Written by: Bruce Findlay (Meatmancgy)

Bruce Findlay: Who had the biggest influence on your hockey career?

Paul Henderson: I would say my father… he coached me as a kid… wanted me to be an NHL hockey player probably worse than I did. So right out of the gun, my dad.

Bruce: You've played with a lot of players during your NHL, WHA and International career. Who do you think is the toughest player you have ever played against or with?

Paul: I would say… toughest, would probably have been a combination… maybe between John Ferguson and Teddie Green. Fergie was really tough… Teddie Green was probably mean… I would say he was a dirty hockey player. Probably mean and dirty… obviously you’d like them on your team, but they would be the first two that come to my mind.

Bruce: Does it bother you that you are mainly remembered by one goal, albeit one of the most famous in Canadian hockey history?

Paul: Not at all, not at all. Obviously it was a thrill of a lifetime. I think about it like this… if that had been the only goal I had scored, but I scored seven goals in that series… and I scored the winning goal in 6th and the 7th game in that series. So… the 8th game was sorta the topping on the cake.

Bruce: How would you describe the transition from the NHL to the WHA?

Paul: Well, it was really… no pressure… it was just… the league was just getting going… it was a bit of a goon league… well, it wasn’t a BIT of a goon league, it WAS a goon league. And so, I didn’t feel any pressure whatsoever. Of course, I wasn’t getting along with Harold Ballard and knew the Leafs didn’t have a hope in hades of winning… and so it was a breath of fresh air. In fact, one of the best things I ever did was jumped.

Bruce: What is your relationship with Vladislav Tretiak like these days?

Paul: Good guy. I’ve really gotten to know him… he speaks the language pretty well, and I’ve done numerous things with him. Just a gentleman and I’ve got a bunch of respect for him… a great goalie.

Bruce: What about your Summit teammates?

Paul: Well, we had a golf tournament in Toronto just before I came west. 25 of the guys showed up, we had a great day. And so there’s just a wonderful rapport there. A lot of the guys just enjoyed getting together.

Bruce: What was your second most memorable goal?

Paul: Well, the goal I scored in the 7th game, with about 2 ½ minutes left in the game. Went through the whole team. I think that was the greatest goal I scored in my life, without question.

Bruce: What do you like or dislike about the current NHL?

Paul: I like it a lot better than the old stuff… the clutching and grabbing, it was getting atrocious. I hope they continue to do it… I like the run & gun hockey… I love the overtime and I think they should go back to four players on the ice, much more exciting. It’s evolving, but it’s a much improved game.

Bruce: Do you like the shootout?

Paul: I love the shootout… oh, I LOVE the shootout! I think it’s one of the … I love the overtime, and I’m always hoping it’ll go to the shootout. The guy against the goalie… I think it’s fabulous.

Bruce: You’ve seen both Wayne Gretzky & Mario Lemieux play in their prime. If you could have either player who would you take and, most importantly, why?

Paul: I’d flip the coin. I think Wayne Gretzky was the greatest hockey forward that ever played the game. Of course, they were different. Lemieux was so big and so did incredible things. It would sorta be a flip of the coin, but I may go with Gretzky.

Bruce: Did you enjoy your hockey career?

Paul: Oh, I loved it… I played 18 years and the good news is that my wife and family enjoyed it also. Except, the only thing I didn’t enjoy was the last year with Harold Ballard… that wasn’t a lot of fun to play.

Bruce: What was the high point? What was the low point?

Paul: The high point was definitely 72… I had proven to myself and to the world that I could play with the best players in the world. Then there was the thrill of playing with all the great stars of the game instead of having to knock heads with them, being on the same team. That was definitely the high.

The low was the Leafs under the Ballard regime. A lot of us were disillusioned and disappointed in hockey.

Bruce: Next Friday marks 35 years to the day of that 8th game and “The Goal”. How often do you think of that game?

Paul: Well, it’s almost daily because people always come up to me. Had an interesting thing … coming over here on the plane, my wife and I were sitting in the front seat and the attendant was a guy… he said “everyone ever tell you that you look like Darryl Sitter… the guy that scored the goal in ‘72, the big goal”.. I said “are you talking about Darryl Sittler”… and he said “oh yea, Darryl Sittler, not Sitter” and I said “Darryl didn’t score that goal”, and he said “yea yea he scored the goal in ‘72”… the guy was trying to convince me.

