Candidates for election as Honoured Members in the builder category shall be chosen on the basis of (i) their coaching, managerial or executive ability, where applicable, or otherwise any significant off-ice skill or role, (ii) their sportsmanship and character and (iii) their contribution to their organization or organizations and to the game of hockey in general.
For this Hall of Fame candidate there is no middle ground. Either you love him or hate him, but NOBODY doesn’t know him. He is also someone who doesn’t really fall under the categories that exist at the Hockey Hall of Fame. Donald Samuel Cherry (aka Grapes) created such a niche position within the broadcasting world that there isn’t anyone like him, nor can he be imitated.
Currently there is only one broadcaster that is inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder: Foster Hewitt. Since then, the Hall of Fame has created an award to honour broadcasters named for him: the Foster Hewitt Memorial Award. However thus far there has only been play-by-play and colour guys honoured for that achievement. Although began briefly doing colour, Don Cherry doesn’t fit any of those categories now. As someone whose influence really transcends broadcasting, I would put him in the builder category.
Don Cherry started his hockey career the same way most do as a player. He had a promising start to be a long time player in the NHL, however some bad breaks stopped him from achieving that goal. Early in his career he had a chance to play one NHL game, a 1955 playoff contest, with the Boston Bruins. When the Bruins were knocked out they said they had plans for him so requested that he not play baseball in the off-season. Grapes didn’t listen, however, and he ended up hurting his shoulder. Instead of resting the injury, he continued to work out, injuring it even more. By the time Bruins training camp began, he had no strength in his arm and the Bruins passed him by.
Don Cherry as a member of the Boston Bruins
Despite all of this, Cherry had a very good decade-and-a-half minor league career spent mostly in the AHL and WHL. He would be a journeyman blue liner and a tough guy wherever he went, as well as be the leader in most dressing rooms. He would win the Calder Cup in the AHL four times, once with the Springfield Indians, the other three with the Rochester Americans. He would also win the Lester Patrick Trophy of the Western Hockey League with the Vancouver Canucks the year before the Canucks became an NHL team.
After his retirement, and struggling to find regular work outside of hockey, he returned to the game as the coach of the Rochester Americans. Initially he had trouble finding success due to power struggles with the parent team, the Vancouver Canucks. Near the end of his first season, the Canucks wanted him to play one of their prospects in the game that would make or break their season, while Grapes wanted to put in a veteran. Cherry attempted to start the veteran but he ended up getting hurt in the warm up. Cherry was forced to go with the prospect and ended up losing. After that, the general manager, Doug Adams, went to Cherry and told him “we’re making a change in your department”, the only problem was Don Cherry was the only one in his department. However, not too long after the Canucks changed their affiliation and the Americans became an independent team in the AHL. The team brought back Cherry as coach and general manager, where he would go on to win coach of the year.
At this point the Boston Bruins were looking to make a change behind their bench. They went with the best up and coming coach they could find in Don Cherry. With Cherry on board, he dictated that his teams were to be big and tough, thus adding lore to the idea of the “Big Bad Bruins”. He would win the Jack Adams Award in 1976 as the Boston Bruins would be the class of the league in the regular season. However, in his playoffs, Cherry’s teams could not find a way to surpass the pesky Montreal Canadiens. The Canadiens were in the middle of their 4 year Cup winning dynasty and they would not be denied. By the end of the 1979 season, tensions were running high between he and Harry Sinden, general manager and president of the Bruins. When the Bruins lost game 7 to the Canadiens that year, Sinden promptly fired him.
The next year, the Colorado Rockies would hire Cherry as their coach. Since the Rockies were a relatively new team, the talent level was not up to what Cherry was used to. With that said, he had an impact with his players, with the team getting 9 more points than it did the year prior. However, like in Boston, Cherry had some problems getting along with general manager, Ray Miron. Cherry felt the team needed an upgrade in goal from Hardy Astrom, while Miron did not agree. Due to Cherry’s strong relationship with the players, it got to a point that Miron had to fire Cherry in order regain control of his organization.
After that, Don Cherry was viewed as a GM Killer and was blackballed from coaching in the NHL.
Don Cherry was captain of the Rochester Americans before becoming their head coach
The prior events brought him to where he is today as a broadcaster on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada. On TV, Don Cherry would become the most influential broadcaster since Foster Hewitt in the early days of the NHL. Cherry would use his unfiltered opinion on the airwaves to create discussion about what he said from both fans and members of the hockey world alike. As Ralph Mellanby told him, he never wants him to say “I think” because he is there as an expert. So he speaks under the pretence that he is correct. With that in mind, he often says what a lot of people are thinking, which makes him very likeable.
On the other side of things, sometimes he says things that offends people. The obvious incidents involved his rants on francophone and European hockey players. He has said on numerous occasions that they do not play the same as those from the rest of Canada, where sometimes he would say that they do not have “heart” or that they are the ones who start a fight but won’t end one. The thing is about Grapes is that you don’t have to agree with everything he says to enjoy him. He is not always politically correct, but he is entertaining and very knowledgeable. His controversies both hurt and help his claim as a possible honoured member for the Hockey Hall of Fame as sometimes those things are not created by him, but merely him pointing out that it’s there.
