The Kingston Whig-Standard’s Patrick Kennedy checked in with former Red Wings captain and legend Alex Delvecchio as the man nicknamed “Fats” prepares to turn 90 on December 4th:
“My dad never showed any interest in hockey,” Delvecchio remembers. “He’d say, ‘You can’t eat pucks.’ But I was determined to show him that while you couldn’t eat them, you could make a living playing with one.” To that end, the young teenager would eschew his studies and sneak out the basement coal bin door to play shinny, then sneak back in an hour or so later.
Today he lives quietly with his second wife, Judy, an artist with whom he shares a December birthday. He has five children, 10 grandchildren, four great-grandchildren and a new Silverado pickup truck. “I don’t let him sit around,” reasons Judy, 16 years her husband’s junior.
“I was very fortunate to play so long and with just one team,” Delvecchio reflects. “I never bought a house until I had the 10 seasons you needed to qualify for a (NHL) pension. I always rented because Adams could unload you at any time for any reason. He kept everyone on edge, except the big guy.”
Delvecchio proved as durable as the Energizer bunny. In all those years in the rough-and-tumble NHL, through all the bumps, bruises and, yes, broken bones, he missed only 43 games. He might’ve missed a few more if not for “the tyrant” Adams.
“I broke my thumb one time and was riding the bike in the dressing room while the other guys were on the ice at practice,” Delvecchio recalls. “Adams comes in and says, ‘What the hell are you doing here?’”
Delvecchio showed him the cast on his hand.
“Horses—!” thundered Adams, who promptly ordered trainer Lefty Wilson to cut off the cast with a pair of snips. Delvecchio played that night. Imagine that happening today?
