Great Hockey Photos You've Just Seen for the First Time!

[James Laverance]

The St.Nicholas Arena New York in the late 1890's.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Sad to hear about Pie.

Here's a small tribute to him.

 

[Killion]

Nicely done! Thanks for that @Robert Gordon Orr .... Leprechaun on skates.... Picked this one out as it really illustrates Johnnys' diminutive stature, 5'8" and frankly at times hysterical poses caught by the camera, like that one, looking like a Bantam player who snuck on the ice in a Bruins outfit when no one was looking & got away with it, then Assists on an Esposito Goal... not that his size was a handicap or even mattered much back in the day as that wasnt considered undersized or small compared to today, what followed in the 80's & 90's, 00's. Johnny used what he had to great effect.. Perfect compliment to the Bruins of that time & era. Remembered him with Detroit, Chicago & NY as well.... missed him when jumped to the WHA from the Bruins as I didnt follow the WHA much at all when it was happening.

 

[DowntownBooster]

From the group of pictures above, this appears to be one of those we sometimes see that looks like cardboard cutouts. Nevertheless, nice tribute RGO.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

1920-30s ca – “Imperial 3-Star Hockey Club”. Imperial Oil is said to have introduced Three Star Gasoline in 1931. A few years later the Esso sponsored 3-star NHL promotion was a fact.
To me the photo looks to be earlier than the 1930s, and the goalie looks like a young Lorne Chabot

1938-40 – Tom Anderson of the NY Americans watching the puck go wide of goalie Claude Bourque

1946 - Phil & Tony Esposito

1954-56 ca – Tough as nails, Dollard St. Laurent shoving a Toronto player into the back of the net. A young Jacques Plante is curiously following what’s going on

1960s – Two future Hall of Famers with million dollar smiles relaxing in the pool - Bill Gadsby and Gordie Howe

1971-73 - Butch Goring – Serge Bernier – Ralph Backstrom

November 24 or December 29, 1973 - The late Barclay Plager (# 8 - C) blocking a Ross Lonsberry (# 18) shot. Chris Evans (# 6) – John Davidson (# 30) and Bill Barber (# 7) also in the photo

January 21, 1988 - Oh c’mon ref, not again! - Chris Nilan (# 30) penalized by referee Ron Hoggarth for roughing against Rob Ramage (# 5). Nilan only played two more games for Montreal that year, before being traded to NY Rangers the following week

October 6, 1993 - Scott Mellanby scoring the first goal in Florida Panthers history

December 21, 2004 - Marc Bergevin, known as one of the all time funniest players, dressed as Julius Caesar, preparing the Worldstars team for their game against the Norwegian All-Stars in Oslo

 

[Killion]

@Robert Gordon Orr .... that top photo of the Imperial Oil 3 Star Hockey Club is a real corker of a mystery as its my understanding that product was introduced in 1931 or 32 to the public at Imperial Oil / Esso Service Stations which was still a burgeoning & growing business. Spotty coverage & locations across Canada (the 1st was in Vancouver) as society moved from horses, horse & carriage to automobile through the teens & twenties, into the 30's. Horses still being used right into the 50's in some urban & suburban locales for things like coal, milk & bread, vegetable & meat delivery etc as you know.

I too am stumped somewhat as hockey broadcasts from Maple Leaf Gardens were sponsored intially by General Motors through to 1937 as title sponsors, taken over in 1937 by Imperial Oil, 3 Star Premium Gasoline launched in 31 or 32... and as McLaren Advertising (Toronto) handled the advertising for both GM & Imperial Oil.... good marriage obviously & complimentary sponsors, GM & Esso, the 3 Star program launched in 1932 with the Leafs King Clancy selected the 1st Star by Foster Hewitt in the first game they did it in. No idea who the other 2 were or who they were playing. Foster working closely with McLaren for much of his career .