Bruce: There’s some debate among hockey pundits regarding whether you should be inducted into the Hall of Fame. What’s your thoughts?

Paul: Well… they have a committee…a selection committee… and I think the guys that are going this year, every one of them deserve to be in there a lot more than I do. I am completely at ease at what they decide. Obviously if they put me in there, it would have a lot to do with ‘72. But I know who I am… I’m a member of Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame. In fact, our whole team is… I think I’d be more satisfied if they put the whole team in rather than myself personally. If it happens, it happens, and if it doesn’t, it’s not going to change me one iota.

Bruce: One of our members is a huge Valeri Kharlamov collector… many people called him the Russian Gretzky. You played against him a few times… what is your opinion of his skill level and abilities?

Paul: He was phenomenal… I mean he was… he was an outstanding hockey player. Shot the puck, speed, great eye… he did it all. I have much much respect.

Bruce: Do you get tired of the questions around The Goal?

Paul: Well, I’ve been doing it for 35 years, I’m not bored today and hopefully I’m not bored for another 20 years.

Bruce: You are included on around 140 hockey cards, according to one of the major card catalogues. Have you seen all of your cards before?

Paul: I have not seen 140, I can tell you that. I’ve seen a lot of them… if you had asked me, I would have said 50 or 60. There you go… learn something everyday.

Bruce: Do you collect any cards yourself?

Paul: I don’t collect a card.

Bruce: Your rookie card is a 1965/66 Topps card, which has a value of $50.00. You recently signed some cards for Upper Deck, called The Cup, which are valued much higher than your rookie card. How do you feel about the newer cards, with the cut jerseys and emblems and sticks?

Paul: Well, it’s a business… obviously they’re doing well. We get paid to sign them, so it’s a win/win situation.

Bruce: When it comes to memorabilia from your playing days, did you keep any of your playing equipment and jerseys?

Paul: I’ve got a bit of it, most of it’s in the Hall of Fame. But, I shouldn’t say that… all of it has gone to auctions to raise money for charities, to be quite truthful. I’ve still got a few things, but I’d never sell any of it. My grandchildren will probably end up with some of that stuff, but I’m not interested in selling it for sure. What’s gone has gone to charities.

Bruce: What happened to your Summit Series equipment?

Paul: A lot of it is in the Hall of Fame. My stick… my skates… that kinda stuff.

Bruce: Many people are upset with card companies’ decisions to cut up historical documents and one-of-a-kind game-used items, and include them in their hockey card products. How do you feel about that?

Paul: Well, like I say… it’s a business… it’s going to happen anyway, why get upset about it. If people are going to buy it, they’re going to buy it. If they don’t want to buy it, don’t. I’m not about to buy any of it, so there won’t be a market for me. But if people want to do that, there’s nothing wrong with that at all.

Bruce: This is the one that a lot of people are very upset about it, a piece of Georges Vezina’s pads. (See Card Here) The only known pair of Georges Vezina’s pads and they cut them up back in 2001

Paul: Oh no kidding! Oh, I don’t like that… no I don’t like that. Oh, they’re actually cutting up the actual equipment?

Bruce: Yes, jerseys, sticks….

Paul: Oh, no kidding? Oh, that’s the pits! I didn’t undertand that… so there’s an actual piece of his pad in there?

Bruce: An actual piece of his pad, right there.

Paul: I was unaware of that stuff. It just doesn’t… it’s just not where I’m at.

Bruce: Do you dabble in any memorabilia yourself, or try to collect some of your own items?

Paul: Not at all.

Bruce: What does it feel like looking at a card before you sign it?

Paul: Well, I do sign. I like to personalize them, I can’t stand the selling of the confounded things, but you’re always going to find that. So I like to personalize them, if someone wants to be a collector. Some days I feel good about it, some days I don’t. It depends on the individual. Life’s too short to get upset about things.

Bruce: Do you pay attention to what the cards are, read and review the information provided on them, or are you unconcerned about that and simply sign the items provided to you?

Paul: No, no… not whatsoever.

Bruce: You just sign if they ask you to sign?

Paul: Well, yea, that’s right… I tend to be pretty… well here it is.

Bruce: Would you rather sign a sheet of stickers or the actual cards that are made of you?

Paul: I would far rather sign cards, I’m not big on stickers. In fact, I don’t think I do that period.

