When I started to write about my great friend Jim Mahon, I decided that he was much more than a great hockey player. He was an incredibly wonderful human being, a quiet, gentle giant. He made being the best look easy, and always accepted his greatness with humility.
It surprises me even now, 40 years later, how raw the wounds are among those of us fortunate to know him. Hardened business people are still very emotional at the mere mention of his name. The raw emotion remains at the surface.
My goal in writing Jim's story is to bring his memory back to life within the covers of this book, so that we can again enjoy his company; so that we can again marvel a his immense talent; so that we can again feel the passion that he stirred within us.
But it was not a one-way street. We always mattered to Jim. Although Jim's funeral is a memory distant 40 years, some things are remembered clearly. I can remember that I prayed that one day God would give back to us the great gift that was revoked, Jim Mahon.
Many questions will always remain unanswered. would Jim Mahon's name have belonged with the greats: Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Rocket Richard, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jim Mahon? Would Jim have been the most complete player of them all? would the Mahon family have become the first family of hockey?
I prayed hard that day that God would give us back that great gift, Jim Mahon. In the meantime, I am ever so thankful that God gave him to us even if it was only for a little while.
It surprises me even now, 40 years later, how raw the wounds are among those of us fortunate to know him. Hardened business people are still very emotional at the mere mention of his name. The raw emotion remains at the surface.
My goal in writing Jim's story is to bring his memory back to life within the covers of this book, so that we can again enjoy his company; so that we can again marvel a his immense talent; so that we can again feel the passion that he stirred within us.
But it was not a one-way street. We always mattered to Jim. Although Jim's funeral is a memory distant 40 years, some things are remembered clearly. I can remember that I prayed that one day God would give back to us the great gift that was revoked, Jim Mahon.
Many questions will always remain unanswered. would Jim Mahon's name have belonged with the greats: Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Rocket Richard, Bobby Orr, Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and Jim Mahon? Would Jim have been the most complete player of them all? would the Mahon family have become the first family of hockey?
I prayed hard that day that God would give us back that great gift, Jim Mahon. In the meantime, I am ever so thankful that God gave him to us even if it was only for a little while.