at the Conexus Arts Centre on Lakeshore Drive in Regina’s beautiful Wascana Park.

The dinner also is being held in conjunction with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.

It is anticipated that the evening will include two hot stove sessions featuring some of those legends, including Kalley Armstrong, Ron Delorme, the King brothers, D.J. and Dwight, Jon (Nasty) Mirasty, Rich Pilon, Jordin Tootoo, Hall-of-Famer Bryan Trottier and Dave (Tiger) Williams, with more to be added.

“Having the opportunity to hold an event in a city with one of the richest histories in hockey on such a significant day and adding in the banquet’s theme is just a recipe for a successful event,” said Garth Malarchuk, a longtime scout with the NHL’s Toronto Maple Leafs and the WCPHS Foundation’s chairman of the board. “This certainly meets one of our foundation’s primary mandates in supporting and giving back to the community.”

The dinner also will feature auctions involving hockey sweaters from Indigenous players.

Some of the proceeds from the evening will be shared with Regina-area organizations, including the Ranch Ehrlo Society’s Outdoor Hockey League, which had a single-season high 466 players participate in 2024-25, its 32nd season. Also receiving some of the proceeds will be Sask Sport, for KidSport Saskatchewan, and the Circle Project, which, according to its mission statement, “provides support and programs based on the Aboriginal vision of wholeness, balance, and healing. By promoting positive human development, we encourage people to help themselves through education, cultural awareness, family and community.”

“Regina has always been a city where hockey lives at the heart of the community. We are proud to welcome the 2025 Western Canadian Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation gala dinner and celebrate the legacy and contributions of the scouts who shape the game we love,” Sandra Jackle, the RHA’s president and CEO, said. “Partnering this event with National Day for Truth and Reconciliation not only amplifies the energy but also highlights the strong hockey culture that defines our city.

“We are thrilled to support this initiative, which not only brings the hockey world together but also gives back to the Regina community through the Scouts Foundation mission and outreach.”

Tammy Hoffart, KidSport’s provincial co-ordinator, added: “KidSport is a children’s charity designated to assist children ages 5-18 of families facing financial obstacles to participate in community sport programs. In 2024, KidSport provided opportunities to 5,500 children in Saskatchewan — 1,254 of which self identified as Indigenous. . . . Hockey remains one of our top-funded sports and in 2024 KidSport helped 861 kids through over $300,000 in grants to participate.

“Connecting with the Indigenous Hockey Legends banquet will help as KidSport looks to broaden our reach in 2025 and celebrate 30 years of helping get kids off the sidelines and into the game.”

Banquet tickets — $250 each or $1,600 per table of eight — are available at the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com).

In the lead-up to the dinner, the foundation and the hotel association will sponsor a contest involving Regina high school students. It will run from Sept. 1-14. The Foundation is looking for a ‘Celebrating Indigenous Hockey Legends’-related design to use on t-shirts, with sale proceeds to be given to charity. The contest winner will receive a bursary and an invitation to the banquet as a guest of the foundation. Watch for more details on this contest to be revealed in August.

“As a Reginan and a scout, I am really excited for the possibilities that exist for our foundation through an event such as this,” said Ross Mahoney, the WCPHS Foundation’s vice-president and the NHL-Washington Capitals’ assistant general manager. “I also am a former Regina high school teacher, so am really looking forward to being involved with the schools and our contest.”

The WCPHSF is in its infancy, having held its startup banquet less than two years ago. It raised enough money through that dinner and all that went with it, including a roast of Hockey Night in Canada’s Ron MacLean and various auctions, that it was able to get its Wall of Honour built and installed in the Viking Rentals Centre, the arena in Okotoks, Alta.

The Foundation held its inaugural induction dinner on July 29, 2024, during which 49 past and present-day scouts were saluted. The theme was ‘Tales From the Road,’ with two hot stove sessions featuring a whole lot of story-telling.

This year’s induction banquet — A Night With the Sutters — is scheduled for Okotoks on July 29, with a class of 29 to be inducted. The night will include hot stove sessions featuring hockey’s Sutter brothers.

