Karmanos: “I’m truly honored and humbled to be included in this great institution”
By @MichaelCaples –
During his Hockey Hall of Fame induction speech, Peter Karmanos, Jr., reflected on his first hockey memory.
The Detroit native confessed that when he was 8 years old, he was a budding baseball and football fan. When his mother offered to let him stay up past his bedtime to watch something new on his 11-inch Zenith TV with a round screen, however, Karmanos’ attention shifted to a different sport.
“For some unknown reason, Channel 7 in Detroit was broadcasting – in black and white – the third period of Detroit Red Wings home games,” Karmanos said. “Back then, the games started at 8 p.m., so the third period would generally start at about 10. By the way, at the time, the only other TV I had watched was the Howdie Doodie TV show. Do any of you remember who Howdy Doody was?
“The third period started; it was the 1951-52 Red Wings playing the Montreal Canadiens. The first shift of hockey I ever saw was Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Alex Delvecchio, with Terry Sawchuk in goal, playing against the Montreal Canadiens – Maurice Richard, Butch Bouchard, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, and a young Jean Beliveau among others. I had never seen hockey before, and a lifelong passion and love for the game was born that season. I would beg my mother to stay up, and she would say ‘OK’ and I would sit on the floor in front of the TV and watch every second that those games were on.”
The players listed above were responsible for cultivating new generations of hockey fans across the globe. Few of those fans would eventually play as significant a role in the growth of hockey in the United States as Karmanos, however.
The man responsible for bringing OHL hockey to Michigan and NHL hockey to North Carolina entered the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday night, but the first thing discussed in celebratory video was his work at the youth hockey level. Karmanos built Compuware hockey before his ventures in team ownership, and that’s what he also discussed most during his speech.
“In the 40 years that Compuware youth hockey has been in existence, we have placed more than 235 of our graduates with scholarships into Division 1 hockey. We’ve won 16 U.S. national championships, 34 state championships, and two of our pee wee teams have won the Quebec International tournament,” Karmanos said with a strong sense of pride behind his words. “Fourteen of our kids who played in our program went on to be NHL first-round picks.
“I want to thank those people who established a foundation for this program. Their input, their determination and their love of hockey left a lasting imprint on this great organization.”
Karmanos raved about the coaches who have come through his Compuware program, perhaps the most important piece in constructing a national powerhouse of a AAA program.
“Every boy who played for these people were better hockey players at the end of the season than they were when they started the season, and that’s what really matters to me. I also want to thank the thousands of hockey moms and dads in our organization, who had players in our organization. These families sacrificed enormously to have their kids play hockey. We could have not been successful without their dedication to their children and to our program.”
And he certainly appreciated the honor bestowed upon him by the Hockey Hall of Fame Monday night.
“I’m truly honored and humbled to be included in this great institution,“ Karmanos said after being welcomed on stage by Ron Francis. “…Truly a thrill to be included in this remarkable class.”
See Karmanos’ full speech here: