1935.
R.B. Bennett was prime minister of Canada, Franklin D. Roosevelt president of the United States and gas was 25 cents a gallon or about six cents a litre.
Former Cochrane Eagle publisher Jack Tennant was just a twinkle in mom and dad’s eyes.
And the Detroit Lions last beat the Redskins on the road, until this week.
That it was the Boston Redskins the Lions beat on the road 78 years ago, not Washington, makes it even more inconceivable. The Redskins didn’t move to Washington until 1937.
Somewhere between then and now a man walked on the moon, a satellite departed our solar system and the Stanley Cup was won by hockey teams in Dallas, Tampa and Carolina.
But the Detroit Lions had never won a National Football League game in D.C.
Detroit’s 27-20 win over the Washington Redskins on Sept. 22 was the first time the Lions had won an NFL tilt in Washington. Ever.
How can that happen? Well, they are the Detroit Lions. They went 42-118 in the first 10 seasons of the new millennium, including 0-16 in 2008.
They had one of the best running backs to ever play the game, Barry Sanders, for 10 seasons (1989-98) and were unable to win a conference championship. Sanders owns the “Best-player-to-never-make-the-Super-Bowl” title.
Even with talent like that, the Detroit Lions have been, and still are, futile.
Maybe that’s changing. On Oct. 6, the Lions are in Green Bay, where they haven’t won since the pre-internet era of 1991.
But, as they proved this week, you can’t win ’em if you don’t play ’em.
* * *
Speaking of futility, the Toronto Maple Leafs are preparing for another National Hockey League season. And they’re shaking Cochrane’s trees for talent.
Cochrane Minor Hockey product Mason Raymond is the team’s latest millionaire. The unrestricted free agent’s pre-season audition was enough to earn a one-year, $1-million deal in Toronto.
Raymond, 28, is now lighting lamps for the Laughs, who aren’t as funny as they used to be. Although, their Sept. 22 pre-season punch-up with the Buffalo Sabres was amusing. Nothing like 249 minutes in penalties for a good chuckle. Raymond, who has four points in three pre-season games with the Leafs, didn’t dress for that one.
With former general manager Brian Burke’s rebuilding effort and Dave Nonis’s current stewardship, the Leafs appear to be falling for success these days. And Raymond, who played six seasons for the Vancouver Canucks, can help.
The six-foot, 185-pound left-winger’s speed, skill and experience fit a team that made the playoffs last spring for the first time since 2004. He can get you 20 goals in the right situation. Toronto looks like the right situation.
The Leafs, and Raymond, will benefit from this deal.
