Show Hockey Aces Toughest Hombres in Captivity So Says Sport Scribe Who Reviews SonIc Some Incidents Showing Professional Ice Stars' Stars Willingness Willing Willing- ness and Ability to Take It By y HENRY l United Press Staff Correspondent NEW YORK Dec Dee 26 26 Legend Legend has hasit it that the sun baked babies of the foreign legion are the last word in toughness that compared with the themen themen themen men who stand watch for France in inI I I I I the outposts of the world the rest o ous of ofus ofus us are mollycoddles Maybe so but if we were asked to cast a vote in a contest to determine the worlds world's toughest hombres wed we'd mark our tally in favor of those hard hard- hitting daredevils who ride the ice in big time professional ional hockey Weve We've known for a long time that tha the men ri of ho hokey hockey key were a race apart but not until we picked up a program at Madison Square Garden the other night ight did we fully appreciate just jus how v the players can take it and it-and and like it The hockey editor needing a filler filler tiller fill till er devoted a page or so to describIng describing describing ing a few of the injuries suffered by bya a few of the players and the modest modes little was a saga sasa of courage an epic of fortitude Resembles Crazy Quilt Ching Johnson we guess I Is Iii exhibIt A among the Off Oft the ice Ching is the most modest and unassuming unassuming unassuming unas unas- suming of fellows but once the whistle whis whis- tie tle blows he hc becomes the wild man o othe of the frozen field fied Ching's been patched up so many times he resembles a crazy quilt and In these patching operations operations opera opera- enough thread to keep a knit knit- tag mill busy for a week has been used One season Dit Clapper of ot Boston checked Johnson into the boards am and Ching suffered a compound fracture of ot the jaw Wires were used to hold hole his shattered bones together and a special harness created for his neck and face tace when Ching insisted on continuing continuing con conS play And Helgie Bostrum of the Chicago in a w with th the Rangers last year dropped to the ice with a tremendous slash just above his right ankle For seven weeks he helay helay helay lay in the hospital waiting for the wound which required nearly a hundred hundred hundred hun hun- dred stitches to heal His comrades comrade cheered him in his trouble by mailing him coffin advertisements Doctors said Bostrum would never neve play hockey again Lionel Conacher Canadas Canada's most famous famous famous fa fa- fa- fa around all athlete is a respected member of ot the tough guys' guys tion Near the end of the 1931 season Lionel drew a nasty gash in the first firs period of ot a game with the Americans He finished out the period with blood oozing through his heavy pads When he returned to the dressing room the doctor offered him an anes anes- I Give us a drink doc doe and never mind the dope Lionel said Then he put on a clean uniform and wen went out and finished the game Narrow Escape Dave of the Montreal Maroons Maroons Ma Ma- Ia- Ia came within an ace of death deatha a few seasons back when a skate blade gashed his neck missing the jugular vein by a whisper Daves Dave's still riding hi high h wide and handsome Eddie Shore Boston's bad boy once had all his front teeth knocked out in a game but refused substitution tion and Chuck Gardiner Chicago goalie caught a puck square in the face and required 16 stitches Chuck used chewing gum um as an anesthetic while the doctor did his sewing Early last season Pete Lepine Canadian Canadian Ca Ca- nadian forward crashed into another player and fell to the ice near the players' players box He started to craw crawl to the sideboards but couldn't quite make it Come on doc doe give me a hand Lepine yelled Ive busted a leg or two Near the end of the season he was vas back in uniform and sweeping up the ice with all ail his speed and power ower These are just a few examples of how the men of hockey can take it Wed We'd tell you more but weve we've got a cold in the head and feel fecI like we were we're re going to die |