Chapter Eleven: Casey, Stanley and Mike Keenly aware that parenthood was just a labour pain away, Red decided to join a foursome for a quick round of golf at the Kingsville Golf and Country Club, only 10 minutes from the cottage, on Labour Day weekend. "I was in the middle of the absolute best golf game I had ever played," Red recalled. "Everything was going perfect, I was hot . . . then the yell came from the clubhouse -- Andra was having labour pains. Holy, man! I dropped the clubs right then, right out of my hands, and rushed to the car and sped back to the cottage!" "Red came right away and loaded me and my carry bags into the car," Andra recalled. "We raced towards the Ambassador Bridge, and when we got to customs Red was frantic." "Quick, quick, let us through! Let us through!" Red yelled excitedly to the border guard. "She's going to have a baby!" They were waved through quickly. "I had to get Andra over to New Grace Hospital in Detroit," Red remembered. "It was about an hour away. I didn't know how close her delivery had progressed. I thought the baby might be coming right there and then. Little did I know that sometimes these things take time." It was a long labour, a situation Andra attributed to being fit and athletic. Dr. Jack Ronayne kept a careful eye on her. "He was the obstetrician for several of the Red Wings' wives. He had 12 children of his own," Andra recalled. "He was an elderly man but wonderful, with a wonderful family. I had taught some of his children skating, so we knew each other well. That's why I had the baby in Detroit with him. I trusted him." Two full nights later, on September 5, 1960, Andra Catherine "Casey" Kelly came into the world, weighing seven pounds, two ounces. As avid baseball fans, Red and Andra had given her the unisex nickname even before the birth, a tribute to the famous baseball man, Casey Stengel. "Andra got through the long ordeal and birth without any problems," Red recalled. "We were very fortunate that everything went all right. Casey and Andra were healthy, and I was ecstatic!" Casey allowed Andra to reconnect with her parents. "The birth of Casey was a joyous time," recalled Andra. "It was the first grandchild in my family, my parents' very first. Casey was named after my mother, Andra Catherine, so that was nice too. They drove up from the farm in Connecticut after Casey was born. My mother was just so happy to see Casey and us. It was a very emotional reunion, for sure." Things became even more hectic a few days later, when Red left the cottage for the Maple Leafs training camp in Peterborough, Ontario. "It was a race to see whether I got to camp or not," Red joked to Toronto Star reporter Gordon Campbell. He wasn't there very long before Punch Imlach had him in for the annual contract negotiation. They quickly came to an amicable agreement. "He is a big guy, and it's great to have him signed," Imlach said of Red's inking. "We may have trouble with a lot of lesser guys." Imlach eventually got everybody signed, and the Leafs started the season with only three losses in their first 14 games. A big part of their success was that Kelly and Mahovlich started where they had left off the previous season. While "the Big M" was being feted for his scoring achievements -- he had scored four goals against the Rangers on November 5, bringing his season total to 11 -- Toronto Star sports writer Milt Dunnell sought out the person he felt was responsible for Mahovlich's prolific production. "Red Kelly isn't claiming the credit as suggested by some," wrote Dunnell. "All the redhead knows is that when Mahovlich cranks up in his own end of the rink, and throws in the clutch, it's time for Kelly to take off for the far net." "I block out a man or two to sort of clear the way for Frank," Kelly told Dunnell. "Then I drop into a hole and wait for the puck to come out. If he can't get through, the chances are I may get a shot. I don't think Frank is much faster than he always has been but he didn't always take off as frequently as he does now." For Red, starting the season with the Leafs was an absolute pleasure. "It was like a new life," he recalled. "I thought I was out of hockey, and it ended up that I wasn't. It was like pulling on a light switch, from darkness to light." Andra, Red and Casey moved into a small two-story house in Leaside, northeast of downtown Toronto. They had decided to rent for this season, until they could scout out a nicer, more permanent home to purchase. The area was an instant fit, and the proximity to the local Leaside Arena allowed Andra to resume teaching skating. "Dr. Sidney Soanes, a respected person in figure skating circles, lived in Toronto," Andra recalled. "I remembered him and my mother corresponding for many years. I gave him a call, saying I was moving up the street from him. He got me a job right away." Despite the Leafs' early success, Imlach was not satisfied with the team's production and moved young right winger Bob Nevin onto Kelly and Mahovlich's line. "We fit together like a glove," Red recalled. "Nevin was a great player on the right wing, and we just worked together. The three of us just clicked as a line. I knew where Frank would be, and if I could get the puck to him, I knew the puck would be in the net. The same with Bob." In early December, Imlach was asked to rate NHL players. "I used to think that Jean Béliveau was the greatest," Imlach told Red Burnett: But Kelly has convinced me with his work since joining Leafs. I have the