Johnny Bower served with the Canadian Army during World War II in England from 1940 to 1943 and was discharged due to rheumatoid arthritis. After the war, Bower returned to Prince Albert in 1943 to play junior hockey in Prince Albert and in the AHL — largely for the Cleveland Barons — for 11 seasons in the late 1940s and 1950s, and proved himself the star goaltender of the circuit, winning numerous awards and leading his teams to three Calder Cup championships. During his first professional year of hockey, he changed his name from John Kiszkan to Bower, to make it easier for sports writers. He was finally picked up by the New York Rangers of the NHL for the 1953–54 season, but was sent back down to the minor leagues the following season. Bower would toil in the minors four more years in Providence (Reds 1945–1946, 1955–1956 and 1956–1957), Vancouver (Canucks 1954–1955), Cleveland (Barons 1945–1953 and 1957–1958) and then again with the Rangers in 1954–1955, before being claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1958 Inter-League Draft. He would play 11 full seasons in all with the Leafs, the remainder of his career. The height of his NHL career came during the Maple Leafs' three consecutive Stanley Cup victories in the early 1960s — 1962, 1963 and 1964. After the 1962 victory, Bower complained about Bobby Hull, Chicago Black Hawks left winger and his hard slap shot, improved from that of Montreal Canadiens left-wing Bernie Geoffrion. Bower said, He needs another shot like I need a hole in the head, which I may get." His career would be hampered by poor eyesight, but despite that he remained a top-tier goaltender. He was known for his hard-nosed, scrappy playing style and would win another Stanley Cup in 1967 by tandeming with another Hall of Famer (Terry Sawchuk). Bower claimed, "I wasn't all that glad to see the two-goalie system come in. I wanted to play as many games as I could." Bower and Sawchuk shared the Vezina Trophy as the best NHL goalies in 1964–65. On April 22, 1967, in the second game of the Stanley Cup Finals, he shut out the Montreal Canadiens for his fifth (and final) career playoff shutout - four of them against the Canadiens. In the third game of the Stanley Cup Finals, on April 25, 1967, and in his last Stanley Cup Finals appearance, he became the second-oldest goalie to play in the Finals at the age of 42 years, 5 months, 17 days (refer to Lester Patrick for record). The Leafs won in double overtime when Bob Pulford scored. On April 6, 1969, at the age of 44 years, 4 months, and 29 days, Bower became the oldest goaltender to play in a Stanley Cup playoff game. His last full season was 1968–69. He played his final game on December 10, 1969, a 6-3 loss to Montreal; mainly due to injuries, this was his only game of the 1969-70 season. On March 19, 1970, Bower publicly announced his official retirement - four months after his 45th birthday. When asked, in light of his retirement, if he might reveal his true age, he replied "If you don't know by now, you never will". He subsequently revealed his birth date as November 8, 1924. His regular season career statistics include: 552 games played, 250 wins, 195 losses, 90 ties, 37 shutouts and a 2.51 GAA. In addition, he remains the AHL career leader in wins and shutouts. Bower was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976, and the AHL Hall of Fame as a member of its inaugural class in 2006. In 1998, he was ranked number 87 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players. He was assistant coach for the Leafs from 1976–1978. Bower is also a member of the Etobicoke Sports Hall of Fame since 1994. Bower was inducted into the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame in 1999. Bower is married to wife Nancy with a son, two daughters and six grandchildren and resides in Mississauga, Ontario. In January 2004, Bower was featured on a postage stamp. As part of the NHL All-Stars Collection, Bower was immortalized along with five other All-Stars. In 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint featured Bower on a non-circulating fifty-cent coin, as part of its four-coin Legends of the Toronto Maple Leafs coin set. In 2007, it was announced that Bower would receive a star on Canada's Walk of Fame. On October 7, 2010, he opened the first game of regular season for the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Air Canada Centre by walking out on an implied bridge over water with his goalie stick. On May 24, 2014, Bower attended a street renaming ceremony in Weston Village in Toronto, where he once lived for many years. Formerly Patika Avenue, it was renamed Johnny Bower Boulevard. Local barber; Peter Kalamaris of World Famous Peter's Barber Shop collected close to 500 signatures to support this initiative. Bower proudly stated “it’s a great day for me and my family...this is a better ovation than I used to get at Maple Leaf Gardens.”. After the street sign unveiling, hundreds of fans lined up to get their picture taken with Bower and the Vezina trophy at the barber shop. Approximately $1,200.00 was raised in under two hours for Alzheimer's Toronto in memory of Peter Kalamaris' father Pantelis."
