Harrison Mask Thread

[dualshowman]

@Wonder35

I'm creating a thread on behalf of member Wonder35 and his Harrison mask. Post any and all Harrison mask (The Mask) photos you may have. Enjoy the view. 

[bunnyman666]

Many of us hope that Wonder will post many pix of his Harrison Mask.

[Wonder35]

7 minutes ago, dualshowman said:

@Wonder35

I'm creating a thread on behalf of member Wonder35 and his Harrison mask. Post any and all Harrison mask (The Mask) photos you may have. Enjoy the view. 

I am honoured ........ (blushing)

[bunnyman666]

That puts a bit more pressure on @Wonder35, then!

Bwahahahahahahaha!!!!!

[Mike24]

I think I remember it from the GSBB days. Mask is almost as awesome as @Wonder35 is! 

[Wonder35]

If I'm about to show you my Greg Harrison Combo then you're going to pay a price, my intro to the story of how this rank amateur goalie became the owner of one mighty fine mask.

In the mid 80's I took a high, hard one to the right eye when my defenseman nailed me with the heel of his stick as he took down an opposition player in the high crease area.  My Cooper "Broomball" cat eye cage  collapsed at a weld and raked my eye pretty good. The stitches weren't a big deal, above and below my eye. I am a 35 year veteran Air Traffic Controller and there ain't no one eyed ones. I had to lie on my back for 48 hours while the blood drained to see if I had any permanent eye damage.  Good news - no damage, still have a job.

A friend who worked in a local sports store gave me Greg Harrison's phone number. I had to phone. As expected, Greg explained that he was busy, very busy, keeping up with the orders he had from Pro's for their new masks or updated paint jobs. Somehow we got to talking about aircraft. His shop was in a small industrial complex near to Toronto Pearson International Airport. I told him what I did for a living and after some more talk Greg was building me a custom Harrison mask. "It would take 6 months" he said.

I got to sit in his beat up, old barber's chair and have a mould (Cdn spelling) made of my mug. About 8 months later he called to say that my mask was ready.  We lived in Oshawa, Ontario, which on a good traffic day was about an hour east of Toronto airport and Greg's shop.  Greg quoted me a price of $300 for the mask and an additional $300 for a custom paint job.

My team, The Oshawa Antiques, were sporting Flyers colours so the mask was painted Orange/Black/White. Greg "wasn't into numbers" so I bought some peel and stick sheets and slapped the numeral 35 on its chin.  Somewhere in a box there are some slides of that mask, maybe later .........

Anyway, here is the design that Greg painted my mask when I returned it to him in May, 1990, for a respray and new interior foam rubber.  Knowing what I did for a living he incorporated aircraft, a control tower cab on the crown and a stylized red maple leaf on the back edge in the Red/White/Black of my new team (job transfer).  Anyone ever seen a similar design?

[Wonder35]

Another angle.

[Wonder35]

One more.

[bunnyman666]

@Wonder35 I knew you were an air traffic controller, but never read the FULL story. 

Thanks for sharing that great story.

I am sad to know you’re done playing, but you’ve done it to the fullest, it sounds!

Good onya!!!!

[dualshowman]

Yes! I remember this one, and now I remember @Wonder35 . Great to have you back around.

So, would this design be pre-Essensa? If so, what were your thoughts when you saw Essensa's mask?

[Wonder35]

When I first saw Essensa's Jets mask I wondered which one Greg did first as there is a strong resemblance. Recently I came across this link.  It appears that his Harrison was made a year or two after mine.

When I sent my mask to Greg in 1990 for a refurbishment I didn't get it back for nearly a full year. But when I did retrieve it I noticed that he had signed and dated it 1991. So, which came first, the chicken or the egg?

[Wonder35]

I found this shot of my mask in its original colours, sitting in Greg Harrison's shop bake oven.

[Wonder35]

And the man himself hard at work .......... circa 1987.

[Wonder35]

Another of my mask sitting on Greg's work bench with a new one in progress.

[dualshowman]

For anyone younger than...30?:

Harrison masks were absolutely the be-all-end-all of goalie headwear for about two decades. I mean no disrespect to Cubberly, Wright, Lefevbre, Higgins, Straus and all of the others that overlapped the same time period, but Greg Harrison essentially perfected not only the full-face fiberglass one-piece but the combo mask, as well. Our man @Wonder35 owns a unique, artful and functional piece of goaltending history.

Edited October 5, 2018 by dualshowman

[Wonder35]

I haven't been to the Hockey Hall of Fame for at least 20 years.  But at that time Greg Harrison had his own display of masks on display.  Not a very good photo but you may recognize some of these. Sorry about my mask hogging the frame but its the only shot I have of Greg's HHOF showcase.