Late 70's Molsons' replacing Imperial Oil & Esso as the main sponsor of the 3 Star Selections & end of season Molson Cup, Canadian Teams only. That was handled externally by Alan Eaglesons agency then by Bill Watters & Rick Curran's (Orr a silent partner) player mgmnt agency after theyd split with Eagleson, Branada Sports Group through the 80's & 90's. They had a guy on staff who collated all of the selections & so on, kept track, on-going activities with the players & the clubs, special events, raising money for charity etc etc etc. It had morphed into a fairly extensive program well beyond its initial introduction in 1932. Who handles it now no idea but back to that photo...

Looks to me to have been taken very likely at a refinery, probably Sarnia or somewhere out there, an on-site shack, company employee's (dont know if thats Chabot but I rather doubt it), pre-dating the 1932 launch with the Leafs, so quite possibly what we are looking at is the birth of the concept itself initially conceived by Imperial Oil in sponsoring their employee's recreational activities (playing hockey in this case). A Reward System named after the product they were refining so a source of pride at the same time. The equipment their wearing, yeah, some of it, the quilted pants etc, that absolutely pre-dates that era but as it was the Depression & so on not uncommon to be using relics from the past... So thats one possible explanation, theory. I cant think of anything else as plausible...

 

[Tarantula]

Lol, I say that's Phil on the left and Tony O on the right!
Nice photo of the NYA and the Habs. Love those board partions behind each "row" of "seats", look at the hoop back on some of those wooden chairs. Any idea what arena this was?

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

@Robert Gordon Orr .... that top photo of the Imperial Oil 3 Star Hockey Club is a real corker of a mystery...
Looks to me to have been taken very likely at a refinery, probably Sarnia or somewhere out there...
it was the Depression & so on not uncommon to be using relics from the past... So thats one possible explanation...

Yeah, I agree with your theory there, that's definitely a possibility.

Nice photo of the NYA and the Habs... Any idea what arena this was?

I have no exact date for that photo, but an educated guess would be MSG.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

1960s – Gordie Howe and Johnny Bower

March 28, 1969 - WHL- Phoenix Roadrunners and the Portland Buckaroos at Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix

October 27, 1971 – Al Smith during his one year stint in a Red Wings uniform

1971/72 - Captain Carol Vadnais (# 5) and Gilles Meloche (# 27)

February 12, 1972 – Rare photo of future Hall of Famer Billy Smith (# 29) in his first NHL game. He only played five games for LA. I guess he set the tone early on to earn his nicknames, Battlin’ Billy and Hatchet Man. His target in the photo is Rejean Houle (# 14)

1976 - Connie Madigan portraying Ross “Mad Dog” Madison in the cult movie Slap Shot. Filmed in 1976, released in 1977

1981-82 ca – (probably) Jerry Butler (# 17) - Wayne Gretzky and Kevin McCarthy (C)

April 25, 2002 - Richard Zednik getting steamrolled by Kyle McLaren

December 31, 2016 - Wayne Gretzky

April 12, 2017 - Montreal Canadiens bench

 

[Doctor No]

I actually have that Smith photo queued up for tomorrow morning (June 8, 1971 was the day he became a Red Wing).

Here's Gerry Cheevers wearing #31:

 

[The Panther]

This pic of Mario as a rookie was in Sports Illustrated in (I think) late 1984, so presumably some of you have seen it, but I never had! I'm not sure if it's great or embarrassing...

Two guys who could score a bit [c.1986-87]:

Mike Krushelnyski (Edm.) tries to stop Ray Bourque (Boston) from getting a shot or pass away, in rising Garden fog. [May, 1988]

The jersey that never was (thank goodness!):

 

[Killion]

The jersey that never was (thank goodness!):

... oh dear... your in that camp are you?..... not a fan of the Kings Purple & Gold?..... I actually quite liked those when they were introduced & much prefer them to everything thats followed though I would have executed differently. Tweaked those some... Love the color combination & crown logo.

 

[DowntownBooster]

Here's Gerry Cheevers wearing #31:

That was a picture from the 1975-76 season. The Bruins wore shoulder patches to commemorate the Massachusetts Bicentennial that year. The patch is visible on the left side of the jersey worn by Dallas Smith in this picture but the patches were actually on both shoulders. Aside from the fact that Gerry Cheevers is wearing number 31 in this picture, the other thing that stands out is that there are no shoulder patches at all on his jersey. At this point in his career he wore number 30 as he only wore number 31 during his first 3 seasons in Boston. I'm wondering if his regular jersey went missing before this particular game as that would explain why he was wearing number 31 instead of his regular number 30 and also why there are no shoulder patches on his jersey.

