TOM REID-IN HIS 70'S AND STILL GOING STRONG!
The Moments
Jan 10, 2020
Minnesota - Twin Cities Metro Area
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His pub and hockey broadcasting jobs keep him constantly on the move, but thats just the way he likes it.
By Dan Myers
Tom Reid is 73 years old. Technically, he retired more than 40 years ago, but the long-time former Minnesota North Star doesn't see himself slowing down any time soon.Born on June 24, 1946 in Fort Erie, Ontario -- just across the Niagara River from Buffalo, New York -- Reid, like most young Canadian boys at that time, spent his winter days on outdoor ice, skating from the time the sun came up until it went down.On school days, he and his brothers and his friends would rush home, throw on their skates and hit the rink they had built in the backyard. He would turn that passion into a career, one that's still going strong some 53 years after he first set foot on a professional ice hockey rink. He's had to chart a new course a couple of times, and things haven't always gone according to plan, but Reid has managed to live life's working dream: he's spent a career in and around something he loves.
"I wouldn't change this for anything," Reid says with a smile. "I love what I've done. I've met a lot of people along the way, I've met some very good friends that I still stay in touch with. But it's one of those things where I enjoy doing something. I'm not one to sit around the house." Spend time with Reid and that becomes perfectly clear.Reid has been working in broadcasting since the end of his playing career, doing games both on television earlier in his career, and on radio. He's still the radio analyst for all Minnesota Wild games home and away, which means he's on the road for 41 games per season.When he's not with the team, Reid owns a pub in downtown St. Paul that bears his own name, Tom Reid's Hockey City Pub. In the 20 years since it opened, Reid's bar has become a must-stop for any hockey fan visiting the capital of the State of Hockey.But he's not just the namesake of the pub ... chances are good if you stop in, you'll see Reid inside. If he's not visiting with his customers, slapping backs and telling stories, he'll be wiping down a countertop, mopping a floor or fixing a toilet.Reid has never been afraid to get his hands dirty and put some sweat equity into his businesses.
"I'll do anything," Reid said. "And if I do it, I think it's a big plus for my employees. They see that if I'm willing to do it, they should be able to do it too."
Reid grew up just a stone's throw from the northern shores of Lake Erie. His first job was when he was seven picking raspberries, making two cents per quart. He'd eventually graduate to 40 hours per week, making 50 cents per hour, helping to keep Fort Erie's parks clean during the summer.Reid prepared to sign his first pro contract during an era when players didn't have agents. When he sat down to negotiate with former longtime Chicago Black Hawks GM Tommy Ivan, Reid couldn't believe the money they were going to pay him.Ivan promised him $10,000 for the season if he played on the NHL team and $5,000 if he was in the minors. Because he had made an All-Star team with his junior club the year prior, they would give him a $500 signing bonus.
"That was more money than I had ever heard of in my life," Reid said with a laugh.
After signing the deal, Ivan made Reid promise he wouldn't reveal his salary to the veteran players on the team, saying it would interrupt the team's entire pay scale. But during a road trip to the West Coast, Hall-of-Famer Stan Mikita convinced Reid to share the details of his contract, saying it would help them negotiate their own deals. One day, that would trickle down to Reid. So Reid did as he was told and provided his salary to the veteran player.
"Are you happy with that?" Mikita asked Reid. "Yeah," Reid answered back.
"That's the minimum," Mikita said.Reid laughed and shook his head.
"I said, 'I don't care, I'm in the National Hockey League,'" Reid said. "It's never been about the money for me. I've always just enjoyed the game."
Reid's time in Chicago was short. He was traded to the Minnesota North Stars on Valentine's Day in 1969 and it was there where Reid would play for the next decade.During that time, Reid became one of the most popular players on the team. After serving as an extra defenseman in Chicago early in his career, Reid was given more ice time and more responsibility. But later in his tenure, he developed a skin condition that would eventually end his playing career. Every time he would put his equipment on, he would get a painful rash on his upper torso. Reid played through the condition for the final three seasons of his career, being forced to spend up to two weeks in the hospital at the end of the season as his skin grew back and healed.Finally, it became too much, and he walked away from the game he loved in 1978.But he wouldn't walk far.Walter Bush, the founder of the club, asked if he'd be willing to join legendary play-by-play man Al Shaver in the broadcast booth to do color commentary.
It was an adjustment for him. Reid had never been a good public speaker; when he was a kid, he couldn't even deliver speeches in front of his class because of his fear. But learning from Shaver helped and over the years, Reid has become one of the most recognizable voices in all of hockey."I got to learn from one of the best," Reid said. "He was great. He taught me a lot and he helped nurture me along."
Eventually, Reid would get paired for TV broadcasts with Bob Kurtz, and the two would form a long-time working relationship and friendship. The two would work together for five years in the early 1980s before joining forces again with the Wild in 2001, and the two have been together on the radio ever since.Between the pub and his broadcasting, Reid is always busy. At a time when most folks his age are looking to slow down, Reid's not sure he'll ever give up his hectic lifestyle.
"The Wild have been very good to me over the years and I enjoy what I do. I try and promote the game as best as I can," Reid said. "Will I ever retire? I don't know which one I could leave first. I love them both."
The Seniors Blue Book would like to especially thank Tom Reid, Dan Myers of the Wild, Dr. Robert Keifer and Mike Ohlhauser of Drake Bank for their help in the production of this article for the Seniors Blue Book!
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