The Seals and Flyers in Madison Square Garden?

Hi everyone! Recently I started reading George Grimm’s excellent book, We Did Everything But Win, about the history of the Emile Francis New York Rangers, and I started thinking about an article I had about an unusual moment in Seals history.  This week, in the articles section, I’ve added a great piece about the famous night in which two games were played in one day at Madison Square Garden, one of which featured the Seals, who were in the midst of their very first NHL season.  I’ll let Golden Seals Hockey subscriber Reg Lansberry explain this one, since this is really his area of expertise. Here’s an abridged version of what Reg wrote to me about the article he sent me a few months back:

“It was on Sunday, March 3, 1968 at the brand spanking new Madison Square Garden. The Rangers had defeated the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon, March 2, and were slated to meet Chicago on Sunday in another matinee contest. (The Garden, which will celebrate its Golden Anniversary during the upcoming 2017-18 campaign, had opened just two weeks earlier on Sunday, February 18, 1968.  The Rangers posted a 3-1 victory over the Flyers.  After Wayne Hicks scored for the Flyers, Rangers’ captain Bob Nevin tied the game —against Doug Favell— as the Rangers went on to post a 3-1 victory.)

“For purposes of brevity, I will try to keep the details short.  The Seals game I am writing about was a 1-1 tie vs. the Flyers . . . on Sunday afternoon, March 3, 1968, at MSG.  Rather than bog you down with the New Testament . . . following is a fairly brief synopsis for you:
“… It was on Friday, March 1, 1968, that the brand-new Spectrum roof in Philadelphia was badly damaged by a terrible storm. As a result, the Flyers were now, suddenly, “homeless”!  They were scheduled to play the Oakland Seals there on Sunday NIGHT, March 3.  (Oakland was playing in Pittsburgh on Saturday night.)  The sudden dilemma confronting Flyers’ chairman Ed Snider was that the Philadelphia Arena —the only possible alternate venue in the City of Brotherly Love— was far too small to accommodate the tickets that the Flyers had already sold for the Seals’ game.

“… Most unusually, the Rangers were slated to play a weekend matinee on March 2-3, 1968.  They have done that just twice in the 49 years since! (By tradition, the N.Y. Knicks always play at MSG on Saturday night; the Rangers on Sunday night.)  Obviously, the Rangers wanted to promote the new, two-week-old building with Rangers’ fans . . . including businessmen who could take their children that weekend.  On Saturday afternoon, the Rangers defeated the Flyers, 4-0. Ed Giacomin was in net for the Rangers, Bernie Parent for Philadelphia.  But what would the Flyers do now??  

“… Into the breach stepped Rangers’ president William M. (Bill) Jennings.  He convinced NHL president Clarence Campbell to have the Flyers stay overnight (Saturday) in NYC . . . and play the Seals in a MATINEE game on SUNDAY.  It would be the opener of a Day-Night NHL Doubleheader!  The Rangers-Chicago game would follow the Flyers-Seals contest.  Flyers’ ticket holders who made the trek to NYC would be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.  All other hockey/Rangers’ fans would be admitted for a nominal charge . . . again with Open Seating for all!

“… INTERESTINGLY . . . given that the Flyers now had played the Rangers in BOTH of their 1967-68 meetings at the new MSG (February 18 and March 2), they would have, at least, a presumed “Home Ice Advantage” over the Seals.  Reason:  Not only had Oakland never played in the new MSG . . . but as fate would have it . . . they had already played both (two) of their games vs. Rangers in New York for the 1967-68 season . . . but at the “old” Garden! (The Rangers won both contests; they defeated Oakland all four times that they met during 1967-68.)

“… Flyers’ goalie Doug Favell, with whom I have already spoken, had already played in the “new” Garden (Sunday, February 18). He played on Sunday afternoon vs. Oakland . . . which ended in a 1-1 tie.  The late Charlie Hodge started in goal for the Seals.  He was injured with Gary “Suitcase” Smith coming on in relief.  Don Blackburn scored for Philadelphia; ex-Rangers’ defenseman Larry Cahan tallied on a 55-foot slap shot in the second period for Oakland.  

“… I have very definite memories of waiting in the MSG lobby on Sunday afternoon while waiting for the “early game” to finish.  I had turned age 13 just a few months before.  As you can imagine, as I look back, I dearly wish I had attended the Seals-Flyers game.
“… That night, the Rangers posted a 4-0 victory over Chicago.  Needless to say, Ed Giacomin’s “dual shutout weekend” for the Rangers was the epitome of “efficiency.”  So although I did not get to see Bobby Hull or Stan Mikita or Ken Wharram or Pierre Pilote score for Chicago, it was great enough to see the Rangers win during my first-ever visit to the new iteration of MSG.”
So as not to disappoint those of you who enjoy studying some of the most embarrassing hockey photos ever put to cardboard, we’ve got a classic from the mid-1990s that some of you may remember seeing as you sat there eating your Kraft Dinner. I’m talking about the infamous Daren Puppa nickname card. Just read over his name and you can probably figure out what nickname I’m talking about, but if you can’t, take a gander at this memorable blunder.
That’s it for new stuff this week, but keep coming back for more classic hockey photos, articles, and other goodies involving the California Golden Seals. If you haven’t done so already, please vote for your picks for the Seals Hall of Fame. If you’ve got nothing to do, I’d really appreciate it if you headed on over to Amazon to leave some feedback about my book. Sales have been great so far, and I have to say thanks to all of you for helping make that happen. Thanks for all your support!
Until next time, stay gold!