There is a whole lot more to the WCPHSF than a Wall of Honour.

Since its inception, the Foundation has operated as a non-profit organization under the Alberta Societies Act; it recently applied for registered charity status with Revenue Canada.

The Foundation’s Vision statement, which is on its website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com), includes:

“Our non-profit foundation is appreciative and indebted to the game of hockey and all that it has provided to our life’s experiences. Because of that we feel a strong obligation and commitment to give back to charities, communities and individuals who could benefit from our support and financial assistance.”

The Foundation already has helped out in those areas with organizations as varied as Bear Clan Bow River and the Make-A-Wish Foundation. It also has provided financial help to scouts with medical issues.

The Foundation’s long-range plan includes providing financial assistant to individuals in the scouting community who are facing medical challenges; conducting seminars to provide future scouts, parents, players and coaches with information about the realities of playing hockey at a professional level; organize ‘Bid for Kids’ auction packages with all proceeds going to a designated individual or child-focused organization; supporting organizations across Western Canada with funding to reduce operational costs; and donations to health-related charities.

For further info, contact . . . 

Garth Malarchuk, WCPHSF chairman of the board

gmalarchuk@torontomapleleafs.com

Tim Lenardon, WCPHSF co-ordinator

timlenardon78@gmail.com

Gregg Drinnan, WCPHSF editor/historian

greggdrinnan@gmail.com

Sears among 2025 Wall of Honour inductees

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is scheduled for July 29 in Okotoks, Alta. . . . It’s being billed as A Night With the Sutters — there will be hot stove sessions involving the hockey-playing brothers — and will feature the induction of 29 past and present-day scouts into the Wall of Honour. Tickets for the dinner are available at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . As the big night draws closer, we are introducing the 2025 inductees, like Carter Sears. . . .

CARTER SEARS

(Aug. 17, 1953 — )

Born in Estevan, Sask., he has had a scouting career of more than 30 years split between major junior and the NHL. . . . Spent 14 seasons (1990-2004) as director of player personnel with the WHL’s Red Deer Rebels, winning a Memorial Cup in 2001. . . . Served as a scouting consultant with the WHL’s Kootenay Ice (2005-17), winning a WHL championship in 2011. At the same time, he worked as a part-time pro scout with the New York Rangers, starting in 2004. . . . Was a pro scout with the Winnipeg Jets for six seasons (2010-16). . . . Joined the Medicine Hat Tigers as director of player personnel for 2017-18. . . . Added to the St. Louis Blues’ scouting staff in November 2019.

Mondays With Murray: The Terror of Indy, at a Terrorized 22 m.p.h.

The 109th running of the Indianapolis 500 is scheduled for Sunday, May 25, at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Today, we feature one of Jim Murray’s funniest columns about his racing debut 50 years ago at the Brickyard in May 1975. Here’s ‘Goggles’ Murray, the scourge of the Speedway.

Enjoy!

——

FRIDAY, MAY 23, 1975, SPORTS

Copyright 1975/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

The Terror of Indy — at a Terrorized 22 m.p.h.

INDIANAPOLIS — Some people never sample the wine of life. Some people stay down in the valley. Some people opt for the rocking chair, the crossword puzzle, the briefcase and 9-to-5 job.

  Not your correspondent. The blood of adventurers courses through these veins. The scent of excitement runs through my life. Let others pine for the safe, the comfortable. Give me the ramparts, the unclimbed, the mysterious beauty of the unknown.

  I have never faced Sandy Koufax’ fastball, Muhammad Ali’s left jab, Larry Csonka’s rhinoceros charge. I have never hunted the lion, rode the shark or walked a jet wing.

Jim ‘Goggles’ Murray straps in as he prepares for his Indianapolis Motor Speedway debut in May 1975.

  But I have braved the terror in the corners of Indy. I have joined the Knights of the Roaring Road. I have gone hell-bent down the terrible straights of the Brickyard. I have joined the immortals of racing, the Rickenbackers, Barney Oldfields. They may make a movie about my life — starring Jim Garner or Paul Newman. I drove the dreaded Indianapolis Motor Speedway, the graveyard of many brave young men.

