Scott Radley: Kenesky owner Joel Hulsman dead at 65

It didn't matter if you were the richest guy in the city or someone down on your luck who didn't have two pennies to rub together. If you were on Barton Street and you wanted a conversation, you walked into Kenesky's.

Because any time of day, any time of year, Joel Hulsman would talk. About hockey, about city politics, about the street. Mostly about you.

When you walked into Kenesky's, you were walking into his living room," says longtime business partner Pete Richards.

The longtime owner of the Hamilton landmark died suddenly on Sunday. He was 65.

There haven't been too many bigger characters in this city than Hulsman.

The man who became the unofficial Mayor of Barton Street started working at the historic sporting goods store when he was just 12. He lived just around the corner so after school, he'd go in and fix bike tires and sweep the floors.

Pops Kenesky - the guy who invented the goalie pad in the loft on the second floor - ran the place then. Kenesky's sons eventually took over until Hulsman bought three of them out in the mid-'80s and became a partner in the place he adored.

Every morning from the moment the store opened until he locked it shut at day's end, he'd be there holding court. The Hot Stove Lounge, more than one person called it. Oh, he'd fix equipment and sell stuff. But that often seemed secondary to the conversation.

People would come in and wouldn't even shop," says his wife, Joanne. They'd bring him a Timmies and just come and talk."

One morning a little over a decade ago, Hulsman and Richards and a couple guys were standing around yakking when an unremarkable older gentleman walked through the door.

They asked if he needed help with anything. No, he said. His wife was in poor health at the Hamilton General Hospital across the street and he had some friends who used to shop here. So he thought he'd pass some time looking around.

Oh yeah?" Hulsman asked, launching into what was bound to be yet another conversation with yet another average Joe off the street. Who were your friends?"

Terry Sawchuk," the old man said quietly.

They looked at each other. Hmm. What's your name?

He very sheepishly said my name is Ted," Richards recalls. Ted Kennedy."

As in Teeder Kennedy. Five-time Stanley Cup champion. The last Toronto Maple Leaf to win the Hart Trophy. Hall of Famer, captain, and arguably the greatest player in franchise history.

Other than getting him to sign the wall, the conversation didn't change. He was immediately just one of the guys.

And he was hardly the only famous person to visit the place. The wall upstairs where Pops used to sew pads was covered in autographs from greats who came in for a look at the place and got a dose of Hulsman's unique charm. The Stanley Cup visited, too.

There was always a smile and Hulsman's trademark laugh was never far away.

This came naturally. Don MacVicar went to high school with Hulsman at Sir John A Macdonald. Both went on to do well in sports (MacVicar was a champion powerlifter and is in the Hamilton Sports Hall of Fame) but he says back in the day, the future goalie equipment magnate was better known as a trumpet player in the jazz band.

He was really good," MacVicar says.

He was also pretty good on the ice. After playing for the Hamilton Huskies, he went on to be a star for the Hamilton Mountain B's. Surprisingly to many though, not as a goalie. It wasn't until he was in his 40s he decided to try the position.

With no idea what he was doing, he signed up for a week of Kenesky goalie camp. As a camper.

He was awful," Richards laughs. But he had the best equipment."

He stopped playing a while back. It's not clear if it was because of heart issues he'd been having. Joanne says those started 10 or 15 years ago.

Once he'd kept the store running to see it's 100th birthday, he decided it was finally time to sell. He continued to produce Kenesky gear out of London with some new partners but the store was promptly knocked down to make way for a clinic that's never been built. The lot sits empty today.

Letting it go, hurt.

He cries every time he goes by that corner," Joanne says.

That place was celebrated on Sunday. As tens of thousands of people filled Tim Hortons Field to watch the Heritage Classic, millions at home watching on TV saw a feature on Kenesky's place in hockey history. Just about the moment the puck dropped, Hulsman, who'd been in hospital for a couple weeks, had a heart attack and passed away.

By early evening, rumours were circulating. His son, Eric, was getting bombarded with text messages and phone calls. Is it true?

A lot of people are gutted," he says.

So many have been saying his dad was like a dad to them. A character, a friend, a one-of-a-kind piece of Hamilton.

He died at the General. Right across the street from where he'd spent most of his life. The spot he refused to move from even when others said a new location could breathe life into the business. There's some poetry in that.

Joanne agrees.

He died on the street he loved."

Scott Radley is a Hamilton-based columnist at The Spectator. Reach him via email: sradley@thespec.com