Hi everyone! I received an e-mail from site visitor and Seals fan Stephane Quinty last week, which I thought you all should read. It’s a great little snippit from the life of Pete Laframboise, the first player in Seals history to score four goals in a game. You may remember the game, the famous 11-3 thrashing of the Vancouver Canucks where Charlie Finley, attending his first game of the season, was whooping it up and hollering, and wondering what all the fuss was about in Oakland, because these guys were great! Anyway, enough with the introduction. Here is Stephane’s e-mail:

“I worked for Peter Laframboise from 1992 until his death in 2011. Knowing this, my brother got me your book for Xmas. He was an extremely colourful character who could be generous to a fault but also had it in him to be a tough sob when he needed to be. I’ve been a lifelong Habs fan since the 70’s but the first thing I asked him when we met was about dealing with the Broad Street Bullies. He replied “we beat up so much on each other in Junior that we pretty much left each other alone after that”. I’m not sure how accurate that is after reading your book but perhaps you can shed more light than I can.

“When the Ottawa Senators joined the league and were close to beating the Washington Capitals record for futility, the late (great) Brian Smith came to our shop to interview Peter about being part of that expansion team and how difficult it was to be a part of it. He said that in the dressing room, they didn’t talk about winning, they talked about keeping it close.

“The last tidbit I have about him is that there is a tavern near where our shop used to be where we would drink quarts on Friday afternoons after payday but it was allegedly not the safest place to be after hours. Pete was in his element in that place (for better or worse) but he did make me laugh on one occasion when he said that one guy was giving him a bit too much of a hard time so Pete said that he dialed into his NHL past, pulled the sweater over his head and gave him the business.”

Thanks Stephane from one Ottawan (and Habs fan) to another!

Here’s a little riddle for all of you: How do you get old young?

If you’re looking for the answer, head on over to the articles section and find out how this riddle is related to the California Golden Seals.

Until next time, stay gold, and please stay safe locked away in your home!