  “Goggles” Murray, the scourge of the Speedway. Foyt turns pale at the sound of my engines revving up to speed. Rutherford would rather see a train bearing down on him than catch old Goggles in his rear-view mirror.

  I went through the turns at a fearsome speed of 12.5 m.p.h. I was a blur on the straightaways at 22.5. I came near to frying the clutch in my pit stop.

  The car I climbed into was the one Mario Andretti set the world speed record in a couple of years ago, a closed-circuit mark of 214.158 m.p.h. I quickly ascertained that the temperature of the track wouldn’t handle that kind of speed, that I had to save the car and not run too lean a mixture. All the great drivers save their cars.

  As I was strapped in the car by Andretti and Parnelli Jones, I heard a hush fall over the Speedway. Stopwatches clicked along the pit wall. People came out of every garage in Gasoline Alley. Old Zero was on the track.

  I checked out the pedals carefully like all the great ones do. “Where’s the cigarette lighter?” I asked. Like Foyt, I’m a perfectionist. “You’re going to smoke?!” demanded Parnelli. “In a ‘Viceroy’ car?” I asked. “I thought it was required. Well, if I can’t smoke, how about a bottle of champagne?”

  I was soon out of the pits and onto the track. I waved one finger exultantly in the air. I checked my instruments. The car was handling nicely at a steady 15 m.p.h.

  Suddenly, in my rear-view mirror I saw a track sweeper truck bearing down on me. I realized unless I did something he would dive under me in the groove and take the lead. I upped the boost to 22 m.p.h. and held him safely in my sights.

  I went past Hell’s Corner where Pat O’Connor was killed in ’58, past the crash sites of a dozen drivers, brave men, all.

  I lapped the track sweeper coming dangerously close to the wall — 80 feet. Into the short chute. I charged. I had to make several split-second decisions — whether to eat the peanut-butter sandwiches I had brought aboard, whether to abort the run (I could tell one of the cylinders was running raggedly and the wing wasn’t holding the car on the track).

  As I pitted, I climbed out of the car the way Foyt does when things aren’t going right, slammed my helmet to the ground, unbuttoned my flameproof suit and said “Dammit! I told you to check that boost. The car was fishtailing like a salmon as I got up to speed – 22 m.p.h.”

  “Congratulations,” said Parnelli. “You have just completed the first Speedway run in history that could be timed by a sun dial and a calendar.”

  “Listen, Jones!” I told Parnelli. “Don’t you realize there’s an energy crisis?! Just ask yourself — did I conserve on fuel and tires? Did I punish the chassis? Did anybody slip in my oil? Was the yellow light on any part of my trip?”

  “Yellow light?!” screamed Parnelli. “I thought we were going to have to go out and look for you!”

  Of course, there’s more to race driving than just standing on it in the turns.

  “There’s a million things to check in that cockpit. Tires, heat gauge, oil pressure, wind direction, the groove.” I told him.

  “You could have read a book!” protested Parnelli.

  I wasn’t about to give up. “Did you ever have to blow off a track sweeper in Turn Three?” I asked him.

  When you make it at the Speedway, the United States Auto Club acknowledges you have arrived by printing up a small bio of you in its USAC sanction book. Mine will now read:

  “Murray, James (‘Goggles’)

  “Age: 55, height 6 feet, weight, refuses to give.

  “Marital standing: Dubious. Wife. Four children.

  “1967 — Won the pole on the Santa Monica Freeway off-ramp at Harbor in a brown Cougar with front-end suspension.

  “1968 — Rear-ended a 1947 Ford driven by an uninsured pensioner with a hard-luck story.

  “1969 — Black-flagged by wife after noisy party for throwing oil and trying to put key in cigarette lighter.

  “1970 — Got lost while running 15th, phoned Auto Club for directions.

  “1971 — Set record for getting up hill from Rose Bowl after New Year’s Eve Day game, breaking old mark of 6 hours and 5 minutes by 10 seconds.