 

This Week Only: “The Axe” vs. “The Ass”

Hi everyone! Well, I’ve managed to stave off the stomach flu this time around, which means I’ve been able to get to updating this site once again for all of you out there.

This week, I’ve added an interesting new article that confirms Gary “The Axe” Smith was once the world’s most well-travelled netminder. By “well-travelled”, I mean, someone who scooted out of his crease so much to handle the puck he should have been awarded frequent flyer miles. This little adventure is at least the third time Smith attempted, or seemed to have some small desire, to score a goal. He tried it at least once when his Toronto Maple Leafs were playing Montreal, and he tried one more time in 1969-70 as the Seals were playing those same Leafs, but both times he was unsuccessful. This third attempt, in January 1971, was more of a Ron Hextall impression, as Smith tried to shoot the puck into an empty net, but was unsuccessful.

I’ve also added a brand new card to the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame, this time featuring someone’s ass (and I mean that seriously, not to mention the fact that WHA star Andre Lacroix also makes an appearance on his own card). I honestly have no idea who the card’s usurper is, but maybe you can find out by checking out the card for yourself. It is definitely a worthy addition to the hallowed Hall!

There have been a number of new subscribers to the site the last few weeks, so I’d just like to remind everyone that they are invited to cast their votes for the (up to) three people they believe deserve to be enshrined in the Seals Hall of Fame. If you want, you can even write in your own vote by choosing the option at the bottom of the survey.

Until next time, stay gold!

The Trials and Tribulations of Daycare and Radio Chit-Chats

Hi everyone! A lot has happened in the last few days, so let me get you all caught up. First, my son has started daycare this week, so that means lots of coughing, runny noses, and oh yes, PUKING! Lots and lots of puking! Two eruptions on Wednesday, in fact, including one right at the supper table, which luckily meant he had his high chair tray in front of him at the time to catch all of the damage. It’s been a rough few days for Emmett who is starting to learn how to manage a full day without Mom or Dad there to comfort him, but he’s eating meat (finally!) and he’s also napping during the day at daycare, so there has been some positives as well. Things will surely get better as he gets used to heading off to daycare every morning, and the clinging he has been doing around Mom and Dad’s necks is probably going to disappear, although I can’t complain about the extra cuddling like that. Vomiting aside, the rest of the week has been pretty good, and we’ve got lots of new and old business to get to, so let’s get started…

If you like radio shows and podcasts featuring the Seals, you are in luck today! I had the opportunity to do a short interview with Todd Lewis of Hockey Unfiltered, which was a lot of fun.  Even more fun was finding out that my book, The California Golden Seals, is going to be featured as the radio show’s Book of the Month. I was also fortunate enough to do an interview with Pat Williams of Inside the Game just before Christmas, where we mostly discussed the chapter titles, which means the interview came out pleasantly different than the others I’ve done.  I’ve added the mp3 files of the interviews in the Video and Audio section of the site.

Speaking of my book, if you haven’t done so already, I’d really appreciate you posting your comments on Amazon so potential readers can get a better idea of what the book is about. You don’t have to write an essay or anything, just a 1-5 star review, but if you want to write a few sentences, it’s always appreciated.

Also new this week is a brand new Overexposed featuring one-time St. Louis Blue Jean-Guy Talbot.

In case anyone is wondering about the final bracket of the Seals/Barons Uniform Playoff, the jersey which was overwhelmingly chosen (in fact, EVERY VOTE went to this one) as the Barons’ best, is the 1976-77 home duds. Coming soon, we will add a new survey to determine which is the best jersey in franchise history, so stay tuned for that announcement in the next few weeks.

Don’t forget to vote for who you think deserves induction into the Seals Hall of Fame. The survey is on the right side of this page so get clicking! The winners will be announced in July at the time of Golden Seals Hockey’s two-year anniversary.

Until next time, stay gold!

Finally Setting the Record Straight

Hi everyone! I hope everyone enjoyed themselves a Merry Christmas and a Happy Holiday. Hopefully, your 2018 will be even better than 2017, which, I know, is not setting the bar terribly high ’cause 2017 was one freakin’ roller-coaster ride, and I don’t mean it in that fun Disney World kind of way. So Happy New Year everyone!

I finally got sick and tired of trying to get my bloody printer to work so I went out on Boxing Day and picked up a brand new one, which means I’ll finally be able to scan and post all of the cool new stuff I’ve wanted to add to the site for months now, so come back in the coming weeks for all that.

This week, I thought I would share with you an article that made feel particularly proud many years ago because it led to my own personal Seals discovery. It is an article proving that the NHL has erroneously believed all along that Bert Olmstead’s coaching record with the Seals was 11-37-16 and Gordon Fashoway’s was 4-5-1. Fleming had his penicillin. Bell had his telephone. Newton had his gravity.  And Steve Currier discovered that Olmstead’s coaching record was actually 10-32-11 and Fashoway’s was 5-10-6. That’s right, folks! Respect! OK, so it’s not exactly the electric car or the Internet, but… oh, just read the damn article to make me happy!

Also, a brand new card in the Overexposed wing of the Hockey Hall of Shame, this time featuring one-time Minnesota North Star Dave Gagner looking like he’s having real issues with the fans watching him play.

Don’t forget to keep casting your votes for the next inductees into the Seals Hall of Fame.  The survey is on the right side of this web page. All you have to do is click on the names of the players you feel are most worthy of the honour and in your votes goes into the ballot box. It’s that easy!

Until next time, stay gold!