Leaside has been home to many outstanding hockey players over the years including Frank and Peter Mahovlich, Kim McCullough, George Armstrong, Cal, Paul and Dave Gardner, Doug Gilmour, Jack and Terry Caffery, and the list goes on.
While each player had a unique experience and story over the years on and off the ice, one former player stands out for both his talent and dedication on the ice and his dogged determination to seek justice for players in the legal arena.
Carl Brewer was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1958. As a gritty and talented defenceman, Brewer was chosen to play in five NHL All Star games and was in the top 10 in the NHL for points scored by defencemen for four seasons.
A stalwart on defence, Brewer was a pivotal member of the Leafs’ three Stanley Cup winning teams in 1962, 1963 and 1964. He also led the league in penalty minutes in two seasons.
This propensity to end up in the penalty box was truly representative of who Brewer was. He was tough, he protected his teammates, and he didn’t suffer fools lightly.
Still, in 1965, just months after winning their third Stanley Cup, Brewer shocked the hockey world when he announced his retirement from the NHL.
Frustrated with the abrasive and punitive approach of Leaf coach Punch Imlach, Brewer later noted that “my damaged psyche destroyed by Imlach would no longer allow me to accommodate playing hockey and being a hockey player.”
Brewer returned to studies at the University of Toronto and graduated with a B.A. in 1966.
After playing with the Canadian National Team, the Muskegon Mohawks of the International Hockey League (IHL) and the Finnish team HIFK based in Helsinki, Brewer returned to the NHL in 1969, playing with Detroit and St. Louis.
He later played with the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association and after a five-year retirement, finished his career with 20 games with the Maple Leafs.
Into the courtroom
While his playing career was both tumultuous and incredibly successful, his post-retirement years saw him take on a Goliath in the form of both the NHL and his former friend, agent, and executive director of the NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), Alan Eagleson.
The realization that Eagleson had been defrauding players for many years spurred Brewer and his partner Susan Foster to spend 17 years meticulously investigating the practices and malfeasance in the management of players’ pension funds.
It was their dogged persistence that resulted in the recovery of $40 million U.S. for retired players.
Eagleson was ultimately indicted on charges of racketeering, fraud and embezzlement and was sentenced to 18 months in prison and personally fined $1.2 million.
According to hockey historian and multi-award-winning author Kevin Shea, “Hockey owes a great debt of gratitude to Carl Brewer. Generations of players are indebted to Brewer, and he deserves a berth in the Hockey Hall of Fame in either (the player or builder) category.”
Hall of Famer Frank Mahovlich expressed his own feelings about Brewer, noting, “Carl Brewer. Defender of the underdog; a man of vision with a mission, a believer in principles, a fighter for NHL players’ rights.”
Brewer died in Leaside, in 2001, at the age of 62, having lived in the apartments at 75 Leacrest from 1995 to his passing.
Brewer’s life, career and fight for justice are rivetingly shared in The Power of Two: Carl Brewer’s Battle with Hockey’s Power Brokers, written by Susan Foster and Carl Brewer.
