Hi everyone! These kinds of posts are unfortunately becoming more and more common as another member of the Seals family has passed away. “Marvelous” Marv Edwards played for the Seals from 1972 to 1974, and provided the team with solid back-up goaltending behind incumbent Gilles Meloche. I met Marv back in 2017 just before the release of my book on the Seals. The late Dr. Gene Willis had asked me to attend a special event he was organizing to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Seals, for that I will always be grateful. It was my first public appearance as a professional writer, and I was nervous as hell. Edwards, Reggie Leach, Wayne King, and Joey Johnston had all made it out to make the Toronto event very special, and they were all great guys. I’ll never forget that wonderful weekend, and the fact I got to shake hands and speak with some former big league players. I’m normally a pretty shy person, and I don’t go looking to hob-nob with celebrities, but on this night I was thrust into the spotlight and got to exchange a few words with four former Seals, and I saw how much they are just regular guys.

Marv Edwards was the first player introduced that evening, and he stepped up to the podium to say a few words. At 82 years old, he was still quick with a quip, and very comfortable speaking to a crowd. He wasn’t expected to speak to the crowd though. He was just there to answer a few questions from the crowd, shake a few hands, and sign a few autographs, but he wanted to take this opportunity to thank his wife of 60 years for supporting him unconditionally throughout his long hockey journey. He said that together they had lived in, if you can believe it, 28 different cities over the years, and as he thanked her for her love and support you could see how touched she was. After the Q&A session came to an end, we watched a segment of Mark Greczmiel’s documentary on the Seals, the guys put on some replica Seals jerseys and posed for some photos. I gave Marv a copy of my book and I asked him to autograph my personal copy and a custom hockey card, which I still have to this day. I don’t know if he ever got around to reading my book, but I’m glad I at least got to thank him for coming out to what was an unforgettable evening.

Marv Edwards with event organizer Dr. Gene Willis

From left to right: Wayne King, Joey Johnston, Marv Edwards, and Reggie Leach

To honour Marv Edwards, I’ve posted an Oakland Tribune article from November 10, 1972, the day after Edwards posted his one and only shutout as a member of the Seals: a 0-0 tie versus the Buffalo Sabres. Somehow, Edwards and the Seals managed to keep the great French Connection Line off the scoreboard, something very few teams were able to do at that time. You can read all about Edwards’ big moment in the sun here. You may also want to check out a wonderful article written by Dave Stubbs, which goes over some of the highlights of Marv Edwards’ NHL career. The article can be found on NHL.com. R.I.P. Marv.

Until next time, stay gold!