Bower, "Johnny" (John W.)
Hockey
b. Nov. 8, 1924, Prince Albert, SAS
He didn't make it to the NHL until he was nearly twenty-nine years old, yet Bower played in the league for seventeen seasons, most of them with the Toronto Maple Leafs. A goalie, he was nicknamed "the Great Wall of China." Bower won the Vezina Trophy as the league's best goalie in 1961. Four years later, he and Terry Sawchuk alternated in goal for the Maple Leafs and became the first teammates to share the award.
Bower entered the league with the New York Rangers in 1953. He went to Toronto in 1958 and stayed with the Maple Leafs through the 1969-70 season. In 534 regular season games, he had 37 shutouts and a goals-against average of 2.53. He had 5 shutouts and an average of 2.58 goals-against in 72 playoff games.