  “1972 — Found a parking spot in Beverly Hills the first time around the block.

  “1973 — Saw and reported a car in Westwood NOT driven by a woman.

  “1974 — Got to a destination on directions given by sister-in-law.

  “1975 — Ran out of gas on Hollywood Freeway during rush hour.

  “May 22 — Ran the slowest lap on the Indianapolis Speedway by any car not steered by tiller or any four-wheeled vehicle not pulled or pedalled.”

  I am super-qualified.

  I braved THEIR track. I’d like to see them on mine — the dreadful stretch from the Harbor to the Santa Monica at 5 o’clock at night with your glasses sweaty, your shocks worn — and two California highway patrolmen in your rear-view mirror behind on their quotas.

——

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation | 25 Main St | Cooperstown, NY 13326 US

Tuer to join father as Wall of Honour inductee

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. On that evening, we will honour 29 scouts, from past and present — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of junior hockey. . . . Tickets for the dinner — the evening is being billed as A Night With the Sutters and will include a hot stove session or two with members of hockey’s first family — are available at hockeyscoutsfoundation.com. . . . In the leadup to the dinner, we are introducing folks to each of the honourees. So let’s meet Al Tuer. . . .

AL TUER

(July 19, 1963 —)

Born in North Battleford, Sask., he began his scouting career (1999-2000) with NHL Central Scouting. . . . He joined the Calgary Flames as an amateur scout (2001-10). . . . Followed that with 11 seasons with the Florida Panthers as a pro scout, then head pro scout and director of professional scouting. . . . Has been a pro scout with the New York Rangers since 2021. . . . As a player, spent two-plus seasons with the WHL’s Regina Pats, racking up 486 penalty minutes in 1981-82. . . . A 12-season professional playing career included one goal in 57 games split between Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars and Hartford Whalers. . . . After retiring as player, spent five seasons (1993-98) as GM/head coach of Moose Jaw Warriors and one with Tri-City Americans. . . . His father, the late Graham Tuer, was a 2024 Wall of Honour inductee.

Meet Larry Popein, Wall of Honour inductee in 2025

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation’s second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner is three months away. It is scheduled to be held in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. . . . Tickets are available at the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . All told, we will induct 29 scouts — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of major junior hockey. . . . In the lead up to the dinner, we are introducing you to the Class of ’25. So let’s get to know the late Larry Popein, a man who was much beloved throughout the scouting community. . . .

LARRY POPEIN

(Aug. 11, 1930 — Feb. 7, 2020)

From Yorkton, Sask., the highly popular Popein was known throughout the hockey world as The Pope. . . . Joined the Vancouver Canucks as director of player development in 1974 after a short-lived coaching career. . . . The Canucks cleaned house in 1986 and Popein ended up as a pro scout with the Calgary Flames, a spot he filled until retiring in 1992. . . . Also did pre-scouting with the Flames during playoff runs and is credited with helping in Calgary’s 1989 Stanley Cup title. . . . An under-sized centre (5-9, 170 lb.), he played between Andy Bathgate and Dean Prentice on one of NHL’s top lines in the late-1950s. . . . After seven seasons with the Rangers, he played nine seasons in the Western League, mostly with the Canucks. He finished up with a season (1967-68) with the NHL expansion Oakland Seals.

The 2025 Kamloops Kidney Walk is scheduled for June 1, and Dorothy Drinnan is fund-raising for a 12th straight year. Yes, she has taken part every year since undergoing a kidney transplant in September 2013. . . . If you would like to support her and her favourite cause, you are able to do so right here: https://kidney.akaraisin.com/ui/BCYWALKS25/p/8d2bd58302e2431090e0248fa108dad7

Stein and rings headed to WCPHSF’s Wall of Honour

The Western Canada Professional Hockey Scouts Foundation is to hold its second annual Wall of Honour induction dinner in Okotoks, Alta., on July 29. On that evening, we will honour 29 scouts — three Pioneers of Scouting, seven from the Early Era (1968-80), 17 from the Modern Era (1981-Present) and two from the world of major junior hockey. . . . Tickets are available at the Foundation’s website (hockeyscoutsfoundation.com). . . . Now we would like to introduce you to one of our 2025 inductees, Marty Stein, who has not one, not two, not three, but four Stanley Cup rings. . . . 

