Flying Fathers
The Flying Fathers are a group of Canadian Roman Catholic priests who regularly tour North America as a hockey team, playing exhibition games against local teams to raise money for charities.
The organization was founded in 1963 by Brian McKee and Les Costello, two priests from Northern Ontario. Costello was a former professional hockey player, who played for the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1940s before his ordination as a priest.
Originally intended as a one-off event, the Fathers became a popular phenomenon and were active until 2009. The Flying Fathers had played over 907 games, and had raised over $4 million. Their single-game fundraising record is $240,000 at a game in Toronto.
The team was reformed in February 2019 for three benefit games in Ontario and Quebec with the hopes of a more long term revival.
