Hockey legend Paul Henderson will be on hand this weekend at the London Lightning’s final regular season game to mark the start of a year-long celebration into an iconic moment in Canadian sports history.
It was 45 years ago this September when Henderson scored the winning goal in Game 8 of the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union, a goal which would later be named “sports moment of the century” by The Canadian Press.
Henderson, who also scored the winning goals in Game 6 and 7 of the series, will attend this Sunday’s Lightning game to launch the year-long “Victory 45” in celebration of the event’s 45th anniversary, said a team media release.
“Victory 45” will also see the publication of a children’s book called The Greatest Jersey Ever.
Written by Lillian Quon, with a foreword by Don Cherry, the story brings to life Henderson’s historic goal and the jersey he wore during the game. (A jersey which landed in the Guinness Book of World Records after it went up for auction in 2010 for $1.275 million.)
In 2014, Henderson was one of 25 people awarded the Order of Ontario, the province’s highest honour. In 2012, Henderson was named by Hockey Canada to the Order of Hockey in Canada alongside Mark Messier and Dave King.
Tip-off for Sunday’s London Lightning game against Orangeville is at 2 p.m.
— With files from The Canadian Press
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