Maple Leaf Gardens is a historic building located at the northwest corner of Carlton Street and Church Street within Toronto, Canada's Garden District. The building was originally constructed in 1931 as an indoor arena to host ice hockey games.
Considered one of the "cathedrals" of hockey, it was home to the Toronto Maple Leafs of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1931 to 1999. The Leafs won the Stanley Cup 11 times from 1932 to 1967 while playing at the Gardens. The first NHL All-Star Game, albeit an unofficial one, was held at the Gardens in 1934 as a benefit for Leafs forward Ace Bailey, who had suffered a career-ending head injury. The first official annual National Hockey League All-Star Game was also held at Maple Leaf Gardens in 1947.
It was home to the Toronto Huskies (1946–1947) in their single season in the Basketball Association of America (a forerunner of the National Basketball Association), the Toronto Marlboros of the Ontario Hockey League, the Toronto Toros of the World Hockey Association (1974–1976), the Toronto Blizzard of the North American Soccer League (1980–1982 indoor seasons), the Toronto Shooting Stars of the National Professional Soccer League (1996–1997), and the Toronto Rock of the National Lacrosse League (1999–2000). The NBA's Buffalo Braves played a total of 16 regular season games at Maple Leaf Gardens from 1971 to 1975. The NBA's Toronto Raptors played six games at the Gardens from 1997 to 1999, mostly when SkyDome was unavailable.
The arena was also one of the few venues outside the United States where Elvis Presley performed in concert (April 2, 1957). In 1972, Maple Leaf Gardens hosted Game 2 of the famous Summit Series between Team Canada and the USSR—Team Canada won the game 4–1.
After the Leafs and Raptors moved to Air Canada Centre (later renamed to Scotiabank Arena), in 1999, Maple Leaf Gardens sat largely vacant for nearly a decade as the owners refused to sell it, fearing that it would compete with Air Canada Centre. In 2009, it was sold and underwent a major internal reconstruction, turning it into a multi-purpose facility, with a Loblaws supermarket occupying retail space on the lower floors and an arena for Toronto Metropolitan University, known as Mattamy Athletic Centre at the Gardens, occupying the top level.
History
Construction The Toronto Maple Leafs had been playing in the Arena Gardens on Mutual Street. It was built in 1912 and held 7,500 spectators for hockey. By 1930, the Leafs managing director Conn Smythe decided the "Arena" was too small, and he wanted to build a new arena, larger and more impressive. After considering various sites, the site at the corner of Carlton and Church was purchased from The T. Eaton Co. Ltd. for $350,000, ($ in dollars), a price said to be $150,000 below market value. The new 12,473-seat (14,550 including standing room) arena was designed by the architectural firm of Ross and Macdonald.
To finance the construction, Smythe launched Maple Leaf Gardens Limited (MLGL), a management company that would own the arena and the Maple Leafs. A public offering of shares in MLGL was made at C$10 each ($ in dollars), with a free common share for each five preferred shares purchased. Ownership of the hockey team was transferred to MLGL in return for shares. Intending right from the start, the Gardens would host other events. W. A. Hewitt, sports editor of the Toronto Star, was hired as general manager of Maple Leaf Gardens to oversee all events other than professional hockey.Maple Leaf Gardens, Limited – Prospectus. The Globe. Toronto. March 5, 1931. His son, Foster Hewitt, was hired to run the radio broadcasts and oversaw the construction of the radio broadcast facilities.
The contract to construct the building was awarded to Thomson Brothers Construction of Port Credit in Toronto Township. Thomson Bros bid just under $990,000 for the project, the lowest of ten tenders received, mainly because amongst the Thomson Brothers' various enterprises they had much of the sub-contract work covered (Thomson Lumber, Thomson Bros. Excavation), and others could not compete in this manner. That price did not include steelwork, which was estimated at an additional $100,000. Further savings were made through deals with labour unions in exchange for shares in MLGL. Construction began at midnight on June 1, 1931. In what is to this day considered to be a remarkable accomplishment, the Gardens was constructed in five months and two weeks at a cost of C$1.5 million ($ in dollars).
Team owner Harold Ballard lived in the owner's suite built into the arena's top northeast corner.
The Conn Smythe era: 1931–1960
The Gardens opened on November 12, 1931, with the Maple Leafs losing 2–1 to the Chicago Black Hawks. The reported attendance on opening night was 13,542.Rodden, Mike (November 13, 1931). "Over Thirteen Thousand Attend Opening Game". The Globe. Toronto. The Leafs would go on to win their first Stanley Cup as the Maple Leafs that season (they had already won two previously—one as the Toronto Arenas and one as the Toronto St. Patricks).
