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Don Cherry from Hockey Night in Canada at CBC Winter launch. Photo by, Don_Cherry_and_Tony_Daniels.jpg: Jeremy Gilbert aka Canada Jack derivative work: Connormah – File:Don_Cherry_and_Tony_Daniels.jpg-

Top 10 Facts about Don Cherry

His full name is Donald Stewart  Cherry. Don was born and raised in Kingston Ontario Canada. He was born on 5th February 1934.

He is the son of Delmar and Maude Cherry. His father was an amateur athlete who also worked as an electrician on the Canadian steamship.

During his first year with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League, he meets his wife Rosemarie who was a year younger than him. His wife was influential in his life because of his minor league hockey lifestyle. 

Don has two children that are  Tim and Cindy.  In  June 1997 his wife Rose died of liver cancer and in honor of her commemoration, he built Rose Cherry`s Home for Kids. After the death of his wife, Cherry remarried in 1999. He married Luba as his second wife.

 1. Don Cherry is a former Canadian Ice Hockey commentator

The word “hockey” in Canada, the United States, Russia, and most of Eastern and Northern Europe, typically refers to ice hockey. Photo by, Keith Allison from Hanover, MD, USA – Pittsburgh Penguins, Washington Capitals, Bryan Rust-

Don Cherry played junior hockey with the  Windsor Spitfires and the Barrie Flyers in the Ontario Hockey league. In 1953 while playing defense in Barrie he won a memorial cup.

After dropping out of high school, he signed for the American Hockey League in 1954(Hershey Bear). He had a long-term career as a professional hockey player playing minor hockey.

In 1955, Don was privileged to play his only National Hockey League game when the Boston Bruins called him up during the playoffs. According to cherry the injury that he had suffered from baseball was hindering him from going to or entering the National Hockey League.

2. Cherry won the Calder Cup Championship

Cherry was inducted into the American Hockey League Hall of Fame in 2019.TheAHL – Photo By: Kelly Shea-

 During the American Hockey League championship, Don Cherry won the cup four times with two different teams. He won it in 1960 with the Springfield Indians and 1965, 1966, and 1968 with Rochester. 

He has also won the Lester Patrick Cup and the Western Hockey League Championship with the Vancouver Canucks in 1969. 

3. Don Cherry retired from hockey in 1970

Cherry with Ron MacLean at the 2002 Winter Olympics. The two were partnered on Coach’s Corner from 1986 to 2019. Photo by, Dave O –

Well as the adage goes, all good things have an ending and this goes with the same case as Don Cherry.

He decided to put a full stop to his hockey career by retiring in 1970. After calling it quits in his career, he did not become reluctant at all, Instead he later took a step further to try out other careers.

He took part in sales of automobiles for he ventured into the industry as a Cadillac salesman. In addition to that, he also became a construction worker and a house painter too.

He took part in the work of making houses colorful(house painter) in the early 1970s earning two dollars per hour. It was until 1972 after he ventured into those careers that he became the head coach of Rochester Americans, a hockey team that plays in the AHL.  

4. Don Cherry did not follow in his grandfather’s footsteps

It is well believed that if one’s forefathers took part in a certain and similar career, then it is most likely that the present person would undertake the same skill/career as that of their forefathers. 

 But this is not the case with Don Cherry. Both of his grandfathers had taken part in military prowess as they served in various branches of the Canadian Armed Forces. Instead, he majored in ice skating.

Don Cherry was very fond of ice skating and he decided to engage in battles on a frozen surface of the water rather than engaging in the muddy swamps and huge battlefields all in the name of patriotism.  His forefathers took part in World War I. 

5. Don Cherry dropped out of high school to focus on his hockey career 

A sporting opportunity knocked at Cherry’s door seeking to nurture the lad’s talent and Cherry did not let the opportunity slip from his hands. He took this chance to showcase his talent.

In 1954,  after winning the memorial cup the previous year, Cherry went on to drop out of high school and decided to fully venture into ice hockey by signing a minor league contract with the AHL’s Hershey Bears.

He went on to have a long career in the AHL as he also got to feature in an NHL game where he played for Boston Bruins during the 1955 playoffs. 

6. Don Cherry was once known as a fiery coach 

This title came shortly after he was signed as the new head coach for Boston Bruins. He was well known for encouraging physical play among his players and reinstated the importance of showing no mercy to his players. 

Surprisingly, this ideology brought a great impact on the team for they got to advance to the Stanley Cup Finals in consecutive seasons but unfortunately, they were thrashed in the finals by a team known as Habs both times.

Those his efforts to win the cup were futile, they did not go unnoticed. Cherry won the Jack Adams Award as the league’s best coach during the 1976 Hockey season. 

7. Don Cherry was featured in his t.v series 

The series well-known as “Don Cherry’s Rock’em Sock’em” is a  t.v series that comprises hockey highlights starring Don Cherry himself. 

The series was created and compiled by Cherry together with his son Tim. His son’s company, Tim Cherry Enterprises created and produced the series. 

Each video showcases goals, saves, defense strategies in the game, and hits that were greatly evident in various games. Highlights from Cherry’s Coach corner, a commentary and analysis segment that aired from 1982-2019, also feature in the series. 

The first video was released in December 1989 via VHS and it immediately became a huge sensation in the entertainment industry becoming the best-selling sports video in Canada. 

Don Cherry released the 30th edition in 2018 which also became the last video to be released for all and sundry to see. He thanked those who complied to feature in the series and thanked his son for making the series a success. 

8. Don is a strong believer in physical contact in hockey 

Unlike other coaches who trust in having tactics to enable the team to gain a win, Cherry is a strong advocate of a “Canadian” type of hockey that brings out physicality among players.

He further on emphasizes that this type of play is paramount as it brings out respect among players and the teams involved at large. He sensitizes the importance of the players having to fight to enable a swift flow of the hockey puck on the surface of the ice. 

He went on to use this tactic on Boston Bruins who seemed prosperous under this coaching technique brought about by Don Cherry

9. Don Cherry’s favorite hockey player is Bobby Orr

Bobby Orr at the 2010 NHL Winter Classic. Photo by, Aaron Frutman – Flickr: The great Bobby Orr loving it –

As they say, class always recognizes class. Don Cherry states that his favorite player of all time is Bobby Orr.

His real name is Robert Gordon Orr he is a former hockey player of Canadian descent. He also played a key role in defense and he is not only recognized by Don Cherry but also by the Canadian citizens as well. 

Other players acknowledged by Don include Vincent Lecavalier, Cam Neely, and Doug Gilmour. 

Don Cherry also has players who he finds distaste in; some of these players include Matt Cooke and Ulf Samuelsson whom he says are constant menaces on the ice as they impose dirty play when playing hockey.

10. Don Cherry has had an impact on the growth of women’s hockey

Cherry is known as a staunch supporter of women’s hockey. In 1997, the Canadian Women’s National Ice Hockey Team showed him respect by paying tribute to the late Rose Cherry

Canadian Hockey Chairman Bob MacKinnon went on to appreciate him and stated that the growing popularity of the women’s game owes it to Don Cherry as he is a great supporter of the women’s ice hockey

Don Cherry has had a great impact on Canadian Ice Hockey and also as a sportsperson at large. He was once recognized as the 7th most influential person in Canada and he remains one of the greatest icons, especially among those who’d wish to pursue their career in Ice Hockey.