[SaveByRichter35]

Awesome story, @Wonder35.  Thank you for sharing!

[lummy31]

@Wonder35 I have admired your mask since the old GSBB days. Great story too. I have a few stories as well as I've actually known Greg for about 40yrs, since I was 11yrs old. Spent a few Friday nights in the shop in Brampton - sometimes tinkering, sometimes talking hockey, sometimes just looking for stuff (you've been so you know what I mean). And recently visited with a couple old friends back in March. Here's a picture from that visit. Me down in front (no I'm not that short I was slightly squatting), my friend Eric in back, flanked by Tony and Greg. I'll post some pics of my Harrison masks soon. 

[SaveByRichter35]

14 hours ago, lummy31 said:

@Wonder35 I have admired your mask since the old GSBB days. Great story too. I have a few stories as well as I've actually known Greg for about 40yrs, since I was 11yrs old. Spent a few Friday nights in the shop in Brampton - sometimes tinkering, sometimes talking hockey, sometimes just looking for stuff (you've been so you know what I mean). And recently visited with a couple old friends back in March. Here's a picture from that visit. Me down in front (no I'm not that short I was slightly squatting), my friend Eric in back, flanked by Tony and Greg. I'll post some pics of my Harrison masks soon. 

We're waiting!!!!!!!

[TitanG]

Anyone gonna get a new mask from the limited run by Greg Harrison from Goalieparts?

https://goalieparts.com/products/custom-harrison-goalie-mask-deposit.html

Seems like a pretty rare opportunity, and of course it's a premium price for a premium product.

[cwarnar]

33 minutes ago, TitanG said:

Anyone gonna get a new mask from the limited run by Greg Harrison from Goalieparts?

https://goalieparts.com/products/custom-harrison-goalie-mask-deposit.html

Seems like a pretty rare opportunity, and of course it's a premium price for a premium product.

No... but I rolled the dice and put in for GGSU Raffle entries as this is one of the prizes.

[bunnyman666]

58 minutes ago, TitanG said:

Anyone gonna get a new mask from the limited run by Greg Harrison from Goalieparts?

https://goalieparts.com/products/custom-harrison-goalie-mask-deposit.html

Seems like a pretty rare opportunity, and of course it's a premium price for a premium product.

I’d love to, as I do collect things from back in the day, but at $1800 USD, there are a LOT of other things that would come first. I feel I have two affordable relics from another legendary former NHL mask maker: Michel Doganieri.

I thought I had read that Greg Harrison was collaborating with Sportmask last year or the year before. Some naysayers will be doubtful and downright cynical that Harrison will finish these given his reputation (search the internet for what I speak about as I am not going regurgitate the stories) late into his run before retiring, but being this is a limited run and most likely backed by OTNY and Sportmask, these will likely be delivered. It is different working for someone than for yourself. So many talented crafts people are fantastic fabricators, but terrible business people; they do better when getting paid is dependent upon completion from their boss. 

The unfortunate reality is that individuals and not large entities building masks for the NHL are going the way of the dodo, and the opportunities for owning a piece of hockey history are dwindling. This is one of those fleeting opportunities.The old me would have thrown caution and fiscal responsibility to the wind; new me is opposite. I won’t miss what I don’t buy...

But if anyone here gets one, I think I could speak for ALL of us in saying that we want EVERY single detail INCLUDING ANY build pix!!!!

Edited May 15, 2019 by bunnyman666

[MangoRhinehart]

4 hours ago, cwarnar said:

No... but I rolled the dice and put in for GGSU Raffle entries as this is one of the prizes.

Same for me.  Lucky for you I have no luck!

[SaveByRichter35]

What is the layup of these masks?  Full fiberglass, fiberglass with aramid(Kevlar) reinforcements, fiberglass with aramid layers, full aramid, is it using Sportmask's innegra?

[SaveByRichter35]

On 10/9/2018 at 11:06 PM, lummy31 said:

@Wonder35 I have admired your mask since the old GSBB days. Great story too. I have a few stories as well as I've actually known Greg for about 40yrs, since I was 11yrs old. Spent a few Friday nights in the shop in Brampton - sometimes tinkering, sometimes talking hockey, sometimes just looking for stuff (you've been so you know what I mean). And recently visited with a couple old friends back in March. Here's a picture from that visit. Me down in front (no I'm not that short I was slightly squatting), my friend Eric in back, flanked by Tony and Greg. I'll post some pics of my Harrison masks soon. 

Still waiting!!!! haha