Reusse: Sonmor farewell is full of stories, sentiment

per Reusse:

Anyone who has had more than a passing interest in hockey in Minnesota over the past five decades can be grateful that the man in the garage in Cleveland was so persuasive with his tale of woe. The hockey scene here would’ve been far less entertaining without the energy, the emotion, the knowledge, the risk-taking and the storytelling — the darndest storytelling you’ve ever heard — from Glen Sonmor.

Sonmor turned 85 on Tuesday. There was a birthday celebration at his senior living center in Bloomington. There were Gophers who played for him, Fighting Saints who played for him, North Stars who played for him, and sober friends who Sonmor has impacted during 30 years of telling “his story,’’ as we non-practicing alcoholics like to say.

Tuesday’s celebration came on the eve of Sonmor’s relocation to Toronto, where he will live with his sister, Jean Devine, and her family. That made this a goodbye of sorts for a man who first came to Minneapolis as a 20-year-old in 1949, to play for the Millers in the International Hockey League.

http://www.startribune.com/sports/gophers/256461821.html?page=all&prepage=1&c=y#continue

Go Gophers!!

As a young lad, my parents took me to the movies to see E.T. We sat behind Sonmor. After the movie he talked with us for a bit. It was a big deal to a young kid. Obviously, I still remember it.