CANMORE'S ALEX ‘HAT TRICK’ KALETA

ALEX KALETA WAS BORN IN THE MINING TOWN OF CANMORE IN 1919.
HE PLAYED WITH THE ‘CANMORE BRIQUETTES’, A MINOR HOCKEY TEAM.

ALEX WAS FAST. HE WORKED AT HIS SPEED AND BEING FIT,
IT WASN’T LONG BEFORE HE RECEIVED THE NAME ‘SEA BISCUIT’.

SOON HE WAS PLAYING WITH THE CALGARY STAMPEDERS IN 1938,
FOLLOWED BY THE LETHBRIDGE MAPLE LEAFS IN 1940.
THEN HE WAS DRAFTED BY THE CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS
NOW HIS ‘PRO CAREER WAS SET TO BE FREE.

Alex Kaleta Black Hawks Team Photos BV hall of fame

Alex Kaleta With The Chicago Black Hawks 1941-1942 ~ Photo Courtesy Of The Bow Valley Sports Hall Of Fame

KALETA JOINED THE BLACKHAWKS IN 41/42
ON A ROAD TRIP TO TORONTO HE WAS LOOKING FOR A HAT.
HE WALKED INTO SAMMY TAFT’S HAT SHOP
HE TRIED ON A FEDORA

SAMMY SAID, “IT LOOKS GREAT, YOU LOOK LIKE AN ARISTOCRAT.

ALEX SAID, “I CAN’T AFFORD IT.”

SAMMY SAID,” IF YOU SCORE 3 GOALS TONITE IT’S YOURS FOR FREE.”.....

WELL! ALEX NOT ONLY SCORED 3 BUT 4.
NEXT DAY HE RETURNED TO THE SHOP, SAMMY SAID,
” IT’S YOURS THAT’S WHAT WE AGREED.”

THE PRESS GOT HOLD OF THE STORY.
FROM THAT DAY FORWARD ‘HAT TRICK’ BECAME EMBEDDED IN THE GAME.
THE STORY NOW PART OF THE ‘HOCKEY HALL OF FAME’.

Alex Kaleta in Hat Trick Hat BV Hall of Fame

KALETA WENT ON TO COMPLETE THE SEASON,
GETTING 46 POINTS, HEALTHY NUMBERS, GREAT TIMES.
AFTER 4 SEASONS HE JOINED THE NEW YORK RANGERS,
FOR SEASONS 1948 AND 49.

HE THEN WENT TO THE PACIFIC COAST LEAGUE,
PLAYING WITH THE SASKATOON QUAKERS FOR 3 YEARS.
ALEX RETIRED IN 1955 HAVING AN ACCOMPLISHED HOCKEY CAREER.

Alex Kaleta Beehive Hockey Cards ~ Photos Courtesy of Bow Valley Sports Hall of Fame

TO HONOR THE HOMETOWN HERO WHO BROUGHT
THE MOUNTAIN TOWN RECOGNITION AND FAME,
THEY CALLED THEIR RINK ‘THE ALEX KALETA ARENA’,
TO HONOR HIS CONTRIBUTION AND NAME.

ALEX ‘HAT TRICK’ KALETA, CANMORE’S PRIDE AND CELEBRATED SON,
‘HAT TRICK’, FOREVER , WILL BE ONE OF HOCKEY’S FAMOUS LEGENDS.

Alex Kaleta Currie Barracks BV Hall of fame

By Graham MacDonald—inspired by the induction of Alex into the Bow Valley
Sports Hall of Fame. Graham also authored ‘Hockey; It’s in our Blood’, 'Where Legends Live'
(Banff Cemetery Book), ’Mountain Humour'

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