In 2005, I started to get the collecting itch again after purging most of my collection in 2002 to assist with the purchase of my first house. With $10 burning a hole in my pocket at a flea market in Ohio, I purchased a lot of 50 hockey rookie cards from an older lady selling mostly knitted dolls. She wouldn't let me look inside the small box, but she said her son had collected up until a few years ago and these were his "leftovers." I figured most of the cards were commons and I remember when I got back to my house, I had heard of a few of the guys, but some of the cards were from players in the 1970's. Not all are in the best shape, but for $10, what do you want? After a while, I decided just to put the box in the corner of my closet, and I simply forgot about it. So, 14 years later, I decided I would take out a card from the box at random and write a small post about the player. I'll count down from 50. Here goes:
42. 1978/79 O-Pee-Chee Jere Gillis RC #109
Jere Gillis was born on January 18, 1957, in Bend, Oregon
and later raised in Montreal. He was the son of skier Gene Gillis and Rhona Wurtele a
Canadian Olympic skier, who competed at the 1948 Winter Olympics.
At a young age, Gillis would stand out on mostly any rink he played at. His speed and shot were lethal, and his dominance would lead him to a trip to the QMJHL. Gillis played junior hockey in the “Q” for the Sherbrooke Castors scoring 376 points in 4 seasons. He would outscore such Castors players as Jimmy Mann and Rick Vaive! This would lead Gillis into being selected 4th overall in the NHL Entry Draft in 1977 and 7th overall that same year in the WHA Draft. Jere ended up taking his talents to the NHL rather than the WHA. His first season in Vancouver would be his best. He scored 23 goals, 18 assists for 41 points in 79 games. The next 3 seasons that followed in Vancouver, however, were not so great. Gillis posted 25 points in 78 games in '78-79, 30 points in 67 games in '79-80 before going goalless in 11 games to start the '80-81 season. Vancouver then gave up on Gillis and traded him on November 11, 1980, along with defenseman Jeff Bandura to the New York Rangers for defenseman Mario Marois and right-wing Jim Mayer. In New York, Gillis put up some decent numbers in the first 35 games (10 goals, 10 assists). However, in the 1981-82 season, Gillis would go back to a slump and post only 3 goals in 26 games for the Rangers before they shipped him out as well. The Quebec Nordiques then acquired Gillis and forward Dean Talafous (who refused to report to New York and was substituted with Pat Hickey) for winger Robbie Ftorek and an 8th Round Draft Pick in 1982 (Brian Glynn). Jere never settled in Quebec and soon found himself a free agent after seasons end. From there, he would sign with the Buffalo Sabres. After a rough training camp, Gillis was assigned to the AHL to play for the Rochester Americans. He would only see action with the Sabres for 3 games that year going scoreless. The Vancouver Canucks came calling after that season for his services again. He would play for them for 2 seasons (37 games each year) with a few stops with the Fredericton Express in the AHL. 1986 would be his last season to play in the NHL when the Philadelphia Flyers called him up from the Hershey Bears of the AHL for 1 single game where he didn't post a point. After 10 seasons and almost 400 games in the NHL and 173 total points, Gillis would spend time playing in Italy for Brunico SG and then in the BHL (British Hockey League) playing parts of 2 seasons with the Solihull Barons and Peterborough Pirates (who were coached that season by Rocky Saganiuk). The competition in this league wasn't the greatest as Gillis would post 93 points (46 goals, 47 assists) in 18 games that first season in Solihull. He would pop up one more time playing for Acton Vale Nova in the QSPHL for 5 games posting 3 assists in 1996-97 before hanging up his skates for good.
While enjoying his retirement in Quebec, Gillis would convert to become a Scientologist. In an interview, Gillis would go on to say, "I made it to the NHL, but Scientology has made me more successful. It has given me an understanding of life and relationships that cleared up a lot of advice that I had before. And life is great!" Scientology was just the start to Gillis’ wild ride. He would go on to act and perform stunts in movies. Gillis has performed stunts in 86 films to be exact! His credits are quite impressive. Below are just some of the blockbuster films he has been a part of:
As you can see, Mr. Gillis has led an interesting life. It’s quite possible he tosses back a few Dos Equis just like the old, bearded dude who is claiming to be “The Most Interesting Man in the World”. However, my money is on Jere Gillis.
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