Bill Hicke: Legendary Pat left his mark on team
Rob Vanstone, Leader-Post
Published: Friday, September 21, 2007
Lisa Hicke-Ostertag looks up to her father -- literally.
Every time Bill Hicke's daughter visits the Brandt Centre, she appreciates the fact that his name and Regina Pats uniform number (17) are prominently displayed in the arena's upper extremities.
"It's overwhelming sometimes to think that he accomplished so much and was such a loved person and had so much fun and that his jersey number is up there,'' Hicke-Ostertag says. "You see his retired Number 17 and it always makes you cry and think about him.
"To him, it was his life and what he did. He just enjoyed life so much. The glass was always half-full with him. It was a tall glass, with lots of ice.''
Hicke saw plenty of ice over his 67 years.
He rose to prominence by helping the Pats reach the 1956, 1957 and 1958 Memorial Cups.
The 5-foot-8, 168-pound right winger had 33 goals in 36 games as a 17-year-old before scoring 52 times in 53 games (during the 1956-57 season) and 54 goals in 49 games (1957-58).
The Pats recognized Hicke's brilliance by retiring his Pats jersey during a 1959 ceremony at Exhibition Stadium.
Hicke's successful stint with the Pats prepared him for a long career in the pro ranks, including 14 seasons in the National Hockey League. He had NHL totals of 168 goals and 402 points in 729 regular-season games.
He also played for the Alberta (now Edmonton) Oilers in the World Hockey Association's inaugural 1972-73 season while moonlighting as the first president of the WHA Players' Association.
Upon retiring as a player, Hicke established himself in the business community as the owner of Kyle's Sporting Goods on Hamilton Street. Ties with the Pats were formally re-established in February of 1986, when Hicke was part of a group that purchased the Pats.
Along with being a part-owner, Hicke was the Pats' general manager from 1989 until the team was sold to Calgary-based entrepreneur Russ Parker in the spring of 1995 -- shortly before he was inducted into the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame and Museum. Hicke also coached the Pats with Al Dumba from November of 1992 through the 1993-94 season.
Hicke and Dumba guided the Pats to the WHL's East Division final in the spring of 1993, when the Swift Current Broncos engineered a sweep en route to the league title. The Pats have not reached the third round of the playoffs since that time.
But such details -- while fundamental to any portrayal of Hicke's life -- are only part of his story.
Hicke is also affectionately remembered as a character, and for his character.
The latter attribute was especially evident as Hicke battled cancer, which claimed him on July 18, 2005.
"He was a cool guy,'' his daughter recalls, "and I really miss him.
"My mom did say to him, 'This isn't fair. This isn't right.' My dad said, 'Don't ever feel sorry for me. I've had the most wonderful life. I've had the most wonderful experiences.'
"How do you ever handle that without three days of crying?''
Hicke also had a unique gift for making people laugh. As much as Hicke-Ostertag misses her father, she cannot help but break into laughter while reflecting upon him.
"Life was never dull,'' she says. "He loved an audience -- especially anybody who hadn't heard his stories before.''
Oh, how he could tell stories.
In 1990, for example, Hicke began spinning anecdotes as the Pats' bus left the exhibition grounds en route to Prince Albert. For the next 31/2 hours, Hicke had everybody rolling as he talked about, well, everything. The extended monologue stopped when the bus did -- in front of Prince Albert's Comuniplex (now the Art Hauser Centre).
Hicke regaled coaches, players and two reporters with yarns from his playing days, and about life in general.
And what a life it was.
In the Montreal Canadiens' dressing room, Hicke sat between two eventual Hockey Hall of Famers -- Maurice (Rocket) Richard and Dickie Moore. That team also included luminaries such as Toe Blake (who was the head coach), Jean Beliveau, Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Doug Harvey and Jacques Plante.
Hicke shared in the Canadiens' Stanley Cup triumphs of 1959 and 1960 before being dealt to the New York Rangers in 1964.
"Dad used to joke about the worst five words he ever said to Toe Blake: 'Play me or trade me,' '' Hicke-Ostertag recalls with a chuckle. "It was right before Christmas. The next day, he was on a train to New York.
"Ho ho ho.''
Before leaving Montreal, Hicke had to clear out his apartment on very short notice.
"He had this big Christmas tree,'' his daughter says. "He carried it downstairs and gave it to the superintendent -- who didn't have a lot of money -- with the lights on it and everything. That's how generous he was.''
