The Jockey who spent 12 years in the NHL

 Canadian, Sandy Hawley was one of the best-thoroughbred jockeys in the world. He won the Queens's Plate four times. He finished first in 6,450 races and second in 4,858 races. As a 59-year-old, Sandy had his final win for horse breeder/musician, Herb Alpert, at Hollywood Park in LA  aboard "Tribal Chief".

The "Sandman"
Sandy Hawley
"He put other riders to sleep as he passed them"

Several tests have proven that jockeys are the best, pound-for-pound, athletes in the world -- Sandy was clearly superstar status. He was also a very good hockey player. I know because he invited me to play weekly shinny games along with him and his fellow jockeys on their racing day off. Jockeys have endless energy and these guys, Sandy included, were superb skaters. 

Ground Zero for horse racing in Canada is Woodbine Racetrack in Toronto. However, racing ceases for the winter and jockeys have to find another track (in a warmer climate). He chose Hollywood Park in Los Angeles.

It didn't take long for Sandy to establish himself.

He won a lot. 

The bettors liked the Canadian so much it didn't take long before they started to call the track, Hawley/wood Park.

Angels & Demons Fun Fact (the Da Vinci Code movie sequel was released in 2009 starring Tom Hanks) St. Peter's Square in Vatican City, Rome was recreated in miniature and constructed on the parking lot of the Hollywood race track. The site was quite a conversation piece if you ever flew over the track on the way to LAX. 

Jack Kent Cooke
He had lots to smile about

As mentioned, Sandy was also into hockey as a player so he spent his LA  winter evenings at Jack Kent Cooke's "Fabulous Forum" watching the NHL Kings -- he had season tickets.

The Fabulous Forum
There was no place like it ... anyplace.

Do you remember Jack Kent Cooke? He was a Hamilton-born Canadian who sold Encyclopedias and soap and time on radio stations. When he saved enough money, he relaunched as a sports club owner when he bought the Toronto Maple Leaf BASEBALL club of the International League. 

Jack knew how to make a buck.

He moved to the USA in the 1950s and would go on to own the LA Lakers who won the NBA championship, the NHL LA Kings and create the Fabulous Forum arena as a new home for the Lakers and the hockey club and would go on to own the Washington Redskins football club and guide them to three Super Bowl championships.

One night, the penalty timekeeper didn't show up for work at The Forum. The NHL executive responsible for officials asked Sandy if he would sit in for the absent timekeeper. 

That night, Sandy became an NHL off-ice official and held the position for 12 years ... "The Jockey who spent 12 years in the NHL"

The penalty timekeeper's job is to log the penalty infractions on his clipboard. Unofficially, the timekeeper has to sympathize with the "prisoner", listen to him curse, stay out of the way as he pounds the glass with his stick and agree that his penalty wasn't deserved. One night, Sandy wasn't paying close attention and the departing penalized played sliced the toe of his shoe off as he rushed back onto the ice - no harm done.

As mentioned, jockeys are fabulous athletes so it's not surprising that Sandy was chosen as Canada's Best Athlete in 1973 and 1976. He competed and won at the highest level in the most dangerous sport in the world.

Now, to the real story.

I was sitting at home in Toronto about to watch the Wayne Gretzky-led Los Angeles Kings play my Maple Leafs on TV. It wasn't 2 minutes old and Gretzky got a penalty. The overhead camera followed him to the penalty box. Penalties for #99 were rare so the camera hovered on him a little longer than normal. 

What I saw next was hilarious.

I wondered if the play-by-play announcer would be aware or knowledgeable about what he was looking at. If he could, and announced it, it would have been a spectacular TV moment. The four-time best athlete in Canada (Gretzky) was about to take a seat beside the two-time best athlete in Canada (Sandy Hawley the timekeeper).

But there's more. 

You had to be paying attention because it only took a few seconds.

Sandy's most important duty as timekeeper was to write the correct player number on the game sheet beside the infraction and the time.

As I watched this exchange ... the greatest hockey player in the world was sitting beside his sport equal, Sandy leaned way back in his chair so he was facing Gretzky's backside, only two feet away, and could read the jersey number just like he would have to if a no-name player was sitting beside him. 

Didn't Sandy know the number? Did he want to make sure the team hadn't changed  #99 to something else. Did he forget? Was there anyone, anywhere, who didn't know Gretzky's number?

Gretzky and Hawley are The Great Ones of their respective sports and interestingly, share the same opinion that Gordie Howe was the greatest hockey player ever.  

Epilogue  

Sandy and I have been friends for more than 40 years. You may wonder ... he won 6450 races ... I must have won a fortune betting on my buddy. Wrong! 

I swear ... any/every time I wagered on him, he came 4th!

Here's an example; I went to the track the week before the Canadian Football League championship game, "The Grey Cup".  An 1800s English "Lord" whose surname was Grey donated the Cup trophy named after himself to be awarded to the winning CFL at the end of the football season.

Sandy was scheduled to ride in the first race. I didn't bet on him because his mount went off at 40 - 1 -- biggest long shot on the board.

Sandy's horse was late coming out of the gate and couldn't find an opening in the pack on the first turn. At the quarter pole, he was dead last.

Long story short he won by a nose.

Name of the winning horse ... Lord Grey! 

I didn't bet on Lord Grey ... during Grey Cup week

with horse racing's "Great One" aboard.