Captain Johnny Cap - Navy

$25.00

High-Quality Woven Patch, Wool Bland Fabric.
Snap Back
Official merchandise

Captain Johnny was born in rural Quebec 27 miles north outside of Montreal. He put on his first pair of cheese-cutters (double-bladed, tie-on to your boots, skates) at age four and put a hockey stick in his hands that his father cut in half and began playing hockey. He played on ponds, outdoor rinks, and in the streets (road hockey (w/o skates) was very popular after school) until the age of nine, he graduated to hand me down single bladed skates somewhere in there about age six. He played his first organized game at age eight, as a goaltender for the Cub Scout team. His best friend, Kippy, cut his upper and lower lip with a wrist shot during warm ups and that was his last game as a goalie (even though it was in his blood, as his grandfather Riley Hern was the goaltender for the Montreal Wanderers in 1908-1912 and they won the Stanley Cup three times and William Milton "Riley" Hern was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in the 70's).

 He played as a small defenseman for the remainder of his playing career making it all the way to his last stint in hockey, on the junior varsity team of Macdonald College (of McGill) in 1962.

Both hockey and college education were abandoned in 1964 when Captain Johnny went on the road with his rock band JB & The Playboys who had gained popularity with the incredible rise to fame of The Beatles. 

They (JB & The Playboys) went on to tour North America with The Rolling Stones, The Beach Boys, The Byrds, The Chambers Brothers, and several British Invasion groups of the '60's.

In the late 60's Captain Johnny's manager encouraged him to take part in the "rock musicals" of the Broadway stage and he transitioned to a film career after a five year run in the theatre. After many failed attempts at a music career he returned to English Canada and got a job (third shift) at the Chrysler plant on Tecumseh Blvd in Windsor Ontario...and it was there in a bar after the shift that he was invited to play hockey for a minor league team outside of Detroit and he received the rare opportunity to revive his hockey career and become the hockey player he always was inside.

It was also at this time that he bought his first brand new skates!

Bauer Supremes! 

He went on to be traded from team to team throughout the minors and landed a more permanent stay with the Charlestown Chiefs in Johnstown PA and he eventually was named captain of the team that won the Federal League championship in 1977.

That was the pinnacle of his playing career and a failed move of the team to Florida, some very hard times, and a failing economy, had Captain Johnny and his wife returning to Canada and the Chrysler plant.

It was some years later as he approached retirement that he refused a buy out and walked away from Chrysler in a new pursuit of his first two loves...hockey and music.

There you go!

Captain Johnny