Bruce: Your signature is one of the nicest in hockey. In fact you, Phil Esposito & Frank Mahovlich are three of my favourites. What do you think of the new players who don’t take time to sign the cards?

Paul: Yea… yea, it’s just scratch. I actually started practicing my signature in Grade 5. I wanted people to know who I was… and I wanted to have a legible autograph so you’d have no question… this is Paul Henderson.

Bruce: Some players such as Mats Sundin and Mikka Kiprusoff are refusing to sign cards for Upper Deck, even though they have a contract with them. What do you think of these holdouts.

Paul: Well, it’s their choice… it’s a free country. You can do what you want to do… I don’t think Gretzky signs cards either. It’s a free country, you can do what you want to do. God bless them.

Bruce: What keeps you busy these days?

Paul: I run a men’s ministry… a Christian ministry. Obviously I’m out here… my wife and I are speaking. We do a lot of marriage conferences, we’re going to be back in Victoria in March, to do a conference. So I do a lot of public speaking, I do some motivational speaking and I get to travel this country and see a lot of it, so I enjoy myself.

Bruce: Are you still involved in hockey or anything to do with the Summit Series, reunions? You just talked about the golf tournament…

Paul: No, not really. I have a six year old grandson that plays hockey now, so that’s my involvement.

Bruce: What is your main motivation for doing what you do?

Paul: I know that God loves me. I think God wants to love everyone of us on this earth, and I just tell people “there’s a God that loves you. Do you want to get to know him?” He never holds me responsible. I also like mentoring and discipling, I’ve been doing that for 24 years in terms of helping men become the fathers & husbands in the home that I think they should be, and then obviously looking around at what kind of legacy… how are you using your life? I think every day is a gift, so you’re using it wisely or you’re not.

Bruce: You’ve been married to Eleanor for 45 years now. Given your career as a hockey player, with all the travel and time away from home, and now your traveling for business and speaking engagements, I would assume that this amount of time away can take a toll on a family… but you and Eleanor have persevered for all these years. What advice would you give to young engaged or newly married couples?

Paul: Work at marriage every day… make a commitment for life. When Eleanor and I were going together we said there’s no outs. We’re going to run into problems, everyone does, but we’re going to work through them. I think it’s just making the commitment… it’s putting the other person ahead of yourself. That what makes a good marriage… meeting the needs of the other person… if you can do that, yours will probably be met significantly also. I think that marriage can get better… I think a good marriage continues to grow and get better. If you’ve got problems in a marriage and get out of it, you’re taking all the garbage into the next one so it’s probably going to go south, so I tell people you might as well stay and get it straightened out here, because everybody needs help at some point. Every marriage goes through difficulties at some point.

Bruce: I read your book, “Shooting For Glory”, which I bought at the Victoria Marriage Conference in March 2004 (you signed it for me). Do you have plans for any further books?

Paul: No, not at this point. I turn 65 and get the old age pension in a couple months (laughs)… I’m just going to enjoy it a little bit more… not going to put heat on myself to do it. There’s people asking me to do it… but if I did, it would just be one more, but right now it wouldn’t probably until I retire and that won’t be till I’m at least 75 (laughs).

Bruce: You are very open about your Faith. How big of a role does your Faith play in your daily life?

Paul: It plays everything… it’s the most significant thing in my marriage, in my life, everything. I believe that God is real, I believe He’s concerned about me, I believe he loves me… and I believe he’s given this wonderful pattern for life. I became a Christian in 1975. And I can tell you unequivocally I’ve never ever once regretted applying a biblical principle to my hockey career, my business life and my marriage. Every time I violated a biblical principle, one of God’s principles, I regretted it. I’m standing here today to tell you, it works… it absolutely works. It’s not easy… I seldom want to do the right thing. But when I do the right thing, I never regret it.

Bruce: What advice would you give to someone searching for meaning in their life?

Paul: I would say find somebody that really loves the Lord, and ask questions. I can guarantee that you can learn to live lightly and you can learn to live freely. I can tell you I used to HATE Harold Ballard. I have no animosity, anger, bitterness, worries, fears in my life whatsoever anymore. Mainly because God says he will get rid of them for you, because I couldn’t get rid of them, God will take them out of your life… gives you a reason for living everyday, and the great news is there’s no fear of dying.