Neighbor News
AAPLD Presents: "Without a Mask"
Algonquin Area Library Program Explores Old Time Hockey's Daredevil Goalies
Few would sign up for a career filled with broken bones, facial lacerations, perpetual bruises and dislodged teeth. For ice hockey goalies of yesteryear, these injuries were nothing more than an occupational nuisance. The unmasked men who stared down 100-mph slapshots were also some of sports most colorful and quirky characters. Join presenter Craig Pierce and experience “Without a Mask: The Daredevil Goalies of Hockey,” at the Algonquin Area Public Library, 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 26.
During the 1950s and 1960s, hockey became much more similar to today’s version. Skaters were faster than ever before. Shots were harder too. The introduction of curved stick blades turned hockey pucks into dipping and darting projectiles. “Goalies, for the most part, remained barefaced,” Pierce said. “Games were often delayed so a goalie could receive stitches and a few minutes to gather his wits.”
The presentation explores the early origins of hockey, the evolution of goaltending, and the shock waves created by the first goalie who wore a mask. Pierce will also discuss the extraordinary, acrobatic netminders of the 1950s and 1960s. “Jacques Plante was a deep-thinker, Terry Sawchuk was a tortured soul, Gump Worsley was combative on the ice but happy-go-lucky off it, and Glenn Hall was just a regular guy who happened to throw up before every game,” Pierce said. “They represented the whole spectrum of personalities, but they shared a few common threads too.”
“Without a Mask: The Daredevil Goalies of Hockey” promises an action-packed presentation filled with guts, glory, gore and a few laughs too. The evening also includes a display of hockey memorabilia and a salute to the 1961 Stanley Cup champion Black Hawks. The program takes place 7 p.m., Tuesday, January 26 at the Algonquin Area Public Library. It is free and suitable for adults, older children, sports fans and pop-history enthusiasts. For more information about the program, visit craigrpierce.com. For directions please call the Library 847-458-6060.
