On This Day January 6th.

Carl Voss. Photo supplied by Mike Moore private collection.

January 6:  On this day in 1907, Carl Voss was born in Chelsea, Massachusetts. On February 16, 1927, Voss became the first player signed to a contract by Conn Smythe, the new owner of the Toronto franchise, newly-named the Toronto Maple Leafs. He played his first game in the NHL the next evening. Voss played just 14 games as a Toronto St. Pat/Maple Leaf without a single point, but in 1933 he was rookie of the year and the inaugural winner of the Calder trophy with the Red Wings. He was later appointed to the job of Referee-in-Chief by the NHL in 1950. Carl Voss was inducted into the Hall Of Fame as a Builder in 1974.

The pinnacle of Moore's career came in 1958-59 when he got the Art Ross Trophy for an astonishing 96-point performance.

January 6:  On this day in 1931, Hall-of-Famer Dickie Moore was born in Montreal, Quebec. After winning six Stanley Cups with the Canadiens and the Art Ross trophy twice as the NHL's scoring champion, Moore came out of retirement during the 1964-65 season to play 38 games with the Leafs. With Toronto Moore had 2 goals and 4 assists. He later came out of retirement a second time to play 27 games for the St. Louis Blues in their inaugural 1967-68 season and then 18 playoff games where he led the Blues to the Finals with 14 post-season points. A popular and gifted NHL star, Moore was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.

January 6:  On this day in 1940, the Leafs came from behind with three goals in the third period to defeat the Montreal Canadiens 3-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens. It was their first victory of the new decade. In the 10 year period between January 1, 1940 and December 31, 1949, the Maple Leafs compiled a winning record of 251-207-78. More importantly, they captured five Stanley Cups in the 1940's including three in a row between 1947-49. To date, it has been the most successful decade in team history.

Jiri Crha, Born in Pardubice in the former Czechoslovakia on April 13th, 1950,

January 6:  On this day in 1981, the Leafs were defeated by the powerhouse N.Y. Islanders 6-3. John Tonelli of the Islanders scored five goals, four on Leaf goalie Jiri Crha and the last one into an empty net. Hall-of-Fame sniper Mike Bossy assisted on all six Islander goals. He remains the only player to ever have as many as six assists in one game against the Leafs. Crha, who was known to teammates as "George" suited up for 15 games with Toronto and managed to win 8 of them. With his playing days behind him Crha stayed involved with the game by becoming a player agent with players from the Czech Republic making up his client base.