MONTREALER
Registered user
Registered: 09-2005
Posts: 2208
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
thanks to HelmutHedd30 and goalie21 for their help with this now concluded investigation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frNUkGYdIAs
The interview video does not cover the subject of goalie masks, but Mr. Collins may have made up to a hundred or so goalie masks for young goalies from all over Manitoba in the 1960s and 1970s.
Don Collins in action, wearing the mask he made for himself - notice the similarities with Villemure's mask:
So How did Gilles Villemure come to get a mask made by a mask maker from Winnipeg Manitoba???
According to Mr. Collins, it would have been in training camp of 1964. The New York Rangers held their camp in Winnipeg (they also did in 1963) and the 2 goalies on that team were Jacques Plante and Gilles Villemure. During Camp, Plante suffered a knee injury, and was sent back to be treated. With only one goalie left to begin the new season, Dennis Ball, assistant General Manager at the time, sought out Don Collins knowing that he was actively making masks. He had Mr. Collins make a young Gilles Villemure a mask, and that was the only time that they met.
Ironically, and though he played 4 games for the NY Rangers in 1963-64, Villemure would not play a single game for the Rangers in 1964-65, and not until 1967-68.
Spending those years in the minors, the very few archive photos we have of Villemure in Vancouver, where he played a total of 129 games in 1964-65 and 1965-66, but the fuzzy pictures show only a young left-handed goalie not wearing a mask.
The earliest dated photo of Villemure we have on file goes back to April 22nd 1967,
with the Baltimore Clippers, though he probably began wearing the mask in 1966.
a couple of minor-league goalies who wore masks made by Don Collins
Ray Martynuik
and Cal Hammond
both Martynuik and Hammond were drafted by the Montreal Canadien, but neither of them ever played a single game in the NHL.
Glen Hanlon from Brandon Manitoba also had a mask made by Don Collins towards the end of Mr. Collins' mask-making career.
highly accurate replica with signatures of the 2 greats!
|
6/3/2015, 9:03 am
|
Link to this post
Send Email to MONTREALER
Send PM to MONTREALER
|
elkleaf
Registered user
Registered: 12-2009
Posts: 966
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
wow ! great info and fotos , thanks !
|
6/3/2015, 6:11 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to elkleaf
Send PM to elkleaf
|
corsetteowner
Registered user
Registered: 02-2006
Posts: 300
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
Really nice! I've always liked his mask! I wonder if another will ever turn up someday?
|
6/4/2015, 5:33 am
|
Link to this post
Send Email to corsetteowner
Send PM to corsetteowner
|
goalie21
Registered user
Registered: 12-2005
Posts: 2466
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
Great detective work as always Marc!!
|
6/4/2015, 8:16 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to goalie21
Send PM to goalie21
|
MONTREALER
Registered user
Registered: 09-2005
Posts: 2208
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
Call me Sherlock ... but you guys helped a lot & you get full credit!!
|
6/4/2015, 8:33 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to MONTREALER
Send PM to MONTREALER
|
Plante
Head Administrator
Registered: 05-2005
Posts: 8594
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
WOW GOLD..... Montrealer... GOLD....
|
6/4/2015, 9:04 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to Plante
Send PM to Plante
|
Plante
Head Administrator
Registered: 05-2005
Posts: 8594
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
BRAVO... Breath of fresh air to see someone take the time and make such an excellent post.
Last edited by Plante, 6/5/2015, 7:07 am
|
6/4/2015, 9:09 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to Plante
Send PM to Plante
|
LVADone
Registered user
Registered: 01-2015
Location: NYC
Posts: 89
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
Great post! Comprehensive! Thanks!
--- Working On being The First Bionic Goalie :-)
|
6/6/2015, 12:33 am
|
Link to this post
Send Email to LVADone
Send PM to LVADone
|
drydenforever
Registered user
Registered: 10-2007
Posts: 1118
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
Awesome work Sherlock!!!
|
6/21/2015, 3:02 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to drydenforever
Send PM to drydenforever
|
MONTREALER
Registered user
Registered: 09-2005
Posts: 2208
|
Reply | Quote
|
|
Re: Happy 75th Birthday Gilles Villemure - and meet the man who made his mask
thank you all - but it couldn't have happened without a couple of 'Watsons' ... I am humbled and forever grateful.
|
6/22/2015, 9:05 pm
|
Link to this post
Send Email to MONTREALER
Send PM to MONTREALER
|