Cherry as a broadcaster has used his fame to support very important causes like minor hockey and the military in Canada. He makes sure that he uses his time on air to give the time of day to those who he believes deserves it most. In regards to the military, he has made numerous trips to Afghanistan and makes sure that Canada takes a moment to recognize any fallen soldier of police officer. Much of the time, people would not take the time to do this without this nudge. This aspect of Cherry’s career helped him be voted at the 7th Greatest Canadian as part of a CBC television program. The people voted ahead of him were Tommy Douglas, Terry Fox, Pierre Trudeau, Sir Frederick Banting, David Suzuki, and Lester Pearson. He is the only one of the top 10 not to have an order of Canada though numerous publications such as the National Post, the Globe and Mail, and even the late Minister of Finance, Jim Flaherty has suggested he should.
From a minor league perspective, Don Cherry has been a great ambassador of the game. He goes out of his way to go to multiple minor league and charity events to help grow the game. He will give anyone and everyone the time of day and does his best to support a minor hockey program in Canada that desperately needs it. As it stands right now, sports like Basketball and Soccer are the fastest growing sports at the grass roots level. Hockey has taken a back seat due to price. Cherry has put in a lot of resources to help these minor hockey programs and also programs to reduce injuries such as the “STOP” (Safety Toward Other Players) initiative.
Grapes behind the bench
Grapes’ status as a prospective Hall of Famer has quite a few supporters. For example:
"Can anyone deny that the man has driven interest in the sport to the extent that he stops Canada in its tracks every Saturday night on Coach's Corner?
Wherever people gather, they stop and listen with reverence, derision, laughter and amazement when the Coach steps to his bloody pulpit.
Does he butcher the odd name? Of course. And to our delight. Has he offended a few nationalities? You betcha. And many of us snicker at the thought of it. He has cajoled, infuriated, taunted and challenged many in the hockey universe. And we can't get enough of him." Mike Milbury
Nobody asked Ludzy but why isn’t my pal Don Cherry in the hall of fame? As incredulous as it seems, The Grape One is on the outside looking in. For almost 30 years, he has held a nation captivated with his apparel, verbiage, utterances and calling it the way he sees it with attitude. Frank Sinatra could not have held an audience on TV that long.
No disrespect to the Pope or prime minister, but he easily is the most recognized man in Canada. Love him or loathe him, he cannot be ignored. He’s woven into the fabric of our flag. He should be in the builder’s category.
There is a pungent odour of jealousy that makes the hall of shame’s snubbing all the more tougher to digest. The hall is littered with boozehounds, gamblers, gangsters, embezzlers and fraudsters.
On second thought, maybe my pal is better off not in that company. Steve Ludzik
Then there is Bobby Orr, Cherry’s greatest supporter who wrote in his book
Orr My Story,
Don Cherry in one of his trademark outfits
As I write this, Don Cherry is still not a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and to me it is one of the greatest oversights in the history of the game. He has left an unequaled mark on hockey over the past fifty years, not just in Canada but internationally as well. He played the game and coach it at the highest level. Of course, younger generations of Canadians know him better as the colorful hockey analyst and main personality on CBC’s Hockey Night in Canada (no offense to Ron MacLean). His “Coaches Corner” segment during those broadcasts are legendary- it’s the most-watched few minutes of television in Canada. Most of us can’t even imagine the game without him….
His stature within the hockey community is significant and meaningful, and his importance is as great as that of any player, past or present. Given his long-standing and continuing contributions to the game, both at home and abroad, he is more than worthy of nomination in the Hockey Hall of Fame.
There is a thought process amongst fans that Don Cherry will not get into the Hall of Fame until he passes on. He recently turned 80 years old and many wonder how long he can keep going with his current gig. It would be a real shame if what people’s morbid prediction comes to pass. The Hockey world is still bitter about Pat Burns not being inducted prior to his death and this would be the same. Fifty years from now the man will be talked about in the same breath as Foster Hewitt as one of the most storied broadcasters of all time. No matter what you think of him, everyone always tunes in after the first intermission on Hockey Night in Canada to see what he has to say. He has that influence over the entire Hockey community.
As a builder, Cherry’s results as a coach does not reflect a Hall of Fame career. However, as a broadcaster he has exhibited a significant off ice role, very strong sportsmanship and character for what he does on TV, and very few people have contributed more to the game that Don Cherry has. One would hope those on the Selection Committee overlooks his controversies and tact and focus on what he’s accomplished. Even if he is not selected, the Hockey world should recognize him in some way shape or form.
Let me know if there is anyone else you want to see in the Hockey Hall of Fame by either commenting here, emailing me at
[email protected], or following me on Twitter, @Kirshenblatt.
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HHOF Making the Case:
Steve Larmer
Reggie Leach
Alexander Mogilny
Pat Quinn
Kerry Fraser
Paul Henderson
Chris Osgood
Marguerite Norris
Eric Lindros
Pat Burns
Curtis Joseph
Theo Fleury
Carl Brewer
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