07-17-2007, 10:12 PM
laliber Wrote:One of hockey’s great pugilists has passed…
TSN
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Hockey has lost one of its most colourful characters.
John Ferguson was one of the toughest players ever to lace up skates in the NHL and he remained a big part of the sport as a general manager, coach and scout at the highest level. He died Saturday of prostate cancer. He was 68.
He is survived by his wife Joan, with whom he lived in Windsor, Ont. Their son, John Ferguson Jr., is general manager of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"My father battled cancer with the same spirit in which he played the game of hockey," Ferguson Jr., said in a release. "He showed courage, strength, class and tremendous character. He had deep appreciation for the support he'd received from so many people beginning with his initial diagnosis.
"My father's spirit will continue to live on in all of us whose lives he touched."
Sad to lose such a good hockey man. The coordinator for my college program, Jim Kyte, was originally drafted to the NHL by Ferguson, and he told us he was considered one of "Ferguson's boys", so he's understandably upset by this and waiting to hear about the funeral arrangements.
RIP, Jim Ferguson.