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irbefan4life · 02-26-2014, 01:17 PM

Here it is, the moment you've all been waiting for, the showcase piece for my museum has finally arrived. Sit back and enjoy the story, this is truly a piece of hockey's history:

Ernie Wakely, full name Ernest Alfred Linton Wakely, was born on November 27, 1940 in Flin Flon, Manitoba. Despite being a winner in the MJHL Championship in 1959 and the Memorial Cup in 1959, Ernie Wakely was never drafted into the NHL. Fortunately, he made the Montreal Canadiens' roster in 1962-63 and recorded a 29 save win. He would bounce between the EPHL, WHL, AHL, and CPHL before finally getting the call again in 1968-69, stopping 23 of 27 for the loss. Despite only playing two games for the Habs in the 60s, Wakely's name was printed on the Stanley Cup in both 1965 and 1968 (years he didn't even play with the team). His big chance to become an NHL regular came in the 1969-70 season when he was traded to the St. Louis Blues and shared starting duties with legends Jacques Plante and Glenn Hall. Wakely ended up appearing in 30 games that year, and helped lead the team to the Stanley Cup Final against the Bruins. After being decimated in his 4 playoff appearances, the team went with Plante and Hall for the majority of the finals (Hall was in net for Bobby Orr's infamous goal). Wakely would play two more seasons with the Blues before moving onto the NHL's competitor, the World Hockey Association. In the NHL, Wakely played in 113 games and finished with a 41-42-17 record with 8 shutouts, a 2.79 GAA, and a 0.906% save average. He also appeared in 10 playoff games, recording a 2-6 record with a 4.36GAA, and a 0.872% save average with 1 shutout.

In the WHA, Ernie Wakely played with the Winnipeg Jets, San Diego Mariners, Cincinatti Stingers, Houston Aeros, and Birmingham Bulls before retiring from hockey after the collapse of the WHA in 1978-79. At the time of the league's collapse, Ernie Wakely had made quite the name for himself. All-time, as a WHA goalie, he was first overall in games (334), ice time (19331 minutes), and shutouts (15). Additionally, he was third all-time in wins (164), and losses (137), and 7th all-time in goals against average (3.30).

This piece is a game-worn Birmingham Bulls home sweater used in Ernie Wakely's final professional hockey season. It was worn in 21 games against all of the team's of the WHA, including a certain Edmonton Oilers team featuring Wayne Gretzky. Based on the games that kept accurate statistics, Wakely, while wearing the sweater, faced at least 507 shots and stopped 447 of them. The wear throughout is a testament to that fact! Also notable is the fact that in this season, Wakely played on the same team as a lot of notable names including Paul Henderson, Michel Goulet, Craig Hartsburg, and Rob Ramage among others. The photo is reproduced with permission.