Before the era of massive contracts and multi-million dollar stars, the greatest players in the National Hockey League needed to supplement their income with an offseason career. At the time, the league was still considered a fledgling organization and lagged behind its North American contemporaries in both popularity and revenues. While professional hockey is now a full-time gig, the legendary players of decades past spent their offseason working full time.Maurice Richard

While it may seem strange that the greatest player in the history of the Montréal Canadiens, the first player to score fifty goals in a single season, and the captain who began the first Canadiens dynasty and won eight Stanley Cups with Les Glorieux would require a second job, the era necessitated he get one. Richard began working for the Canadian Pacific Railway in 1937 at age 16 and continued to do so even as he set numerous NHL records and became the ambassador for the Canadiens. Maurice Richard of the Montreal Canadiens (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)

There was history behind Richard';s association with the CPR. His father, Onésime, worked as a carpenter with the railway intermittently in the early part of the 20th century. The Rocket worked offseasons in a railcar construction warehouse in what is now Montréal';s Angus Shops district, a facility responsible for producing locomotives and passenger and freight cars.

On this day in 1943, Maurice Richard, Elmer Lach and Toe Blake played together for the first time. The trio would form the dominant Punch Line #Hockey365 #GoHabsGo pic.twitter.com/QsLLgaSfpg- Mike Commito (@mikecommito) October 30, 2020

Bobby Hull

The "Golden Jet" was most well-known for his years with the Chicago Black Hawks in which time he became one of the game';s greatest-ever scorers and among the few players to sport the No. 9 alongside other greats like Gordie Howe, Maurice Richard, and Johnny Bucyk. A prolific scorer with five seasons scoring 50 or more goals, his speed and puck handling ability turned him into a legend in two leagues. Bobby Hull with 50th goal puck. (THW Archives)

Like many of his contemporaries, Hull worked during the offseason and supplemented his income during the season as well. Despite his gap-toothed grin, he had a reputation as one of the most attractive players in the game. Capitalizing on this, he found work as a model. He appeared on television as a spokesman for Vitalis hair tonic and in magazine pages as the poster boy for swimsuits, sweaters and socks ("Bobby Hull" by Trent Frayne. Maclean';s Magazine, 22nd January 1966).

Trent Frayne of Maclean';s Magazine described images of a man whose attractiveness was almost inhuman; Frayne saw "his tawny pelt glistening in muscles piled on muscles, grinning down on a doll wearing a delicious dispersement of skin" (Ibid). Makes sense, then. Derek Sanderson

Derek "Turk" Sanderson was best known for his time with the Boston Bruins in the late 60s and early 70s and for providing the assist on what many believe to be the greatest goal in NHL history, Bobby Orr';s overtime tally against the St. Louis Blues in the 1970 Stanley Cup Final.

Bobby Orr scores in OT to win the 1970 Stanley Cup for the Boston Bruins. Derek Sanderson registers the assist.

Scoring north of 20 goals and 20 assists in almost all of his seasons with the Bruins, he seemed like a staple of the team and in the league. Sanderson';s career unfortunately fizzled after the 1971-72 season, and he made the jump to the Philadelphia Blazers of the World Hockey Association. Signing the most lucrative contract in hockey history to that point, he never got the chance to prove his worth, as injuries limited him to only eight games in 1972-73. He would eventually find his form again with the New York Rangers in 1974-75, scoring 25 goals and registering 25 assists.

Needing to supplement his income during the seasons in which he was out for long periods, he partnered with football legend Joe Namath and opened a New York City nightclub called "Bachelors III." What began as a responsible investment quickly turned sour, as the reputation of the club began to decline and Sanderson was forced to withdraw his stake in the venture.

All month long, we're looking back at some of the best Bruins Mo's from over the years. 👨🧔

Grow yours and join the #NHLBruins Foundation and Movember throughout November to raise funds and spread awareness for men's health.#GrowYourBruinsMo details ➡️ https://t.co/vXyI32cRFi pic.twitter.com/2uQgUSr7ps- Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 2, 2020Boston Bruins centre Derek Sanderson (top right).

The era of the seemingly underpaid hockey player is largely forgotten; the era in which the greatest players in the world finished the season, went home and went to work like everyone else. The fact that the greatest players of the day got up each morning and went to work alongside average citizens endeared them further to the fans and helped in a small way to turn many of them into the legends of the game we revere today.

The post Unsalaried: The Era of the Two-Job Hockey Player appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

      

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