On Thu, Jun 5, 2008 at 9:56 PM, Bob Sullivan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > And Tim Horton was a famous Hockey player! > He used his name to advertise the chain of shops. > Great match-up with the Stanley Cup. > Regards, Bob S.
Yes, Tim was one of the great defensemen of his era. Reputed to be the strongest player in the NHL, he played for a number of teams from the early 50's right into the early 70's, most notably Toronto. He finished his career with the expansion Buffalo Sabres. He didn't just lend his name to the donut shops; it was his shop. Back in the day, hockey players were among the lowest paid of professional athletes (and still are, but at millions a year, it's quite moot). They needed careers after hockey, and many started restaurants, bars and other retail ventures. Tim actually started the coffee shop in Hamilton, Ontario before he retired. Indeed he never did retire. He died in a horrendous high-speed crash in his De Tomaso Pantera driving from a game in Buffalo to his home in Toronto. Expansion of the chain of coffeeshops increased dramatically after his death, and they're now nation-wide and ubiquitous. They are part of our cultural scenery, for better or worse. As it turns out, two of my three daughters have worked part time at a (different) Tim's during highschool, and I've gotta tell ya, it beats hanging at the mall or playing video games for hours at a time! Okay, they did those things too, but less while working... ;-) cheers, frank -- "Sharpness is a bourgeois concept." -Henri Cartier-Bresson -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
