Hi everyone! Some of you may know that recently Gilles Meloche was in Toronto to sign some autographs and shake some hands. One of this site’s regular visitors, Mark Harris, who has contributed many a photo of his encounters with former Seals greats Bobby Baun and Walt McKechnie, was fortunate enough to meet one of the greatest Seals of all time.

As much as I love living in the Nation’s Capital, and would never even think of ever living in Toronto (much too stodgy, busy, crowded, prone to frequent flooding, and let’s face it, a crap ton of Leafs crap everywhere… no, no, not goin’ anywhere near any of that), I do envy the fact that T.O. has so much cool stuff at every corner, that they’ve got pro hockey, baseball, basketball, and football going on, every great band visits on a yearly basis, and you can run into celebrities getting a double-double at just about any Timmies. Ottawa? Ehhhh, not so much.

So, this week, I’ve decided to go into the archives and find an article featuring the Seals’ legend. We’re going all the way back to December 1973 this time, when Meloche was nursing his injured hand after having it severed by an errant Reggie Leach skate blade. Even though he hadn’t been off that long, you could see that Meloche was starting to get bored, so he dabbled in bartending. This article, from John Porter of the Oakland Tribune, gives us a glimpse into Meloche’s childhood, and his feelings about his hometown Montreal Canadiens, a team he always well against. You can access this week’s article by clicking on this link.

On a sadder note, I regret to inform you that former Seal Al Simmons passed away on October 28. He suited up for California just one time before finding his way to Boston where he played the final ten games of his NHL career. I invite you to read his obituary to find out a little more about his impressive career outside of hockey. R.I.P. Al, you will be missed.

Until next time, stay gold!