Scotty Bowman

William Scott Bowman was born September 18, 1933, in Montreal, Quebec, the second of John and Jane Bowman's four children. The Bowmans emigrated to Canada from Scotland and raised their family in a tenement in Verdun, a working-class Montreal suburb. Scotty inherited a relentless work ethic from his father, who never took a sick day in the thirty-one years he toiled as a blacksmith for the railroad. And he acquired a fiercely competitive nature from his mother, who would throw her cards in the fire when she lost a hand of euchre.

Verdun had dozens of skating rinks where, as a boy, Bowman learned to play hockey. By the age of seventeen, he was a promising forward with the Montreal Canadiens' junior team and a pro prospect. His dream of playing professional hockey was not to be, however. The end came during the final minutes of a Junior A playoff game at the Montreal Forum in 1951. Bowman was on a breakaway toward the opposing goal with a defenseman named Jean-Guy Talbot in pursuit. Talbot, his team on the verge of elimination from the playoffs, swung his stick twice at Bowman in frustration. Bowman was struck in the head—none of the players wore helmets in those days—and lost a piece of his skull. He required a metal plate in his head. His playing days were over. He understood hockey's intense, sometimes violent nature, however, and never held a grudge. A few years later, Bowman was coaching the St. Louis Blues when the team added Talbot to its roster. Bowman coached him for three years.