Uncovering the Legacy of Fr. David Bauer: A Hidden Piece of Canadian History

Alessandro Adorante

Tuesday, March 4, 2025

A priest in clericals and a black blazer flanked by two young men in full hockey gear, with a large M on their jerseys.

The future Fr. David Bauer on the left, at the time starring for the St. Michael's Majors, joined by a beloved priest and a Majors teammate.

Every morning, I sit at my desk in my high-rise apartment, overlooking the beautiful skyline of Uptown Waterloo. As I work away, my thoughts drift to the rich history of this city. With its deep-rooted German Catholic heritage — especially in neighbouring Kitchener, once called Berlin — there is so much to explore. Yet, I feel stuck. Every lead seems to hit a dead end, and I feel as if I have no compelling stories to tell.

Then, suddenly, it hits me. I’m walking down Father David Bauer Drive in Uptown Waterloo, and I realize how much history is waiting to be uncovered in my own backyard.

I first encountered the name "Father David Bauer" while attending St. Michael’s College School in Toronto, where I knew he was somehow connected to hockey. But it wasn’t until the summer of 2024 that I began to really explore his life. I took a stroll down Fr. Bauer Drive, which runs alongside beautiful Waterloo Park. The street features a sports park complete with two softball fields, a skate park, and an entrance to an extensive trail system that links to the Great Canadian Trail and the University of Waterloo. It was here that I felt compelled to learn more about the man behind the name.

I dove into my research and soon stumbled upon a biography of Fr. Bauer written by Dr. Matt Hoven, a scholar at the University of Alberta. As luck would have it, the timing of my search couldn’t have been better, as Matt was preparing to release Fr. David Bauer’s biography, Hockey Priest: Father David Bauer and the Spirit of the Canadian Game. I quickly scheduled a call with Matt, eager to learn more about this fascinating figure.

Matt Hoven is not just a scholar; he’s an enthusiast of hockey history, and his passion for his subject was immediately evident. Our conversation took place on a warm summer day, with Matt watching a track-and-field meet in Edmonton while I looked out over St. Louis Church in Waterloo, right next to the Bauer Kitchen.

Little did I know, I was looking at the corner where Fr. Bauer grew up. St. Louis Church was where he was baptized and his parents married. Across the street, at the current location of the Bauer Kitchen, was where his father Edgar owned a factory manufacturing cotton felts used in automobiles and horse buggies. Next to the factory is where he and his siblings learned to play hockey.

In our conversation, Matt referred to Fr. Bauer as the “moral conscience of hockey” and a "hockey philosopher." Fr. Bauer’s philosophy was shaped by Pope Pius XII’s messages to Italian athletes, from which he adopted his famous motto, “Use skill and let the spirit prevail.” He was also deeply inspired by the teachings of Catholic moral philosopher Jacques Maritain, particularly his vision of true humanism. Additionally, Fr. Bauer was influenced by his fellow Basilian priest, Fr. Henry Carr, whose emphasis on education shaped his approach to coaching. Drawing from these influences, Fr. Bauer took Canada’s top amateur hockey players and formed the first national hockey team, leading them to a notable fourth-place finish at the 1964 Olympics and a bronze medal in 1968.

For Fr. Bauer, hockey wasn’t just a game: it was an opportunity for education and character-building. His goal wasn’t just to create great hockey players, but to shape good people. “In a small way,” he said, “hockey can improve the world.”

This perspective struck a deep chord with me. Fr. Bauer’s messages resonated deeply with the personal values instilled in me from my Catholic upbringing. I continued to read more about him and kept in touch with Matt. Then, an exciting opportunity arose: Matt would be traveling to Toronto for an event in tribute to Fr. Bauer at the Hockey Hall of Fame! I couldn’t miss the chance to meet him in person.

We coordinated a time that worked for both of us. The event took place on a Friday night, just a week after the Hockey Hall of Fame inductions in November, in the Great Hall itself. The tribute was a powerful occasion, with family members and former players, including Brian Conacher, who had won the Stanley Cup with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967. It was a wonderful ceremony that underscored the profound impact that Fr. Bauer had on Canadian hockey and on the lives of those who knew him.

The unfortunate reality is that many of these great Canadian stories — especially those involving our Catholic heritage — are slowly being lost to time. As a result, too many of these figures, like Fr. Bauer, are not as widely recognized as they should be. As someone who experienced the beauty of the Basilian tradition in High School, I feel a strong sense of responsibility to share these stories. They are not just Catholic history; they are Canadian history, and they deserve to be remembered by everybody, Catholics and non-catholics alike.

Fr. Bauer’s legacy is not just about his hockey accomplishments, but about the impact he had on generations of young men and women like myself who have been inspired by his example of faith, discipline, and moral integrity. This is a legacy that I want to honour.

Fr. Bauer, if you truly are a saint as we all hope to be, I hope I’ve made you proud.

Fr. David Bauer, C.S.B. (1924-1988) founded Canada's first National hockey team. He coached the St. Michael's Majors to a Memorial Cup win in 1961 and took the National Team to the 1964, 1968, and 1980 Olympics. He was awarded the Order of Canada in 1967 for his contributions to hockey and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. He also helped develop hockey internationally, including in Japan and Austria.

Salt + Light Plus subscribers can catch Alessandro’s segment on Fr. David Bauer in the S5 E8 episode of Behold on Salt + Light Plus at slmedia.org/behold.