Sometimes we’re caught off guard by the response we get from readers! On February 18th, we re-posted a story by our friend Craig Baird from Canadian History Ehx about the birthday of NHL legend Dick Duff.
“Happy birthday to Dick Duff, born on this day in 1936 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario! In his NHL career from 1955 to 1971, he won the Stanley Cup six times (four with Montreal, two with Toronto). In 1,030 games, he had 572 points. In 2006, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame.”
Our Facebook post received hundreds of likes, comments and shares from friends and fans alike.
Stephen Young: Friend of the family pulled me around on my wagon when I was a little kid. Happy birthday dick. 🎂
Ivan Proulx: Mr Duff in the year 2003 you sent me a letter wishing me good luck cuz you were with my brother at a bar (at) Kirkland Lake probably having a pop and I still have that put away I’m 72 now and I watch you play your whole career that means more to me than anything that you sent.
Sally Ryan: 🎶🎂HaPpy Birthday to You🎉🎶 I often think of your support in North Bay 🥰
Judy Rivard: He was my childhood hero❣️
705BLACKFLY.COM decided to reach out to the Hockey Hall of Fame to see if they could let Mr. Duff know about the outpouring of love and respect our readers shared. Today, they sent us this message from him:
“It’s so nice to be remembered and I’m thrilled to hear of the responses. My thoughts are always with Kirkland Lake. My sister still lives there. It’s still one of my favourite spots. A lot of great hockey players come from Kirkland Lake; it’s a great community. Please give my best and thank everyone for me.”
Dick Duff
A true hero from Northern Ontario. We hope you had a wonderful birthday, sir.