While in New York, Hicke met the likes of Muhammad Ali, Dean Martin and Bill Cosby. During a visit to New York which preceded the trade to the Rangers, he shared an elevator at the Waldorf Astoria hotel with a senator named John F. Kennedy.
Hicke tended to travel in circles with prominent Americans. At a private party in Fort Worth, Texas, Hicke met Janis Joplin. He was also in the Baltimore Orioles' clubhouse when they celebrated a 1966 World Series victory. At the time, Hicke was playing for the AHL's Baltimore Clippers.
An avid golfer, Hicke once enjoyed a round with another colourful character, Chi-Chi Rodriguez.
"Dad loved to golf, and he was such a fantastic teacher,'' Hicke-Ostertag says. "He could analyse your golf game on the first hole and tell you on the second hole the things you had to do. He'd say, 'Move your hand here,' or, 'Move your foot here.'
"He'd never offer the advice unless people asked. Scotty McLellan said my dad took five or 10 strokes off his game because he was such a good golfer.''
Hicke also spent plenty of time on the links with Charles M. Schulz, who developed the Peanuts comic strip. The California-based Schulz, a hockey fan, befriended Hicke when he played for the NHL's Oakland Seals.
"They became really good friends and my dad was his favourite player,'' Hicke-Ostertag says. "Did you ever watch the cartoon when Snoopy is playing hockey? Snoopy is wearing Number 9. He gave Snoopy that number because my dad wore it.''
Hicke's wardrobe often reflected his ties to Regina.
"He used to wear his Pats jacket to Oakland practices,'' his daughter remembers. "That's how he got the nickname Patty on the Seals, and the jacket still fit after 10 years.
"That's how close he felt to the Pats and how ingrained they were in him. That's why he was so thrilled when he bought the Pats. He had come full circle.''
Hicke purchased the Pats along with Morley Gusway, Ted Knight, Jack Nicolle and Huddy Bell. Nicolle and Bell eventually sold their shares, making the ownership group a trio.
The team was put up for sale during the 1985-86 season after owner Herb Pinder Jr., found himself in an irresolvable dispute with the Regina Exhibition Association over the imposition of a $1 parking charge for Pats games.
Pinder initially sold the team to a Swift Current group, only to have the WHL intervene and purchase the club with the intent of keeping it in Regina. Hicke and his associates then bought the franchise from the league.
"I have never met a more generous guy than Billy,'' says Gusway, who was one of Hicke's closest friends. "When my daughter got married, Billy picked up my daughter and her husband in his big limo. I offered him a few bucks but he wouldn't take a dime.
"He was dressed up like a chauffeur.''
Gusway remembers when Hicke was dressed up in Pats garb at Exhibition Stadium in the 1950s.
"Billy could stickhandle like crazy and skate like the devil,'' Gusway recalls.
"I had a lot of good years with Billy. He was a great guy. He had no fear of anything. He just faced life the way it was.''
That was especially true when Hicke battled cancer.
"He used to come into my office every day,'' says Gusway, who owns the Regina Rent-It Centre. "He'd take his treatment at the cancer clinic and then come into my office and tell me about it.
"He always called me Mo. He said, 'Mo, if you have to go, you have to go. Nobody can stop it.' ''
Nothing could stop Hicke from making jokes -- not even a battle with cancer.
Hicke made light of having spent tens of thousands of dollars on treatments at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
"Every time I see a Cadillac Suburban, I say, 'I left one of those in the Mayo Clinic,' '' Hicke told the Leader-Post during an interview in January of 2005.
On Feb. 4 of that year, Hicke was among the inaugural four recipients of the WHL's Governors Award, which recognizes outstanding achievements and contributions to the league and to hockey.
Hicke spent his final months at home with his family -- including his wife, Lee Anne, and their two children (Lisa and Danny). The Regina hockey legend was also close to his two grandsons, Ryan and Dylan Ostertag.
"He loved you unconditionally,'' Lisa says. "He was always there to cuddle and hug and tell you he loved you.
"Even when I was 40, I'd jump on the couch and cuddle with him. We'd laugh and he'd tell stories.''
Like father, like daughter.
"It's just a flowing waterfall of memories,'' Lisa concludes. "So many memories ...''
© The Leader-Post (Regina) 2007