In the world of hockey, Don Cherry is one of the few men who has seen and done it all. He was a professional hockey player before becoming an NHL coach. Currently, he works as an ice hockey commentator and sportswriter. Also called Grapes, he is considered one of the greatest Canadians with opinions that span sports, politics and social life in general.
Biography of Don Cherry
As far as he is popular as Don Cherry, he was like Donald Stewart Cherry that the iconic hockey star was born on February 5, 1934 in Kingston, Ontario. His father, Delmar Cherry was an amateur athlete and an electrician. His mother was Maude Cherry.
A hockey fan, Cherry started playing since he was little and he spent his junior hockey years playing for the Windsor Spitfires. By 1954 he had already dropped out of school and signed for the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League (AHL). While a great player, he only got to play one NHL game in 1955 when he was called up by the Boston Bruins during the playoffs. It was because of a baseball injury he suffered that kept him out of the National Hockey League.
His younger brother Dick Cherry who also played hockey, meanwhile, was part of the NHL where he spent two seasons playing for the Philadelphia Flyers. Don Cherry spent more than 15 seasons in the minor leagues before retiring in 1969 and then entering the construction industry. In 1971, he was back to the sports he loved, but only to play for a short time before becoming coach of the Rochester Americans. Soon after, he won the Coach of the Year award. In his third season, he won AHL Coach of the Year.
After his good run with Rochester, he got moved to the NHL where he was the head coach of the Boston Bruins. He brought a different style of play, which would help the Bruins win the division title for four consecutive seasons from 1975-76 to 1978-79. He set a record of 11 players scoring 20 or more goals in a single team during the 1977–78 season.
A relationship problem with Bruins general manager Harry Sinden was later fired from Cherry in 1979 when there were too many men on the ice in the Stanley Cup semi-final game. Then he moved to the Colorado Rockies, but at the end of the season was again out of work with the team landing in last place in the standings. With that, his coaching career came to an end. However, this marked the start of his broadcasting career at the CBC in 1980. Several years later, he would be hired by ESPN.
All you need to know
Beyond his youth and playing career, here’s everything you need to know about him:
1. Wife
So far, Don Cherry has been married twice. The first was in 1957 at Rosemarie Cherry. The two were so close that she went from his wife to his personal manager, accountant, and more. After a battle with liver cancer, Rosemarie died in 1997 and in 1999 Don Cherry married again Luba Cherry.
2 children
Since her first marriage, Cherry has had two children, Tim Cherry and Cindy Cherry. When Tim was 13 he suffered from kidney failure and Cindy, who was the older of the two, donated one of her own to Tim.
3. Styling
Among most things that can be left out about Cherry, her sense of style won’t make the list. He is a very colorful individual whose sense of dressing is interesting.
According to him, he got this from his father who is known for his bespoke three-piece suits, Homburg hat, cigarette holder and gold watch. Young Cherry said he was always proud to walk with his father.
4. NHL
About his inability to make a career in the National Hockey League, Cherry said he always prayed to God to make him a hockey player, but he forgot to tell him he wanted to play in the NHL.
5. Net worth
For a man who has been involved in a lot of things from hockey to coaching, then being a broadcaster among other things, Don Cherry is expected to have good fortune. Well, he does. His net worth is estimated at $14 million.
6. height
Cherry is a man with a good height and good build. He is 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall while his body weight is 180 lbs (82 kg).