MARTY STEIN

(Sept. 12, 1956 —)

From Vernon, B.C., he is one of the rare NHL scouts who never worked for a junior team. . . . Began his NHL career as an amateur scout with the Detroit Red Wings in 1996 and was with them for 25 seasons and four Stanley Cup championships (1997, 1998, 2002, 2008). . . . Also was in on two Calder Cup titles with Detroit’s AHL affiliate. . . . Had been minor and junior hockey teammates with then Detroit GM Ken Holland. . . . Hired as an amateur scout by the Buffalo Sabres in 2021. . . . A prolific lacrosse player, he won three straight (1976-78) Canadian senior B titles with the Vernon Tigers. . . . Is a UBC Thunderbird hockey and soccer alum, and is on the BCHL-Vernon Vipers Alumni Committee. . . . Was a physical education teacher at Vernon’s Clarence Fulton Secondary from 1981-2013 when he retired.

Mondays With Murray: Political Barkley Is Too Incorrect

On April 13, 1996, the final two spots on Dream Team III, the team that competed at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, were filled by Phoenix’s Charles Barkley and Sacramento’s Mitch Richmond.

Today, we bring you Jim Murray’s April 3, 1994 column on Barkley.

ENJOY!

—————

SUNDAY, APRIL 3, 1994, SPORTS

Copyright 1994/THE TIMES MIRROR COMPANY

JIM MURRAY

Political Barkley Is Too Incorrect


  I hate to say this — he’s going to hate me for saying it — but I have to tell you Charles Barkley is a fake, a fraud.

  How do I know this? Well, I’ve made a kind of study of the man. I read his biography, watched him play, sat in on his interviews, even urgently recommended him to Clippers owner Donald Sterling once when he came on the open market.  

  Look, Charles Barkley would have you believe he’s the baddest dude in basketball, gives no quarter, takes no prisoners, defies convention. He’s at pains to portray this image. He slugs barflies, spits at members of the audience, feuds with coaches, bad-mouths owners, snarls at media, takes pride in being his own man. A don’t-mess-with-me attitude. 

  Fine. He’s done all of those things. He’s an intimidator. On and off the court. He’s outspoken. Controversial, even. It’s not advisable to come up and slap him on the back. 

  But, having said that, let’s take a look at the man. He’s not really Big Bad Barkley. He’s not a pussycat, but neither is he a mountain lion. He’s a sheep in wolf’s clothing. 

  Watch him on the floor. He smiles a lot. He has a nice smile. He laughs easily. He shakes hands with the courtside customers he knows. Says hello to opponents before tipoffs. 

  He’s a politician, for crying out loud! He’s going to — get this! — run for governor of Alabama. Next stop, who knows? The White House? 

  Does that sound like the antisocial dude you’ve been reading about? The Charles Barkley who mugs the opposition, his own team or the paying customers with the same degree of skill and enthusiasm? The man you love to hate? 

  Barkley’s big problem is he has trouble with the diplomatic lie. He might be governor, but he could never be secretary of state. World War III would ensue. Barkley would tell Yeltsin to sober up, tell the queen mother she was fat. 

  Barkley has great difficulty with the truth. Which is to say, he tells it. Which creates difficulty. The truth always does. 

  The other night at the Sports Arena, his team beat up a docile, uninterested bunch of L.A. Clippers so easily Barkley didn’t have to play but 27 minutes. 

  The Phoenix Suns played him so little because they didn’t need him to beat so inconsequential a bunch as the Clippers, Barkley told the reporters. 

  “You don’t use your Mercedes-Benz to go to the grocery store. You save it for long important trips,” he said, dismissing the Clippers. “Their team doesn’t try hard enough. Someone should tell them winning takes effort.” 

