Jon Casey, Hockey Player - Union Suit Fan

by Scott Makowski, St. Paul Minnesota

Hi Chris: While viewing your blog recently, I saw that you posted a picture back in January, 2017 of a junior hockey player wearing a union suit, standing exhausted in his locker room after a big game. That player is Jon Casey, then and later, a tremendously gifted goaltender. This high energy kid reigned supreme in high school and college. Not surprisingly, he rose eventually to become one of pro hockey's elite players. 

1980 Photo of Jon Casey
Courtesy of the Star Tribune

Casey was born in 1962 in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, one of four kids. Like most boys in the North Star State, he began playing hockey at a very young age and was recognized early on as "a natural." He practiced hard becoming an excellent goaltender for his high school team in Grand Rapids. Casey was instrumental in that school winning the 1980 state championship. He went on to star at the University of North Dakota from 1980-1984 where he helped his team to two NCAA National Championships. After graduating he played goaltender professionally for the Minnesota North Stars, and later for the Boston Bruins and the St. Louis Blues. Casey played in two Stanley Cup finals, 1991 and 1996. For five years he was considered the number one goaltender in all of professional hockey. He was chosen to play in the 44 th National Hockey League All-Star Team. 

Playing against Casey in high school and college was very challenging for boys like me and others. Taking successful shots against him was really tough. He made the net seem smaller than normal. Like Casey and me, boys back then wore union suits under their pads and uniforms. In fact, most players wore union suits back then including 17 year old Wayne Gretsky. 

Oh yeah, the great Bobby Orr wore union suits too. But he preferred a type of "abbreviated" long underwear. He typically cut off the long sleeve arms and legs of his union suits turning his long johns into short johns! No kidding.

For most of us at that time, our favored union suits were white and all cotton. That underwear was breathable and helped cool us down when working up a sweat. As in Casey's photograph, we tucked the cuffs of our long johns down into our socks so the long underwear did not ride up our legs when pursuing the ever elusive puck rapidly down the ice. Best of all that one-piece underwear stayed in place. Union suits did not ride up exposing our backs like two piece underwear tended to do. This was especially appreciated whenever we bent over or got our jerseys pulled up and over our heads in a fight. 

Now days, I don't know about Casey but I still wear union suits whether out on the ice with my boys, shoveling snow, camping and hunting, or just hanging out around the house. 

Best  regards, Scott 

Hey thanks, Scott. I appreciate you pointing out that the photograph initially emailed to me by Spencer and subsequently posted to my blog, Union Suit Fan, on January 3, 2017 and entitled "Junior Hockey Players Are Union Suit Fans," was of a boy named Jon Casey. Up until now, I didn't know if the young hockey player in that picture were Spencer or someone else. Turns out it was an early photo of one of hockey's greats and a true Union Suit Fan. 

How about this famous photo of a pro hockey player standing there in his Union Suit after helping win the Stanley Cup?!