As part of the Leafs’ centennial season, the Star is taking a look at significant moments in the franchise’s history, written by hockey historian Kevin Shea:Imperial Oil introduced Three Star Gasoline in 1931 and began to sponsor children’s hockey teams, branding them Three-Star Hockey Clubs, or simply Three Stars. In 1932, the Three Stars of each Maple Leafs home game were chosen by Charlie Querrie, a Toronto sportsman who had owned, managed and was the final coach of the Toronto St. Patricks before Conn Smythe and his consortium purchased the franchise in 1927. The selections were then printed in the Toronto Globe the next publishing day. Three Star Gasoline was phased out in 1949, replaced by Esso Gasoline, but the Three Stars continued to be an extremely popular feature of Maple Leafs radio broadcasts. Thanks to the generosity of Toronto’s Roden Brothers, a local silversmith, each Leaf player selected received a silver spoon.

Source: thestar November 27, 2016 03:29 UTC