Who was the subject of the following quote:
“If you ask him the time of day, he’ll give you the history of the watch.”?
I think it might be Eisenhower, in references to his rambling press conferences, but I’m not sure.
George Grimsrud
???
Dear Mr. Grimsrud,
The most common appearance of that quote I have found is in reference to Kenneth Wayne Dryden, goaltender for the Boston Bruins in 1964, subsequently the Montreal Voyageurs and Canadiens in the 1970s, inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and Liberal Member of the Canadian Parliament representing Yorke Centre from 2004 to 2011. In 1997 he was made president of the Toronto Maple Leafs and it was about that time that another hockey star, Robert Earle “Bobby” Clarke remarked on Ken Dryden’s long-windedness: “If you ask him the time, he’ll build you a watch. You didn’t dare ask him a question because you’d have to stand and listen to him spout off for half an hour.” There may have been other variations on that before and certainly since (It’s been leveled at me more than once), but the above seems to be the best known.
Sincerely,
Jon Guttman
Research Director
World History
www.historynet.com
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