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?

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

I'm new to this forum. Where should I post some shots of my Harrison?

Thanks Mike. Originally I had toe ties but was experiencing over rotation. John Brown suggested the buckles which solved my problem.

Thanks Richter, a familiar name from my past. Yeah, the old body was taking a pounding so I decided to hang them up, turning 69 in a few weeks and 80-90 games a season was becoming a pain, literally. I got a new hip in 2007 and now a knee replacement which is coming along just fine. I still play golf with the hockey guys and many are close friends so the camaraderie continues. It was a good decision. I have sold all my BROWN gear to a very happy net minder from the far side of the country. But I still have my Harrison mask hanging on the wall.......... Cheers

This is the gear I wore last season.

This is (was) my BROWN C/A. I have retired from hockey following recent knee replacement surgery. I HAVE SINCE UNRETIRED FROM HOCKEY, sure wish I had my BROWN gear in the bag .......