 

[Doctor No]

Good eye! This (I believe) is from February 8, 1976 - Cheevers' return from the WHA and a 7-0 shutout over the Red Wings at home.

While Cheevers was away in the WHA, Dave Reece took his #30. Cheevers wore #31 for a brief period before Reece was sent back to Springfield.

Reece was actually targeted for return to the AHL prior to his final game, which many remember as Sittler's ten-point night.

 

[FerrisRox]

November 24 or December 29, 1973 - The late Barclay Plager (# 8 - C) blocking a Ross Lonsberry (# 18) shot. Chris Evans (# 6) – John Davidson (# 30) and Bill Barber (# 7) also in the photo

The "1" on Lonsberry's jersey is absolutely bizarre. The serif on the top of the number seems to go half way down the length of the number. It looks more like a 4 than a 1.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

Goalies, goalies and more goalies...

LES BINKLEY

JOHNNY BOWER

ANDY BROWN

TONY ESPOSITO

DOUG FAVELL

GRANT FUHR

EDDIE GIACOMIN

PAUL HARRISON

DENIS HERRON

GILLES GILBERT

ED JOHNSTON

CESARE MANIAGO

BERNIE PARENT

JACQUES PLANTE

CHUCK RAYNER

TERRY SAWCHUK

SAM ST. LAURENT

BILLY SMITH

WAYNE STEPHENSON

VLADISLAV TRETIAK

ROGATIEN VACHON

GILLES VILLEMURE

BERNIE WOLFE

 

[FerrisRox]

I actually have that Smith photo queued up for tomorrow morning (June 8, 1971 was the day he became a Red Wing).

Here's Gerry Cheevers wearing #31:

What's the story behind him wearing #31?

EDIT: Nevermind, I should have kept reading...

 

[Tarantula]

Nice goalie pics, back then they all had their own look thanks to the masks and equipment, they tend to look indistinguishable today in comparison.

 

[a79krgm]

... oh dear... your in that camp are you?..... not a fan of the Kings Purple & Gold?..... I actually quite liked those when they were introduced & much prefer them to everything thats followed though I would have executed differently. Tweaked those some... Love the color combination & crown logo.

Agree. I would have loved to see the "Great One" wear the jeweled crown of true royal colors. I remember watching Gretzky's first exhibition game with LA against Detroit (I think). I was equally shocked seen Wayne play for a different team as I was to see those new white, black and silver uniforms.

 

[Tarantula]

Agree. I would have loved to see the "Great One" wear the jeweled crown of true royal colors. I remember watching Gretzky's first exhibition game with LA against Detroit (I think). I was equally shocked seen Wayne play for a different team as I was to see those new white, black and silver uniforms.

That's right both the uni and Gretz deal happened same off season. Everybody was wearing silver and black caps and such back then with the LA Raiders being the most targeted as a "tax" to enter a mall. A single kid with one would be forced to hand it over to a group of kids by the entrance, even in Ontario. Turquoise as well, Char Hornet hats and jerseys were common.

Wonder if the Kings went retro for a game while 99 was there? I know I always liked the gold home jerseys the best especially on a colour poster. It wasn't often back in the 70's you would get a home game from LA, and it would be a rare time and late at night. Those unis really stood out on tv when you saw them.

 

[Tarantula]

Was Battlin' Billy the first with coloured pads? I don't recall anyone sooner however he was on tv a lot those years in the spring. How old is that blocker?

 

[Tarantula]

Not as old as Chuck Rayner's though! Probabaly didn't even call them blockers back then?

 

[Killion]

Was Battlin' Billy the first with coloured pads? I don't recall anyone sooner however he was on tv a lot those years in the spring. How old is that blocker?

.... not that old.... Cooper GM12, Billy pretty rough on his equipment & ya, he was the first to sport colored pads in 74/75, blue & orange, a fad that didnt really hit big time until the early 80's including all white.

