World Wide Hall of Fame

Is Mario not an honoured member or is there something I missed (i.e. eligibility). He was one of a few that could make goalies look foolish and was one of teh top 5 greatest players of all time. His NHL and inetrnational record is fantastic.

10/30/2008 Submitted by Will, Germany

Ugh...I take it back. I didn't notice that Foyston made it in your 1978 vote. Sorry. What took you guys so long, though?

10/30/2008 Submitted by Will, Germany

You should all be embarrassed for never having cast a single, solitary vote for Frank Foyston, who was easily the second biggest star of the PCHA era behind Cyclone Taylor, and probably the greatest big-game player of the East vs. West Cup era.

You guys have got Moose Johnson in this thing, but not an 8-time PCHA all-star (6 first teams), who was also the MVP of the league (1917), captain of the first American team to win the Cup and a consistently spectacular player in the Stanley Cup finals?! Not a single vote? What gives?

3/31/2008 Submitted by DARRYL BIECH, B.C., Canada

Frantisek Pospisil with his play in the 1970's and especially during an exciting 1-0 win over Canada in the 1976 Canada Cup (the only game they did not score in that tournament), makes him one of the Greatest Defensemen ever in my books.

Certainly Dzurilla played a great game in goal but he also needed great back-checking and a great defensive performance in addition to his own great play in order to shut out the 1976 Canada Cup Team.

This was Bobby Orr's only Major International appearance. Bobby Hull and Guy Lafleur were also on that team.

Winning the Golden Hockey Stick 2 years in a row as the best player in Czechoslovakia in 1971 and 1972 plus the 3-3 Tie against the 1972 - TEAM CANADA and playing a leading role on their World 1976 and 1977 Gold Medal Championship teams made him
the best ever Czech player.

So even though I wanted Canada to not only win, but win in style and hopefully win all the games, you must respect the Czechs as much as the Russians of that era because with Dzurilla, Holocek, Pospisil, Machac, Bubla and Novy and the Stastny's
they were a Great Team.

The only European Team that played something like a Canadian style.

8/28/2007 Submitted by HO, Canada

'Only four players ever scored more NHL goals - a feat Delvecchio could not state when he retired.'

This is a misleading statement, because Delvecchio had an even greater accomplishment. When he retired, he ranked 2nd all-time in both assists and points.

Gordie Howe - 1814
Alex Delvecchio - 1281
Jean Beliveau - 1219
Norm Ullman - 1194
Stan Mikita - 1154
Bobby Hull - 1153
John Bucyk - 1144
Frank Mahovlich - 1103
Phil Esposito - 1043
Henri Richard - 1033

8/25/2007 Submitted by murray, MA, USA

Morey

I can't believe you are using a Alex Delvecchio comparison to justify your vote for Gartner. I saw both in their prime & Fats was by far the greater player. He didn't score at Gartners rate because he was primarily a playmaker & scoring generally was much lower in those days. Of course the years he played with Howe helped him but he didn't always play with Howe. Plus he had a great defensive game. Fats is an easy HOF selection. Gartner isn't.

8/23/2007 Submitted by KEITH LENN, NY, USA www.vintageicehockey.com

Warren,

I was one of a few on the committee that did not vote for Gartner, not necessarily because I didn't think he was worthy, but because there were other players on the ballot that I thought were more deserving.

Gartner's consistency over the long haul qualifies him to be in our WWHHoF, but I am one of those who feels that Gartner let down a little bit in the playoffs. He just seemed to be invisible at times. Morey does point out that he has a decent playoff scoring record, and you can't argue against lighting the lamp over 700 times.

However, I will not be voting for Dino Ciccarelli.

--Keith Lenn

8/21/2007 Submitted by Morey Holzman, CA, USA

Warren,

By way of explanation, sometimes you measure excellence in short spurts; sometimes you measure it over a career. No one has ever uttered a peep over the inclusion of Alex Delvecchio, who made his only all-star appearances riding the coattails of Gordie Howe (Alex didn't even score 20 goals in either season he made the end of season all-star team.)

Gartner, however, did not have such coattails to ride. And it's hard to ignore his consistency. 735 goals (including his 27 in Cinci).

Only four players ever scored more NHL goals - a feat Delvecchio could not state when he retired.

Gartner seems to be a whipping boy because the Washington Capitals had a great defense but no playoff goaltending, and he did have four playoffs where he had more than 10 points, so I would hardly say he choked in every playoff series he played.

Gartner was not a franchise player. Teams that expected him to be were in for a disappointment.

His opposite would be Guy Lafleur, who had six outstanding years in a diluted NHL, but was an average player or a disappointment the rest of the way.

But Gartner certainly belongs in any Hall of Fame one can create in hockey, when his career is measured in whole.