The man labeled the most destructive owner of the Maple Leafs was also a man of many letters.

Sheafs of Harold Ballard’s incoming/outgoing mail from the 1970s — lively exchanges with critics of his autocratic rule, his admirers, as well as Gardens’ business matters and personal memos — have come to light. They’d gathered dust at 60 Carlton St. more than a decade after his 1990 death and were destined for the dump as new landlords Loblaws and Ryerson University began to clear the site around 2003.

Not everything was sold in the 2000 Gardens’ auction as hoped, so workers tasked with emptying the halls and basement of excess office materials were told by reno bosses to help themselves and speed up the job.

One hockey fan in the crew realized some items had historical value. As well as scooping a few classic pictures from the Gardens’ walls, some building plans and the chalkboard that once was in coach Punch Imlach’s office, he noticed several folders, boxes and cabinets crammed with letters.

He took them home as part of his haul, but after reading them for fun the past 17 years, decided to contact ‘Ultimate Leafs Fan’ Mike Wilson. The worker, who wishes to remain anonymous, had heard of career collector Wilson via social media and the Sun in 2020, when Wilson bought the original 1931 MLG blueprints.

“He took a little money for the letters, but we both agreed the main thing was they should be saved and shared,” Wilson said. “It’s team history, something of interest to all fans and part of the Leafs stories that need to be told.”

Many in Toronto grew up in the Ballard era.

“I think people will be fascinated by them,” Wilson added. “On one hand, they show Ballard’s human side, that he took the time to write back to all these people. Or you might get mad and wonder why he had time for all these letters when the team was doing so poorly.”

Wilson sorted through more than 100 letters, many carefully preserved in original envelopes stapled to Ballard’s glib responses. Like the blueprints, he hopes to exhibit them post-COVID-19, as part of historical seminars.