History of the Essex 73's

Team History

In the mid-1970s and early 1980s, the 73’s dominated the Great Lakes Junior C Hockey League winning six of the eight League Championships from the 1974-75 season to the 1982-83 Season. With Dave Prpich behind the bench the 73’s won four league titles in a row from 1974-75 to 1978-79, including three All Ontario Championships in that span. The 73’s would claim two more Great Lakes League Championships in the 80’s in 1985-86 and 1986-87.

After some struggles in the early to mid 90’s the 73’s got back into winning form under head coach Les Garrod. For the first time in ten years in 1997-98 the team won the Great Lakes League Championship by defeating the Wallaceburg Lakers in the league final. Their loss to the Kincardine Bulldogs in the All Ontario semi-finals marked the 73's most successful season in a decade.

In the 2001-02 season General Manager Al Lemay brought aboard Head Coach Tony Piroski who coached the team from 2001-2010. The 73's had great success under Piroski and in his first season the 73’s won the Great Lakes League and the All Ontario Title defeating the Uxbridge Bruins in the finals.

The team reached the All Ontario Junior C Finals five straight seasons (tying an Ontario Junior C Record), defeating the Grimsby Peach Kings in 2005 but losing to the Penetang Kings in 2006 and 2007.

In 2008 they faced the offensive powerhouse Alliston Hornets and were defeated in a memorable game 7 overtime loss in Essex.

The 2008-2009 season saw the 73's finish with a remarkable 59 wins, 1 overtime loss, 1 regulation loss, and 1 shoot-out loss (including play-offs). The team finished with 31 wins and 0 losses at home in their final season in the historic Essex Memorial Arena. The 73's returned to the finals to face the Alliston Hornets for the second straight year and the 73's fifth consecutive CSC Finals appearance. The 2009 finals saw Essex overwhelm Alliston outscoring the Hornets 20-4 on their way to a four game sweep to win the CSC. In nine seasons under Piroski the 73's won 7 Great Lakes League Championships and 3 CSCvictories as Ontario Champions.

Season-by-season Team Records

Retired Numbers

Over the past 39 years, many great players have played with the Essex 73's but to date, only 3 numbers have ever been retired:

#7

Bruce Crowder

Bruce was the first captain in 73's history to lead his team to the Schmalz Cup, OHA Junior 'C's version of the Stanley Cup.

Bruce played with the 73's two season; 1973-74 and 1974-75. He scored 35 goals in his first year and another 56 the following year, and finished his junior career with 91 goals and 207 points.

The highlight of his short junior career in Essex was May 6, 1975 before 1,558 fans at Essex Memorial Arena.

The 73's were in the Ontario finals against Lindsey, and the series was deadlocked at 3-3. The game was in overtime and before the fans could get back to their seats from the intermission, Bruce took a pass from younger brother Keith and scored just 78 seconds into the extra frame to beat the Huskies 3-2, and capture the first of a now record six Schmalz Cup championships.

Bruce would go on to play in the National Hockey League with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Pittsburgh Penguins.

#11

Keith Crowder

The younger brother of Bruce Crowder, Keith also played just two years for the 73's; 1974-75 and 1975-76, winning an Ontario championship both years.

In his first season, Keith scored 31 goals and picked up 80 points. The following season he would tie his brother's Great Lakes Junior Hockey League record 56 goals while picking up 97 points along the way.

In all, Keith scored 87 goals with the 73's and recorded a total of 177 points.

He captained the 73's in his last season, and led them to the Schmalz Cup like his brother the year before him.

Keith went on to play 662 games in the NHL - the majority of those with the Boston Bruins - scoring 223 goals and 494 points to go along with his 1,344 penalty minutes. He also suited up with Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings.

Keith now is the proprietor of several Tim Hortons' franchises in Southwestern Ontario, including two in his hometown of Essex.

#13

Les Garrod

Les was one of the most skilled goaltenders to go through the 73's system. He played three seasons with the 73's and was known for his NHL-like reflexes.

Les was drafted by the Brantford Alexanders in 1980, and after starting the season with the OHL club, he ended up back in Essex and helped the 73's make it to the Great Lakes Junior 'C' finals where they were eliminated by the Leamington Flyers.

In 1986, he played for the Allen Cup champion Brantford Mott's Clamatos of the Ontario Senior 'A' league. Les shared the pipes with longtime NHL great, Don Edwards. Other notable players on that championship team included Rocky Saganiuk, Stan Weir, Fred Boimistruck, Stan Jonathan, and Blake Hull, brother of NHL Hall of Famer, Brett Hull.

Les played in several other leagues, most notably with the Chatham Wheels of the Colonial Semi-Pro league, before retiring for good.

After the 73's experienced some struggles in the early to mid 90’s, they got back into winning form when they decided to hire Les as head coach in 1995.

For the first time in ten years in 1997-98 the team won the Great Lakes League Championship under Les by defeating the Wallaceburg Lakers in the league final. Their loss to the Kincardine Bulldogs in the All Ontario semi-finals marked the 73's most successful season in over a decade.

After an absence from the club for several years, Les resurfaced as head coach for the Wallaceburg Lakers, and in 2010, was hired by the 73's once again to fill the general manager's position left vacant after the resignation of Tony Piroski and staff.

Les resigned from the 73's after just one season, a season in which the 73's finished 2nd in the South Division with a 26-12-0-1 record.

Les and his family reside just outside of the Town of Kingsville, and he is an insurance representative for DPM Insurance.