It is one of the most iconic items in modern-day sports history; a battered and beaten dryer that has been written about in books and talked about on The Tonight Show.
It used to be in the Crosby family’s Cole Harbour home, and now it’s at the Nova Scotia Sports Hall of Fame.
“We’ve got it standing beside the Hart, Ross and Pearson trophies, and there are more pictures taken with the dryer than the trophies,” said hall executive director Bill Robinson.“Everyone knows about,” he said about the dryer Crosby used for target practice as a kid. “They had him shooting at one on Jay Leno.” The puck-marked appliance is just one of the items from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ captain’s past currently on display at the hall, located inside the Halifax Metro Centre. It, along with an exhibit of NHL trophies and a history of hockey in Nova Scotia, is on display to coincide with the 2008 IIHF World Championships taking place in the city through May 14. The hall first contacted the Crosby family about putting the show together in December, and Robinson said it took some time to gain the family’s support and trust.
“As we talked more, they suggested things that would fit in well,” Robinson said. “We returned five or six big boxes of stuff. I’ve got four downstairs to take back. It was challenging to sort through it all.”
The result is a comprehensive look at the hockey phenom, from his Montreal Canadian baby bottle and 100th goal pucks, to his time playing midget high school in the United States and later in the NHL. “We have baby socks with the Montreal Canadians logo on it,” he said. “It’s amazing, he has a little P.E.I. T-shirt with the No. 87 on it. And, that relates to Aug. 7 when he was born, it’s a number he has worn, and he signed with Pittsburgh for $8.7 million.”
The exhibit will be up during the IIHF championships, and will remain on display until the end of the school year.