The first professional wrestling show at the Gardens was held on November 19, 1931, and attracted 15,800 people to see world champion Jim Londos in the main event. The show was promoted by Jack Corcoran, who passed the reins to Frank Tunney and his Maple Leaf Wrestling promotion in 1939. Under Tunney, Toronto and the Gardens was a thriving centre for professional wrestling for decades. Local hero Whipper Billy Watson became the city's top wrestling attraction in the 1940s and 1950s. The last WWE-promoted event at Maple Leaf Gardens was on September 17, 1995. Boxing was also a regular offering at the Gardens for many years. The first world title fight in the building was on September 19, 1932, with bantamweight champion Panama Al Brown knocking out challenger Émile Pladner in the first round.
Winston Churchill addressed a large audience at the Gardens in March 1932; when the arena's loudspeaker system broke down, he tossed the microphone to one side, declared "Now that we have exhausted the resources of science, we shall fall back upon Mother Nature and do our best," and continued.
Victory Loan rallies were held at the Gardens during World War II.
Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) secretary W. A. Hewitt served as the managing director of Maple Leaf Gardens from 1931 to 1948. When the Gardens opened, it served as the home rink for all Toronto-based teams in the OHA, except for the University of Toronto. The OHA regularly renewed lease agreements to keep the same arrangement.
On November 1, 1946, Maple Leaf Gardens was the site of the first game in the history of the Basketball Association of America (later to become the NBA), with the Toronto Huskies playing the New York Knickerbockers. The Huskies played their last game at the Gardens on March 28, 1947, and the franchise folded shortly after that. In the 1946–47 NHL season, Maple Leaf Gardens was the first arena in the NHL to have Plexiglas inserted in the end zones of the rink.
Smythe became the majority owner of Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. in 1947, following a power struggle between directors who supported him as president and those who wanted him replaced with Frank J. Selke. Toronto stock broker Percy Gardiner lent Smythe the money he needed to take control of the corporation. The loan was paid off in 1960.
Beginning with the Canadian Grand Opera's production of Faust in 1936, the Gardens became home to more highbrow forms of entertainment. The Metropolitan Opera staged several of its visiting productions there between 1952 and 1960. The first rock and roll concert at the Gardens was held in 1956, featuring Bill Haley & His Comets. Elvis Presley's shows at the Gardens on April 2, 1957, were his first-ever concerts outside the United States. The Gardens also hosted evangelist Billy Graham during his "Canadian Crusade" in 1955.
Smythe-Ballard-Bassett in partnership: 1961–1971
In 1961, Smythe sold most of his shares to a three-person partnership formed by his son, Stafford Smythe, with Harold Ballard and John W. H. Bassett. The new ownership added 962 new seats to the Gardens in 1962 and added a private club, The Hot Stove Club, the following year. Even more seats were added in 1965, and new mezzanine galleries were constructed in 1966 and 1967. By 1968, seating capacity for hockey had grown to 16,485. This was achieved, in part, by making the seats narrower, so that—in the words of founder Conn Smythe—"only a young man could sit in them and only a fat old rich man could afford them." A large portrait of Queen Elizabeth II was removed to accommodate more seats. When asked why he removed the picture, Ballard replied, "She doesn't pay me; I pay her. Besides, what the hell position can a queen play?"
The Leafs were so popular the team sold out every game from 1946 to 1999. It was often called the "Carlton Street Cashbox" in sports reporting. Advertising was sold and placed throughout the building.
On November 8, 1963, Maple Leaf Gardens would be the first arena in the NHL to have separate penalty boxes.Duplacey p. 72 The Beatles made a stop at Maple Leaf Gardens during each of their three North American tours: September 7, 1964, August 17, 1965, and August 17, 1966. It was the only venue to host the group on each tour.
In March 1966, Conn Smythe resigned from the board of directors after a Muhammad Ali boxing match was scheduled for the Gardens. He found Ali's comments about the Vietnam War to be offensive and said that by accepting the fight, Gardens owners had "put cash ahead of class."
Also in 1966, a new centre-hung scoreboard with a digital clock was installed, replacing the SporTimer, which was an analog clock. One of the designers of the new scoreboard, Paul Morris, was by this time the arena's public address announcer, a job he would hold until the Leafs left the arena.
Ballard and the younger Smythe were accused in 1969 of stealing money from the corporation and avoiding income taxes by having Maple Leaf Gardens Ltd. pay for many of their personal expenses. The controversy created a rift between the two and Bassett, which led to Smythe and Ballard being fired from their management positions in 1969, only to win back control the following year. In September 1971, Bassett sold his shares to Stafford Smythe and Ballard. Just six weeks later, Smythe died. His brother and son tried to keep the shares within the Smythe family, but in February 1972, Ballard purchased all of Smythe's shares, leaving him with majority ownership of the building and the Leafs.
Harold Ballard takes control: 1972–1990
On July 7, 1974, the arena hosted a Professional wrestling tournament called World Cup Wrestling. Various International stars competed in like Dara Singh, Pat Roach, Danny Lynch, Tiger Jeet Singh, Prince Mann Singh, Randhawa, Than Yen Chang, Majid Ackra, Kashmir Singh, Tony Parisi, Chris Tolos, Golden Boy Apollo, and Terry Yorkston etc. In the main event match, world champion Dara Singh defeated Danny Lynch and retained his title.