evidence to back my opinion that Kelly is the most valuable player in this league and should be the leading candidate for the Hart Trophy. He has played centre, defence and left wing like an all-star. Howe is a great forward but he can't play defence. Doug Harvey is a great defenceman but he couldn't play forward. He [Red] rates as top contender for the Lady Byng as well. "He has amazed us with his all-around ability. I never realized what a complete performer he was. Kelly does everything well both on attack and on defence. He has been a major factor in the success of our club from the day he joined us and besides his abundance of natural ability and competitive fire, he is a great team man. When we got Kelly from the Red Wings was the luckiest day of my life and hockey's best deal. Though the Leafs started December with a humiliating 6-3 loss in Montreal, they went on a tear, winning 14 of the 20 subsequent games against only four losses, which vaulted them to second place. By January 26, Red was seventh in league scoring with 48 points and had accumulated a mere 10 minutes in penalties. The Big M was in third place with 56 points, only six back of league-leader Boom Boom Geoffrion of Montreal. When Red finished January with a flourish, getting three goals and four assists in four games, the Hockey News selected him as player of the week. In a 6-3 home win against Boston on February 11, Red moved into the Maple Leafs record book when his 44th assist surpassed the team record set by Teeder Kennedy 10 years earlier. But Toronto was much more than Red and his linemates. Imlach had assembled quite an array of hockey talent that was just blossoming. In goal was Johnny Bower, protected by defencemen Tim Horton, Carl Brewer, Allan Stanley, Bob Baun and Kent Douglas. Up front, besides Red, Mahovlich and Nevin, were captain George Armstrong, Dave Keon, Bob Pulford, Dick Duff, Billy Harris, Ron Stewart, Eddie Litzenberger and Eddie Shack. They would be a force to be reckoned with. By March 4, the Leafs had pulled ahead of the Canadiens and were in first place. That night, against the Rangers, Red garnered an amazing 50th assist. But then, in the final minutes, he tore a groin muscle. He went to hospital, where doctors confirmed the muscle tear and prescribed rest with daily treatments. They were hoping he could return in a week, but there was really no rushing a groin tear. The best treatment was rest and time. With the Habs breathing down the Leafs' necks and only six games left in the season, the absence of Kelly had Imlach in a tizzy about his team's chances of finishing first. "I think first place will be decided on either the 69th or 70th game," he predicted, "and we always win the squeakers." Red Burnett noted a key missing figure. "The length of Red Kelly's absence due to a groin injury may have a large bearing on the race and also presents a problem for Imlach," wrote Burnett. "He can rush Kelly back in an effort to clinch first place and risk having him on the limp for the playoffs or keep him out at the risk of losing first place in order to ensure a healthy Kelly for the Stanley Cup battles." Red's injury was very slow to heal, and during his absence the Leafs sputtered, losing first place to the Canadiens and winning only twice in their final six games. Mahovlich's goal-scoring stalled at 48, two shy of the magic 50. Red found it very frustrating to watch. "I remember going down to the dressing room to talk to Frank," he recalled. "He was so close to 50, and I thought if I could only encourage him. I went down and told him, 'Frank you never know . . . you may never get another chance to get 50. Get out there and get it! You can do it!' I tried to pump him up, but . . ." With the Leafs in freefall, Red was desperately needed back on the team. On Sunday, March 12, with the team away in Boston, he went for a light skate. For an hour he took it easy, skating around gently, testing out the injury. "After a while, I decided to push it a little bit more and give it a stronger go around, a little harder, to see how it would respond, but as soon as I cranked it up, the muscle gave out on me," Red recalled. "I fell on the ice, and the Gardens maintenance staff came out to help get me off the ice. I had hurt it again. I had tried too fast. The playoffs were coming and I wanted to be there." With Red out of the lineup, the Leafs met the fourth-place Red Wings in the semifinal. Toronto won the opener but dropped their next two. The pressure was on for Red to return -- and he did for Game 4, another loss. "I hated to lose, but there was not much I could do," Red recalled. "That groin was still affecting me. My stride was only two-thirds of what it should have been. My play was compromised, no question. I couldn't give that extra push." Detroit eliminated the Leafs, winning the series in five games. In the Stanley Cup Final, the Wings were outclassed by a young, powerful Black Hawks squad that won Chicago's first Stanley Cup in 23 years. In a year-end interview, Canadiens top man Frank Selke had a chat with the Detroit News. He discussed a variety of topics, but when he was asked which player had had the best season in the league, he was quick and unequivocal in his answer: "Red Kelly, until he was hurt late in the year. He made a scoring star out of Frank Mahovlich. If Kelly hadn't been hurt, Mahovlich would have scored Excerpted from The Red Kelly Story by Leonard "Red" Kelly All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.