See more Toronto Sun on Google — save as a Preferred Source Until this year’s huge flap about Tom Dundon putting his whole clan of wife and children on the Stanley Cup, the youngest name etched was Kerry Day. An 11-year-old stick boy on the Maple Leafs champions of 1945, coached by his father Hap, he was listed as ‘mascot’ along with players and management, again in 1949, the last of three post-war titles by Toronto.
While it can be argued children or family members with no direct role in the team should be included on what’s famously regarded as the toughest team trophy in sports to win, Kerry certainly had stronger ties to the game than the youngest Dundon, who could be as young as seven years old. Kerry died at age 92 on July 12 in St. Thomas, Ont., where his ties to the Leafs were detailed in a family obituary.
“He was raised in a household deeply connected to hockey history through his father, the legendary Leafs captain, coach, and general manager. As a young boy, Kerry served as a stick boy, standing behind the players’ bench alongside many of the NHL’s greatest legends and witnessing the Leafs’ Stanley Cup victories of their golden era,” the obituary reads. “One of his favourite memories was travelling to and from Maple Leaf Gardens with Hap and Leafs’ owner Harold Ballard, listening as his father explained the strategy and subtleties of the game in a way that both a curious young boy and a hockey executive could appreciate.
Those experiences sparked a lifelong passion for the Leafs and a remarkable collection of stories that family and friends never tired of hearing.” What did Kerry do later in life? Kerry was followed in the mascot-stick boy role by team manager Conn Smythe’s son Stafford (later a team co-owner) and Conn Smythe III. Hap was the only man to serve in the three aforementioned posts as a Leaf, played on their 1932 team that won the first Cup of the Gardens era and coached the ‘42 club that came back from three games down against Detroit in the Cup final.
Toronto-born Kerry succeeded his father in the tool handle business and became its owner. Retiring at 52, he was an avid fundraiser for the St. Thomas Elgin General Hospital Foundation, contributing to the expansion of essential healthcare services that still benefit the community. Pre-deceased by his wife Elizabeth Anne after 65 years together, they had two great-grandchildren.
Why Hurricanes fans are upset about names of owner’s family engraved on Stanley Cup Why goalie Jack Campbell is leaving the ice to become a life coach Canes’ owner Dundon faced heavy backlash in the hockey world, even among his club’s fan base, for including his family on the Cup at the expense of long serving team members such as equipment manager Bob Gorman.
Team medical staff, scouts and even a few minority owners did not get recognized. But the Canes as all teams, get to pick which 53 names to be engraved, which are run by the NHL for approval. Forward Joel Nystrom, who played 38 games, did not reach the standard half season 42 for inclusion.
There is a precedence for removing a name from the Cup. Edmonton Oilers boss Peter Pocklington did not inform the league he was adding his father Basil in a 1984 tribute, and the latter was crossed out by X’s. Lhornby@postmedia.com X: @sunhornby