Bryan Fogarty - Personal Life

Personal Life

Born in Montreal to parents Tom and Virginia, Fogarty was youngest of five. He had two sisters, Lynn and Lori, as well as two brothers named Glen and Patrick. Lori died of cancer at 38.

Fogarty grew up in Brantford, Ontario - the same city that Wayne Gretzky had grown up in. Fogarty's talent was apparent right away. Brantford Minor Hockey Association coordinator Bob Coyne told reporters that "he was a star. From the time he put skates on, he was better than everyone else. "We had seen Wayne (Gretzky). Wayne had to work at it. His game was outsmarting everybody else. Fogarty's game was outperforming everybody else. That's like comparing a Volkswagen to a Corvette."

Growing up, Fogarty was a typical 80s Canadian teenager. He listened to Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath, sported a mullet and loved to hang out with his friends. Bryan started drinking at an early age. When he was 15 he was already playing with players who were much older than he was because of his exceptional skill level. He would frequent bars and strip clubs with the older players. He was insecure by nature. During his junior hockey days in the OHL he'd take Niagara Falls Thunder coach Bill Laforge aside in the locker room and ask him in a whisper if his teammates hated him. Despite this, Bryan was known for his positive attitude and humble demeanor. During his time with the Kingston Canadians he was known as "Tippy" because, according to teammate Marc Laforge "he was always tipsy".. He drank alcohol in order to combat severe social anxiety, which he battled with during his career .

During his NHL days, he sought help on numerous occasions. The Nordiques knew about his problem and tried to help him by sending him to an alcohol rehab clinic in Minnesota, providing a psychologist, and housing him with a family in Quebec City. They also roomed Fogarty with another hockey player who was looking to straighten out his life: John Kordic. Fogarty and Kordic met in a rehab center and became friends immediately. In the fall and winter of '91, Fogarty stayed clean with the help of Kordic. However, in January 1992, Kordic began using drugs again and died of a heart attack in August of that year. Fogarty blamed himself for Kordic's death. Quebec wound up trading away Fogarty to Pittsburgh. Pierre Pagé, who was the Nordiques general manager at the time promised Fogarty he would trade him if he could stay sober for three months. He lasted 12 games with the Penguins, who were unhappy with Fogarty's lack of conditioning.

This scenario would repeat itself many times over the next five years with the Montreal Canadiens and non-NHL clubs.

In 1999 Fogarty was arrested and charged with drug possession after a break-in at a school in his hometown of Brantford. Fogarty was charged with break and enter and possession of a controlled substance. According to the police report, Fogarty broke open the kitchen doors at the Tollgate Technological Skills Centre and was found standing naked in the kitchen with cooking oil spilled on the floor around him. He was granted a conditional discharge, placed on probation for one year, and was ordered to donate $500 to a local addiction service after he pleaded guilty to one count of mischief.

After retiring in 2001, Fogarty remained clean and sober for more than a year. He returned to Brantford to take over the family business, Fogarty's Mobile Canteen.