Don Cherry Remembers Howie Meeker: A short biography of Howie Meeker: Howie Meeker was a Stanley Cup-winner, Canadian hockey icon, and a colourful TV hockey analyst who wore his heart on his sleeve. He spent his remarkable life playing, teaching, and broadcasting the game of hockey. Early life Howie was born in Kitchener Ontario in 1923. He played Junior hockey before joining the Canadian Army. He was badly injury in the second world war by a grenade, which reportedly prevented him from attending D-day. He eventually made a full recovery from his injuries. NHL Career After his service with the Canadian Army, Howie’s love of hockey continued and in 1947 he had his first year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In his first year, he scored 27 goals and 45 points and went on to win the Stanley cup and receive the NHL Calder memorial trophy for rookie of the year. An interesting fact is that he beat out Gordie Howe for this award. He went on to win a total of 4 Stanley cups with the Maple Leafs in 1947, 1948, 1949, and 1951. In 1951, he famously assisted Bill Barilko with the game winning overtime goal. Howie also served as a member of parliament for two years while playing in the NHL (see vintage election photo). He retired from the NHL in 1954, from there he went on to be the coach the Maple Leafs for one year and then spent one year as general manager. Career in broadcasting and television In 1968 Howie made his debut on Hockey night in Canada. He was known to many as “the Don Cherry of his time”, and was well known for being the first person to give instant replays using a Telestrator (a device that lets operators freehand draw over still images to review a play). This device is still commonly used throughout sports today. Howie had a 30-year career with CBC and TSN in sports broadcasting. In 1998 he was inducted into the NHL Hockey Hall of fame for broadcasting. In addition to a being well known for broadcasting, Howie had a television show on CBC called “Howie Meeker’s Hockey School” from 1973-1977. In 1973, he literally wrote the book on hockey titled “Hockey Basics”, which was selected by the literary review of Canada as the 63rd most important Canadian book of all time. Late life In 2011, Howie Meeker was inducted into the Order of Canada (pictured). This honor recognizes a lifetime of outstanding achievement, dedication to the community, and service to the nation. Howie passed away on November 8th, 2020 at age 97. At that time, he was the oldest surviving player of the Toronto Maple Leafs. ------------------------------------------------------------------------- Information about this timepiece and accompanying family photos: This particular Rolex air-king-date with blue dial was worn by Howie daily for at least 30 years. This information, along with the cards and photos, was passed along by Howie’s son, Michael Meeker, from whom I purchased the watch. Howie was gifted the watch by his first wife Grace Hammer. Grace was the love of his life, and sadly passed away from cancer in 1998. The wristwatch has an engraving on the back which states “Thanks for 30 great years, love Grace”. The serial number is 334XXXX dating to 1973 approximately. Upon sale, I had the timepiece fully serviced by my WOSTEP trained and ROLEX certified watchmaker. The Calibre 1520 is fully serviced with no expense spared. The watch is on an aftermarket bracelet that was purchased by Mr. Meeker when the old one was finished. This bracelet pictured is the one he wore it on. Photo 1 (left): This picture is an old family photo of Howie fishing, a favourite pastime of his. On the reverse there is a note from a family member directed to Howie’s second son Andy, stating “I like to think this is where he is now”. This image was passed over to family shortly after his death to honour Howie’s love of fishing. Photo 2 (center): This is a family post card from 2009. Pictured is Howie and his second wife Leah Meeker. Upon inspection of the image, you can see Howie is wearing his Rolex watch upon his right wrist. Inside the card there is a statement from his son Michael, which is directed towards myself, and reads: “Josh, This Rolex watch was given to my father “Howie Meeker” on their 50th wedding anniversary by my mother Grace Meeker – Michael Meeker”. On the bottom of the card you see the original text written by Howie and Leah. (note that Micheal meant to write 30th anniversary, not 50th) Photo 3 (right): This is by far the rarest photo. It is a picture of Howie in his rookie year with the Leafs. On the back of the card, we can see a handwritten note by Howie to a friend or potential voter. It was distributed by the Waterloo PC association during his campaign. I believe this photo may be from the 1950’s. The age of the photo, hockey association, signature, and handwritten note really is amazing. Internet photos: I have included several photos from the internet. One where you can see Howie with the Calder memorial trophy (rookie of the year), a second when he was inducted into the order of Canada, and a third where you can clearly see him wearing this particular Rolex wristwatch. I appreciate you taking the time to read this listing and I hope you enjoyed it. As Howie would say: “Jiminy cricket, Golly gee willikers, and keep your stick on the ice”! For sale or trade: $5700usd Obo. All trades considered – surprise me! I have quite a few references here . Josh
What a great write up. A legend indeed whose achievements are incredibly underestimated by the younger hockey crowd IMO. For those hockey nuts, an absolutely amazing piece of history in this watch.
I remember watching Hockey Night in Canada with the Original 6 in the 1960s, and then the first expansion team era in the early 70s, hearing Howie's "Golly gee whiz". Great piece of nostalgia for hockey fans!
I think your under valued. Esp if you can get a COA from a family member. On a side note I’ve never seen a air king date. How do they differ from a DJ?
Hi there. I bought the watch directly from Howie's son Michael Meeker. He even wrote a note to me (Josh) which I have pictured. I also have a signed bill of sale from Michael. I am from Newfoundland and Howie had a hockey school here which is how I met his family and acquired this timepiece directly from them . I could probably give you Michael Meeker's phone number if further verification is needed. Edit: The air king date differs from the DJ in that it is 34mm.
I can appreciate that a watch like this takes the right person to find a home for it but I would like to try and speed that along as I have my eye on something. I want to say that the best reasonable offer takes it home. It was just fully serviced . Price reduced to: $4950 usd equivalent all trades considered. I can do better on the price if you are in Canada .