Emile Francis played six seasons in the NHL, and coached another 13, including 10 behind the bench with the New York Rangers. In 1982, he was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a Builder. (Submitted photo/Le Studio du Hockey/Hockey Hall of Fame)

By Martin Martinson

Gone but not forgotten

Remembering North Battleford legend and Hockey HOFer Emile Francis

Feb 25, 2022 | 10:01 AM

The Cat, Coach, or Emile.

Regardless of which name people knew him by, there was hardly a person who crossed paths with Hockey Hall of Famer and North Battleford sports icon Emile Francis who didn’t soon have a memory to share about the man.

Following the news of his recent death, battlefordsNOW caught up with just a few of those people, who knew Emile Francis well, to celebrate his memory.

Linda Hokanson Nevin, wife of late NHL player Bob Nevin, knew Francis through her husband. Bob Nevin spent eight of his 18 NHL seasons with the New York Rangers; the last six of which, with Francis as his coach from 1965-71.

Emile Francis (right) and Bob Nevin, pictured here at the Rangers event honouring Vic Hadfield’s jersey retirement in 2018. (Submitted photo/Kim Kitson)

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Although she was not with Bob until after his Rangers’ days, Hokanson Nevin heard no shortage of stories from him in the years that followed about New York’s legendary bench-boss prior to even meeting him, despite having each grown up in the Battlefords community.

“The guys loved Emile, and Bob was the captain, so if they were having a tough time, or maybe on a bit of a losing streak, he would go to Emile and say ‘you know, I think I need to take the boys out for a few beers,’ and Emile would say, ‘Yeah, I think that’s a good idea,’ and hand him $100 for him to take the guys out and get their spirits up a bit,” she said with an audible smile.

A young Emile Francis, pictured here in goal for the Cincinnati Mohawks of the American Hockey League, where he played two seasons from 1950-52. (Submitted photo/Saskatchewan Sports Hal of Fame)

Always a favorite amongst his players, Hokanson Nevin said Francis – known affectionately by many as ‘The Cat’ from his playing days as a goaltender with noted cat-like relaxes – was always someone his former players would inquire about as the years went on, at team reunions and other alumni events.

“There were many events where the guys would [be at] and they would talk, asking each other, ‘Have you heard about The Cat? What’s The Cat doing? Cat going to be at this event?” she said.

The last time Hokanson Nevin saw Francis was at fellow Rangers legend, Vic Hadfield’s jersey retirement ceremony at Madison Square Garden in early December, 2018.

Always one to speak at the Garden ceremonies, despite being in his early 90’s at the time, she said he still spoke clearly and with eloquence, never one to shy away from sharing a story.

While hockey may have been his first passion, baseball was always something close to Francis’ heart as well, and of keen interest.

Following his hockey career, upon moving back to the Battlefords, Francis would help establish the North Battleford Beavers baseball team as a powerhouse across the nation, winning six Western Canadian championships, and representing the country on the national stage at the Global World Series in Milwaukee in 1956.

“It always made me sort of laugh, that with all the things he had done in his hockey career with the Rangers and Hartford, yet he always liked to talk about baseball and told some great stories about baseball,” Hokanson Nevin said.

One of those stories as she recalled, was about a ball road trip, as the team was stopping in to eat. Francis – always the last one off the bus – had noticed the team’s lone African American player wasn’t leaving with his teammates to head inside.

“Emile said, ‘come on, we’re going inside to eat,’ and the player said, ‘Oh no, the restaurant won’t let me in to eat.’ Emile said, ‘You’ll come in and eat with us, or we won’t be eating here’; and I always thought that was a really nice story about what kind of guy he was,” Hokanson Nevin said.

Another of the Rangers alumni family to speak to Francis’ impact, is former left-winger, Steve Vickers.

Drafted to the Rangers in the first round of the 1971 Draft, 10th overall, Vickers said he still remembers his first interaction with The Cat. It came on draft day, indirectly through a message relayed by his mother over the telephone.

Working his summer job for the Department of Parks and Recreation in June of 1971, Vickers said he still remembers being called into the work shed by his boss for a phone call.

“I had known the draft was coming up, and I remember my mother was on the phone and she said ‘Steve, you’ve just been drafted by the New York Rangers. You went 10^th overall, and Emile Francis did call to tell me that,’ Vickers said. “I remember I thanked her, had a coffee and went back on the tractor and back to work for the rest of the week. It wasn’t quite what the draft is today,” he added with a laugh.

Vickers said as a coach, there was no question Francis established a real identity for his teams reflective of his own character and coaching/management style.

“He liked people who would go out and work hard, that was a necessity… and he didn’t get mad at you if you got in a scrap, that’s for sure,” Vickers said, again with a laugh. “He was stern but very fair and he had the respect of all the players, which is why he had a lot of success in the NHL. He stood up for his values and really helped me in my career.

He will be missed.”

Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builder category in 1982, Francis was also named to the Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame in 1989 and will be remembered fondly by those who knew him, and for his lasting legacy for generations to come.

Pictured L-R: Rangers legends Bob Nevin, Walter Tkaczuk, Steve Vickers, Emile Francis, Brad Park, Eddie Giacomin, seen here in New York at the event celebrating the jersey retirement of Vic Hadfield in 2018. (Submitted photo/Linda Nevin)

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Martin.Martinson@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MartyMartyPxP1