Boston Bruins Oldest surviving Bruins video from Boston Garden - April 1959

[Fenway]

Wearing #4 for the Bruins - Bob Armstrong

Bob Armstrong Stats | Hockey-Reference.com

 

[hoss75]

Am I the only one who just can't take pre-Orr hockey seriously? It's barely the same game.

That video looks like hockey, but everyone is so slow and the defensemen are just kind of standing there and never do anything.

Like when people try to argue that Frank Brimsek was the best goalie in Boston history, I'm like, come on. Did he ever face a counterattacking team with a Karlsson on defense? The league was a bunch of bricklayers from Ontario shooting the puck around leisurely.

The sticks weren't as good.
The skates weren't as good.
The ice wasn't as good.
The training wasn't as good.
Even the puck probably wasn't as good.

But yeah, none of that was issue, they were just playing leisurely.

 

[McGarnagle]

I am guessing the game back then was "simpler". As-in, the talented players became forwards and the "tryers" became defenseman...or maybe even goalies. A very simplistic mindset that even carried through to a professional level. Not only was player development not "the same", it was almost nonexistent relative to the levels it is at now. That doesn't even begin to address the difference in equipment, especially skates. Backskating has been made tremendously easy by modern skate design compared to what it was.

Your "bricklayer from Ontario" remark is not that far off.

It ages better than old basketball (try to watch an NBA game from the 60s, it's downright embarrassing), about on par with football, but you can watch a baseball game from the 1930s and it's essentially the same sport.

 

[Agent86]

Well yeah, they were bricklayers, farmers, construction workers etc. They were paid atrociously while the owners treated them as slave labor, just a bunch of commodities to be traded let go, bought (out) and sold downsized with no say in their futures in hockey. Hockey was seasonal and they had to work real world jobs to survive. It was, for the most part the same for their contemporaries in other sports too for the longest time but hockey players were IMO the last to get paid.

Bobby Hull was the first professional athlete to sign a multimillion dollar deal in "72 with the Jets (rumor that $1 million was in bonus so he could be technically the first athlete to get a million in one season, officially that sits with Catfish Hunter in '75 - I think).

Bolded - have fun at work today!

 

[Fenway]

Bobby Hull was the first professional athlete to sign a multimillion dollar deal in "72 with the Jets (rumor that $1 million was in bonus so he could be technically the first athlete to get a million in one season, officially that sits with Catfish Hunter in '75 - I think).

Bolded - have fun at work today!

Believe it or not Derek Sanderson was the first when he signed with WHA Philly and played less than 10 games.

 

[Gordoff]

View attachment 135587

Storey was accused of not calling penalties on Montreal in an elimination game at Chicago.

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How surprising, Montreal wins because of a non-call. There is something typically wrong with what he did. The fact that he was "well respected" etc is beside the point IMO. Just another instance of the Habs getting a win by a questionable call.

 

[Fenway]

How surprising, Montreal wins because of a non-call. There is something typically wrong with what he did. The fact that he was "well respected" etc is beside the point IMO. Just another instance of the Habs getting a win by a questionable call.

The so called Orginial Six had 3 teams the NHL wanted to win and Boston, Chicago and the Rangers filled in the schedule.

 

[Gordoff]

The so called Orginial Six had 3 teams the NHL wanted to win and Boston, Chicago and the Rangers filled in the schedule.

Which is probably why Mr. Campbell spoke up re: Storey.

 

[Gordoff]

Bobby Hull was the first professional athlete to sign a multimillion dollar deal in "72 with the Jets (rumor that $1 million was in bonus so he could be technically the first athlete to get a million in one season, officially that sits with Catfish Hunter in '75 - I think).

Bolded - have fun at work today!

Nope, not "downsized" players were sold. Downsizing is a term for later on in the century to take the curse off of being fired or laid off. Wall St jargon be damned.

 

[Gordoff]

View attachment 135587

Storey was accused of not calling penalties on Montreal in an elimination game at Chicago.

View attachment 135595
View attachment 135597

Is there video of this game too Kevin?

 

[Fenway]

Is there video of this game too Kevin?

The OFFICIAL NHL film conveniently does not show that game

 

[Agent86]

Believe it or not Derek Sanderson was the first when he signed with WHA Philly and played less than 10 games.

Who In Hockey Made It To A Million First?

Million Dollars in a Single-Year Contract—the WHA

Players Derek Sanderson and Bobby Hull are widely remembered as hockey's first millionaires because of the sensation they caused in 1972 when they left the NHL to sign big contracts with the newly organized World Hockey Association (WHA).
Sanderson, however, was only a millionaire on paper. His five-year, $2.65-million deal with the Philadelphia Blazers briefly made him the world's richest athlete. But he played only a few WHA games before returning to the NHL, so he never collected his millions.
Hull's WHA contract was worth $2.75 million over ten years, but he was paid $1 million of that up front, which qualifies him as the first hockey player to make $1 million in a single year. No NHL salary came close to $1 million a year back then. (The report that Bernie Parent was paid $1 million by the Philadelphia Flyers for one season in the late 1970s has never been confirmed.)​

 

[Fenway]

To show you how much bigger the Bruins were in Boston than the Celtics in 1959

The Celtics were in the NBA Finals

 

[Fenway]

Who In Hockey Made It To A Million First?

Million Dollars in a Single-Year Contract—the WHA

Players Derek Sanderson and Bobby Hull are widely remembered as hockey's first millionaires because of the sensation they caused in 1972 when they left the NHL to sign big contracts with the newly organized World Hockey Association (WHA).
Sanderson, however, was only a millionaire on paper. His five-year, $2.65-million deal with the Philadelphia Blazers briefly made him the world's richest athlete. But he played only a few WHA games before returning to the NHL, so he never collected his millions.
Hull's WHA contract was worth $2.75 million over ten years, but he was paid $1 million of that up front, which qualifies him as the first hockey player to make $1 million in a single year. No NHL salary came close to $1 million a year back then. (The report that Bernie Parent was paid $1 million by the Philadelphia Flyers for one season in the late 1970s has never been confirmed.)​

Philadelphia Blazers History

Derek Sanderson wrenched his back on a piece of paper on the ice. It would be the last time he would play for the Blazers. As he recuperated in Florida, a $1,000,000 buyout would later arrive on January 2nd. Until the buyout, Sanderson was permanently benched. His lack of commitment was deemed a distraction to the team. In the meantime, Bernie Parent returned from his injury and would play in 58 straight games. Andre Lacroix, signed from Chicago started to pile up points and Danny Lawson started scoring at an amazing rate.