My First Game At Maple Leaf Gardens.

I was eleven years old when for the very first time I attended a Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. The date was Saturday February 26th 1972 and it had snowed all day in the city of Toronto. I remember taking the subway down to College Street with my friend Steve and then walking up the open staircase to the very busy and crowded street level.

The snow was now falling heavily as we walked quickly up the stairs. The large snowflakes would instantly melt as they landed on the concrete stairway warmed up by the crowd of hockey fans now ascending them. On the street level the snow had really begun to accumulate and the flakes clung to my woolen toque.

When I arrived at the top of the staircase I was now on Carlton Street and my direction was east. East to the Vatican of the hockey world, Maple Leaf Gardens.

The street was bustling, the crowd was large and we were all headed in the same direction. I remember there were numerous bicycle vendors selling roasted chestnuts, popcorn and candy apples along the route. There was a very slight bend on the street and just beyond the bend the Gardens historic large blue and white lighted marquee became clearly visible. 

It simply read 'VANCOUVER 8 P.M'.

As I got closer I could feel the excitement was really starting to build with the smell of big league hockey in the cold winter air. I will never forget the smell of Juicy Fruit gum, popcorn, hot dogs and the old arena itself all just simmering as I entered through the main front doors under the marquee.

There were program sellers, ticket takers inside along with scalpers and hundreds of snow capped hockey fans outside. It all made for a loud yet peaceful sound.

The Gardens did not have much of a foyer. Once you entered the front doors it was either right or left depending if east or west was printed on your ticket. My ticket read west across a dark green stripe. I turned left and approached one of the ancient blue and white turnstiles. An elderly gentleman ripped my ticket and then gave me the top half. As I entered he told me to go over to then up the escalator. Reds were the best seats back then on the street level and required no escalator followed by the blues, greens and at the top the greys.

Dozens of large framed black and white pictures lined the Gardens very narrow interior street level corridor. An occasional newer colored photo of a recent player was visible, though most were the old vintage black and white. All were former Leaf heroes some capturing the proudest moments from the previous 40 years of Maple Leaf history. All those old photos of former players smiling and welcoming us all to this special place. 

For me it was soon to become a religious place.

The Ford Motor Company had a new model car on display right at the base of the long narrow escalator. The escalator was manned by an usher both at the top and bottom wearing a Captain like hat. It was his job to direct the fans over to the proper sections once they arrived on the proper level.

It just seemed as if everyone knew exactly where they needed to go. I remember the escalators were very steep and narrow and only one person could stand on a step. I traveled up two escalators before I reached my level. A large sign reading 'GREENS & GREYS' greeted me. I was sitting in the greens at center ice, section seventy. I cannot remember the exact row, but it was more than halfway down and to the right.

What I remember most was the brightness once I walked up the tiny ramp to the colourful seating area. The television lights were all on and the two blue lines were so dark yet they looked so bright like a couple first prize ribbons draped across the rink. The red checkered center line with the large blue Maple Leaf logo right at center ice would become instantly etched in my mind for the rest of my life.

The ice was pure white as it glistened under the bright television lighting from the thin layer of water left on the surface by the Zamboni. The Zamboni was just finishing and within a few minutes the players would skate onto the ice and the hockey game was about to begin.

I soaked everything up that night like a thirsty sponge and nothing escaped my view. The large bulky square pale green score clock above center ice with the word 'Dominion' on top of all four sides. The large 'NO SMOKING' signs up in each corner on the greyish white walls of the upper levels. The historic old wooden Gondola where the play-by-play was broadcast to a hockey starved nation.

It felt like the Gardens was the reason I went to the game and not the actual game itself.

I looked in awe at everything and when I die, I wished I could be buried right at center ice. There were program sellers walking up and down the aisles and I wished I was one of them. To be able to come to every game and get paid, I would do it for free. Other boys not much older than myself carrying large baskets, selling Cokes, peanuts and popcorn throughout the stands. I thought they were all so lucky.

The three referees came onto the ice followed by the teams. I recall hardly any of the players were wearing helmets and many players had long sideburns. The Leafs were wearing their home white jerseys and the Canucks wore dark blue. The game started and quickly seemed to fly by. The first, second and third periods just seemed to disappear into the winter night. Before I knew it, the game was over.

My first Leaf game would now be a lifelong cherished memory, never to be forgotten.

The Leafs won 7-1 and Paul Henderson scored a hat-trick, he was the first star. Dave Keon and Norm Ullman also scored for the Leafs. Jacques Plante played in goal and he got the win. Somehow I ended up losing my program when I exited the Vatican of the hockey world, but I still had my green ticket stub for a lifelong souvenir, 

It was snowing even heavier as the crowd now made its way west, west to those familiar subway steps. It was a miserable night outdoors, but indoors the sellout crowd was joyous. The Leafs won and I had just attended my first Toronto Maple Leafs hockey game. Little did I know on that night that over the next twenty-seven years hundreds more would follow. 

And you know that old saying about never forgetting your first time with your first love. 

I know I never will.

*Update. I eventually lost my green ticket stub. However, after 40 years of searching to replace my lost program, I have finally been reunited with this treasured memento. I purchased the program on ebay for $40 which would have been well over three times as much was spent for our pair of green seats and my original program from that night.