 

[Killion]

Not as old as Chuck Rayner's though! Probabaly didn't even call them blockers back then?

Goalie "gloves" as they were both essentially "Blockers" & you'd catch the puck with a leather fingered hand though some some guys did use a small webbed "pocket"..... It was Emile The Cat Francis, an avid baseball player as well who took a 1st basemans glove in 46/47 & had a shoemaker add a cuff that launched the modern day "trapper". Blockers until then used on both hands with some home made tweaking, usually a bendable felt or light leather, even canvas front on the things... held together with tape & bailing wire.....in Rayners case his own snot as well acting as glue, notoriously forever wiping his nose apparently & noted for doing so, like a Coke head with a deviated septum, punch drunk prize fighter, nervous tick or whatever & a real piece of work was Chuckie Boy there.....

Enlisted in the army & played for a military team for a couple of years, scoring on an end to end rush when his teammates & opponents were all rolling around behind him & the net.... charges off down the ice... the guy at the other end freaked, shocked off course, Chuck putting it right by him, nice flick shot apparently & a "first ever"....Then in New York post war with the Rangers the Coach there Frank Boucher? He decides 2 goalies better than one & is the first to alternate between games with Rayner & Sugar Jim Henry.... But he doesnt stop there, Loony Tune Boucher starts doin it in game, switching Henry with Rayner every 5 minutes or so... which brings us back to the gloves.... see, the Rangers only had one set of gloves (true, not making this up) so Sugar Jim & Chuck would meet halfway between the bench & the net & hand over the gloves.... Now, if your poor wee Jim Henry there sitting on the bench watching Rayner disgustingly wiping rivers of snot like that on the very gloves you are about to put on... seriously?....

Personally? I wouldnt do it. Tell the trainer to go get me a pair of skaters gloves & play with those, take my chances, suffers the stings, welts & busted fingers.... And no idea why only one pair of gloves let alone pulling what Boucher was pulling. No comprehension of goaltending whatsoever.... But ya, well into the 50's & some of the stuff I used into the 60's that was hand-me-down goalie gear... unbelievable. Catching gloves about as responsive as a dead tuna frozen solid in the hold of a troller in the North Atlantic in January. A blow torch wouldnt soften it up.... Blockers.... looked like theyd been used for attack dog training by the police, military. Knife fighting or whatever. Palms gone, rotted out, hunk a felt hanging there like a bunch a long dead squirrel pelts or worse.... dont ask rodent skins... and the pads, belly pads & legs.... My God.... Had lots of time to think about all a that standing out there in like -30 weather all alone in the crease. At night. In the dark....

Lots of time.

 

[Robert Gordon Orr]

1940s – Elmer Lach on the shovel brigade

March 16, 1955 – Emotions running high in Boston Garden. Jean Beliveau keeping Fleming Mackell (# 8) in check. Bert Olmstead (# 15) glancing over his shoulder

1962/63 – Vic Stasiuk grabbed by Eric Nesterenko (# 15) behind goalie Terry Sawchuk (# 1)

March 11, 1970 – Bruce Gamble making a great “back somersault” save to block Gary Bergman’s breakaway attempt. Bergman looks on in amazement

1970/71 – Who's the goalie? - Bizarre photo with Barclay Plager (# 8) wearing a protective mask due to a broken nose, one of 15 times that happened to him. Glenn Hall is the goalie behind him

1970/71 - Another shot with Plager wearing the mask

1970s - Ian Wilkie – Is that really his hair or is that a wig?

1973-76 – Gary Smith – Dennis Kearns (# 6) and Gregg Boddy (# 22)

1970s – Awesome save by Gary Smith. I might have posted it before though

December 23, 1979 – The Christmas Brawl – Unforgettable moment

1980s - Joe Micheletti and the Blues mascot with goalie pads

1990s – Duck ! - Glenn Healy

January 16, 2010 – Athletic trainer Rich Stinziano attending to Patrik Elias who suffered a concussion on the play

June 13, 2011 - Adam McQuaid (# 54) checking Maxim Lapierre (# 40)

May 22, 2016 - Defeated - Patrik Laine