{"id":162355,"date":"2025-09-22T22:20:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-22T22:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/162355\/"},"modified":"2025-09-22T22:20:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-22T22:20:12","slug":"nhl-player-mark-kirton-devoted-himself-to-advocating-for-people-with-als","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/162355\/","title":{"rendered":"NHL player Mark Kirton devoted himself to advocating for people with ALS"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

From left to right, former NHL players Wayne Gretzky, Darryl Sittler, Mark Kirton and Glenn Healy; and Lisa Kirton, Mr. Kirton\u2019s wife.Wendy McCreary\/Supplied<\/p>\n

In 2015, Mark Kirton was on a beach in the Bahamas and reading a book about the National Hockey League, in which he had competed as a journeyman centre with the Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings and Vancouver Canucks.<\/p>\n

Suddenly, his right biceps muscle started to twitch uncontrollably. The episode marked the beginning of Mr. Kirton\u2019s lengthy battle with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), an incurable neurodegenerative disease. More commonly known as Lou Gehrig\u2019s disease, ALS ultimately makes breathing, eating, talking and walking impossible without medical devices and drugs, leading to paralysis before death.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kirton spent most of the next decade dealing with new physical challenges daily until his death on Aug. 17 in Oakville, Ont., at the age of 67. In spite of his ordeal, Mr. Kirton played a leading role in the expansion of ALS Action Canada (ALSAC), a patient-led group that advocates for accelerated drug approvals while also raising funds for research and providing peer and family support in this country and the United States. Tapping into his extensive network of friends in hockey, Mr. Kirton raised more than $1.5-million with help from all 32 NHL teams and the league\u2019s administration.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kirton had nowhere near the same name recognition as retired NHL superstars like Darryl Sittler or the late Borje Salming, also an ALS sufferer, according to former Leafs GM Gord Stellick. But Mr. Kirton\u2019s exceptional accomplishments in recent years for ALS charities set him apart from his fellow NHL alumni. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe made that kind of impact,\u201d Mr. Stellick said. <\/p>\n

Mr. Kirton launched ALSAC\u2019s Courage to Fight fundraising campaign and the ALS Super Fund, an expert panel that directs funds toward ALS-related projects. <\/p>\n

In addition, Mr. Kirton co-hosted weekly online support sessions for fellow ALS patients and their families. His storytelling gifts and approachable manner enabled participants to overcome the trepidation of discussing a terminal illness, said Rick Zwiep, an ALSAC board member and ALS patient who facilitated the meetings with him. <\/p>\n

Mr. Kirton achieved his successes as ALS paralyzed most of his body. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the bravest guy I ever knew,\u201d said long-time friend Bruce Boudreau, a former roommate, teammate and opponent in the NHL and minors. \u201cI can\u2019t even imagine the stuff he would have went through. I would have given it up years previously, but he fought an extremely good fight.\u201d <\/p>\n

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Mark Kirton, No. 20 of the Toronto Maple Leafs, skates against the New York Islanders during an NHL preseason game in September, 1980, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.Graig Abel\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Mark Robert Kirton was born Feb. 3, 1958, in Regina, where he learned to skate on frozen ponds and dreamed of playing in the NHL for the Maple Leafs. He was one of two children born to Pauline (n\u00e9e Polanski) and Leslie Kirton.<\/p>\n

After the family moved to Scarborough, an eastern suburb of Toronto, Mark played in the Wexford minor hockey system, competing against some future NHLers. In 1975-76, he joined Peterborough of what is now the Ontario Hockey League for three seasons, helping the Petes win back-to-back championships in the last two. In the final campaign, he stood out as Peterborough lost in the Memorial Cup final to the New Westminster Bruins.<\/p>\n

Drafted in the third round (48th overall) in 1978 by the Maple Leafs, he moved up to the Moncton-based New Brunswick Hawks of the American Hockey League, competing for promotion to the NHL against Mr. Boudreau, a fellow centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe toughest thing about playing with Mark was practising against him, because we would have battles, because he was so competitive,\u201d said Mr. Boudreau, his housemate in Moncton. \u201cBut at the same time, you could laugh and drink with him and go out with him.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1979-80, Mr. Kirton was called up to play two games for the Leafs and scored his first NHL goal. He started the next season with Toronto but lasted only 11 games.<\/p>\n

In early December of that season, Mr. Kirton was playing against Pittsburgh when Leafs GM Punch Imlach traded him to Detroit for veteran goaltender Jim Rutherford, who later became a friend and supported Mr. Kirton\u2019s ALSAC efforts. Mr. Imlach assigned Mr. Stellick, then a new front-office employee, to quietly inform Mr. Kirton about the deal after the game so the player could catch a morning flight and play for the Wings that night.<\/p>\n

Mr. Stellick, who then, like Mr. Kirton, was only 22 and still lived with his parents, had never told a player about a trade before. He went to the Leafs dressing room after the game but could not find him. He finally reached him from home hours later by phone. Back then, such calls were usually short and involved the deal\u2019s \u201cmeat and potatoes,\u201d Mr. Stellick recalled. Despite his disappointment, Mr. Kirton had an engaging 20-minute conversation with Mr. Stellick.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll of a sudden it looked like we were having a coffee or beer and we\u2019d been better friends,\u201d Mr. Stellick said. \u201cIt just went in a very positive direction \u2013 a very personal direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 1982-83, Mr. Kirton moved to Vancouver for the Wings via trade for aging star Ivan Boldirev, continuing to bounce between the NHL and AHL. He completed his final two pro seasons with Toronto\u2019s farm team in Newmarket, toiling for $35,000 annually. Mr. Kirton launched a new career in retirement, thriving as a residential realtor based in Oakville. Following the twitching episode, his symptoms worsened \u2013 but the cause remained a mystery for three years.<\/p>\n

From the day he was diagnosed with ALS in 2018, he vowed to live the best life possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to be able to start every day with a 100-per-cent positive outlook, second-to-none determination and, lastly, never lose my sense of humour, no matter what the challenge was in front of me,\u201d he wrote in an article published on ALSAC\u2019s website.<\/p>\n

After receiving a cold call from ALSAC founder and fellow ALS patient Greg Gowe, who has since died, Mr. Kirton eagerly joined the fledgling group, becoming a board member. He became the group\u2019s \u201cheart\u201d and \u201ccaptain,\u201d who led by example, said ALSAC vice-chair Kevin Moorhead. Mr. Kirton recruited other former NHL players to support the cause.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did my best to keep up with him, and I\u2019m an able-bodied guy,\u201d said Mr. Moorhead, who does not have ALS. \u201cBut none of us could keep up with Mark.\u201d<\/p>\n

Even in death, Mr. Kirton will continue to generate funds for ALS as the Courage to Fight campaign continues in his honour, Mr. Moorhead added.<\/p>\n

Mr. Kirton leaves his wife, Lisa Kirton, and their children, Taylor, Sarah and Adam.<\/p>\n

You can find more obituaries from The Globe and Mail here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

To submit a memory about someone we have recently profiled on the Obituaries page, e-mail us at obit@globeandmail.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: From left to right, former NHL players Wayne Gretzky, Darryl Sittler, Mark Kirton…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":162356,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[433],"tags":[17568,49,48,448,2922,2385,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-162355","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nhl","8":"tag-advblackout","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-canada","11":"tag-nhl","12":"tag-noastack","13":"tag-obituary","14":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162355","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=162355"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/162355\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/162356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=162355"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=162355"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=162355"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}