Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2019
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/5/2019
Spending plenty of time in the NHL despite never being drafted, netminder Gary Simmons guarded the net of a couple fledgling clubs during the mid-to-late-1970s including California, Cleveland and Los Angeles, with a final 5 games played for the AHL’s Springfield Indians, in 1978-79. Known for roaming from his crease, Simmons is probably best remembered for the iconic mask he wore during his tenure, with the classic illustration historic in the field of mask design. The work of noted mask maker extraordinaire Greg Harrison, the fiberglass mask feature’s the famous “Cobra” design (Simmons nickname), with a number of changes occurring throughout its NHL service. First, the mask appeared just as it does now when first worn by Simmons in 1975-76 with California and then with Cleveland in 1976-77, solid black with cobra design and white outline. When Simmons then went to Los Angeles (1976-77 and 1977-78), the mask had parts repainted, with the black now purple along with the white outline of the cobra covered in gold, with a crown added to the cobra. Post career, the mask was restored to its original state by Harrison, with the purple returned to black, the gold outline back to white and the removal of the crown. A letter from Greg Harrison will accompany.
It’s important that we mention that according to Greg Harrison, the design of the cobra never changed and remains original. Void of any interior padding, the strapping is vintage but doesn’t seem to be the same as when the mask was worn by Simmons. We should also note the visible traces left of yellow paint on the left side and within the eye sockets, along with the purple paint visible on the inner right side near the ear section. Simmons has signed the mask across the cobra in black marker, adding his “Cobra” nickname. The mask is also photo-matched to the particular designs in the paint job of the cobra (which remained unchanged). The text from the Harrison letter reads in full, “A goalie is much like a snake. Coiled and ready to pounce on any loose puck fired his way. If there ever was an example of any eccentric goalie, Gary Simmons could be one of the poster boys for that. I only ever saw him in wonderful cowboy outfits, one was black, one was beige complete with giant turquoise jewelry and a matching tall stetson hat. He looked the cowboy part at over six feet and with the hats and cowboy boots he was a pretty imposing figure. Already nicknamed "The Cobra" I based the outside shape on a "Hot Wheels" Cobra and filled in the rest including adding the tail and mistakingly adding a rattlesnake rattle a mistake he kidded me about many times. One of the two Cobra masks I made him, this was the first. It was painted purple in L.A. by someone and they added a small crown all of which I changed back when I restored it”.
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