By MIKE MASTOVICH
Ken “Toe” Blake is the ultimate “Slap Shot” fan – and then some.
The Orange County, Calif., man started small, collecting photos and autographs of actors in the movie that was filmed in Johnstown in 1976 and released exactly 30 years ago today.
Later came Charlestown Chiefs jerseys, movie posters and countless items of memorabilia that even includes an original cast schedule for the Paul Newman movie.
Blake created the Web site, www.slapshotfan.com, and he organizes reunions and charity appearances for a core group of the movie’s actors who usually donate their time for the fundraisers.
Blake contributed photographs and contact information for many of the “Slap Shot” actors interviewed for this package.
In 2004, Blake, a district manager for Proctor & Gamble, helped bring the “Slap Shot” reunion to Johnstown for a Chiefs game. The appearance raised money for Louise Arters, who played one of the Sparkle Twins in the Chiefs Boosters Club in the movie. Louise has multiple sclerosis. Various charities helped raise money toward a handicap-accessible van.
In the past four years, “Slap Shot” golf tournaments, personal appearances and online auctions have raised more than $50,000 for charties ranging from Paul Newman’s Hole in the Wall Camps to the Stephen T. Marchello Foundation benefiting survivors of childhood cancer and children with autism.
Despite his obsession with “Slap Shot,” Blake is a family man, married to his wife, Linnea, for nearly 28 years, and the father of three daughters.