  Vintage Barkley. In your face. Don’t sugarcoat it. If the Clippers don’t like it — well, it’s a matter of complete indifference to Barkley. 

  Is Derrick Coleman a great player? 

  “Not as great as he should be,” Barkley has evaluated. 

  Aren’t the Knicks great on defence? 

  “They have to be,” says Barkley. “They have no offence.” 

  Barkley could spot the warts on the Mona Lisa. He never temporizes, says “No comment,” or even claims he was misquoted. He was named to the all-interview team five years in a row by the beat writers. A dull game? Go find Barkley, he will liven it up for you. An open microphone and Barkley were like the iceberg and the Titanic. Once when he was criticized by an adversary, Byron Scott, Barkley said Scott was “last seen on the side of a milk carton.” He once led an on-court brawl that set a league record for finea — $162,500, of which Barkley’s share was $57,000 in fines and lost salary for suspension. 

  Reputation meant little to Barkley. He took over for Julius Erving in Philadelphia, where Dr. J was second only to Ben Franklin in community esteem, but it wasn’t long before Erving was turning over the team leadership to the brash young Barkley — at Barkley’s insistence. And Barkley once held Larry Bird with his arms pinned to his side while Dr. J belabored him with blows. Bird wore the wrong color uniform. 

  Sometimes, even the uniform didn’t matter. When Barkley got traded to Phoenix, he chose the first practice to bounce teammate Cedric Ceballos on the floor as the team screamed at him. 

  In the Olympics, it was the Dream Team teammates who screamed at him when he elbowed a player from Angola in the ribs and stomped on his foot. 

  But for a guy who can dish it out, Barkley can also take it. When Bobby Knight cut him from the Olympic team in 1984, many thought it was because Barkley twitted the coach. The Barkley of those days was widely perceived to be a talented kid who was going to eat his way out of the game despite his undeniable genius for it. The “Round Mound of Rebound” was his nom-de-court in the better press releases. Knight wanted him to lose weight, but all Barkley did was lose interest. 

  But when Knight cut him, Barkley, astonishingly, defended him. 

  “I wasn’t even close to the player I had been at the (Olympic) trials,” he was to write. “I was just hanging out, having fun.” 

  He actually thought Knight agonized over the decision to cut him. 

  “It’s when I finally gained respect for Knight — realized we were very much alike — he couldn’t take less than the best from anyone.” 

  Barkley is also delighted when anyone stands up to him, which is not part of the image, either. 

  Now that I’ve blown his cover, shouldn’t he rob a train, drown a canary or bad-mouth Mother Teresa to get his film-villain image back? First thing you know, he will be getting the basketball equivalent of hockey’s Lady Byng Trophy, annually awarded to the player who passes out the fewest subdural hemorrhages, who uses his stick on a puck, not an ear. 

  But Barkley is the nearest thing to a megastar in the game, now that Michael Jordan has left. He put 16,005 fans in the seats at the Sports Arena the other night, and there was no doubt they were there to see him. Sir Charles. They booed him, of course. That’s part of the pact. 

  If his team prevails and wins the championship this year, will he try out for the Chicago White Sox next year? 

  Barkley laughs. “No. I’m going to be trying for governor.” 

  Will he make it? 

  “No doubt! By acclamation,” he predicts. 

  “There’s a sickness in our society today. Our idiots have given a message to our children that your life has no meaning unless you have a big house, a big car, expensive clothes and a lot of money. We’ve taught them that being a cop, an honest workman, a trash man or a carpenter, any of the useful things in life, are not meaningful. That needs to be addressed. The system isn’t working. We need to root it out, remake it.” 

  But can he kiss babies, eat the rubber chicken, make the promises and evade the pressing questions it will take to get to the state house? Can he get there by being Charles Barkley? Won’t a couple of Charles Barkley answers torpedo the whole campaign? 

  Maybe so. But the fact of the matter is that despite his mouth, Barkley is — come closer, I wouldn’t want him to know I’m spreading this around — a nice guy!

Jim Murray Memorial Foundation, 25 Main St., Cooperstown NY, 13326