Three-Star Selection

What fueled hockey’s iconic postgame ritual?

FOR 75 YEARS HOCKEY FANS have enjoyed a postgame ritual where the three best players in the contest are recognized. This tradition is called the Three-Star Selection, but not many know its origin.

Its history traces back to a handshake agreement between Toronto Maple Leafs owner Conn Smythe and advertising agency owner Jack MacLaren. The agreement granted MacLaren’s client, General Motors, the radio rights to Leaf games once the construction of Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto was completed. The inaugural General Motors Hockey Broadcast subsequently aired on Nov. 12, 1931, with Foster Hewitt (best known for coining the phrase “he shoots, he scores”) calling a Toronto Maple Leafs defeat by the Chicago Blackhawks.

By 1933 a 20-station hookup was broadcasting games to nearly a million listeners—about 1 in 10 Canadians at the time. In 1936 and ’37, another MacLaren client, Imperial Oil, replaced General Motors as sponsor when GM of Canada’s new president, freshly transferred from the United States, stated that he “did not believe hockey would sell cars.”

Imperial Oil wanted to promote its new Three-Star Gasoline, a name based on the three stars in the company’s original logo, by naming three stars in each game. Foster Hewitt’s radio broadcast would conclude with his personal selections, generally based on the players’ high level of play. Each selected player would skate an encore semicircle on the ice, amidst cheers or boos, depending on the outcome of the game.

On Jan. 1, 1937, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. was launched and assumed national carriage of the program. Soon thereafter, the series became identified as Hockey Night in Canada. Foster Hewitt continued making the selections for nearly 35 years before retiring, though many may remember Hewitt coming out of retirement for the 1972 Summit Series and famously describing “the goal heard around the world” by declaring “Henderson has scored for Canada!”

In 1976 Imperial Oil ended its sponsorship. However, the tradition remained at Hockey Night in Canada with Molson Breweries as the new sponsor. The three game stars continued to be selected by a member of the media. Players are awarded 30 points as the first star, 20 points as the second star and 10 points as the third star. At the end of each season, the player with the highest tally on each Canadian team is awarded a Molson Cup.

The National Hockey League now awards three stars during every game, not limited just to those broadcast on Hockey Night in Canada, with the selection made by media representatives of the home team. All professional, as well as many amateur and collegiate hockey leagues, also award three stars.

Since Oct. 13, 2010, the “Molson Export Three Stars presented by Bell” are chosen by fans of the Montreal Canadiens voting with their mobile phones or on the Internet, signaling both an evolution in the selection process and in branding.

The latest sponsor of the Three- Star Selection is the software company Compuware. Peter Karmanos, Jr., CEO of Compuware, is an avid hockey supporter and owner of the Carolina Hurricanes (previously the Hartford Whalers).

Even though Imperial Oil has not sold Three-Star-branded gasoline in more than 30 years, and no matter how many variations in sponsorship the Three-Star Selection has gone through, we still pay homage to gasoline at the end of every hockey game.

Originally appeared in Tribology and Lubrication Technology.



