What are your earliest hockey memories?
- Thread starter Habsfan18
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Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
Cool.
My son's high school team played and practiced at Avon old farms. 5:20 AM practices daily.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
My initial exposure to ice hockey came in the early 1960s, when my father would tell occasional supper table stories of attending AHL games in the post-WWII era to watch the St. Louis Flyers & his favorite player Cliff "Fido" Purpur.
My first personal exposure came in the summer of 1967, after St. Louis was awarded an NHL franchise. Pickup hockey games popped up within weeks on my grade school's parking lot & the streets of my neighborhood, after we all rushed to the local hardware store to buy wooden hockey sticks & hockey pucks. Once the 67-68 season began, I was glued to my bedside radio every game night to listen to the local St. Louis Blues' broadcast and any other NHL game that I could pick up from other cities north & east of us on good "AM skip" nights.
My first personal exposure came in the summer of 1967, after St. Louis was awarded an NHL franchise. Pickup hockey games popped up within weeks on my grade school's parking lot & the streets of my neighborhood, after we all rushed to the local hardware store to buy wooden hockey sticks & hockey pucks. Once the 67-68 season began, I was glued to my bedside radio every game night to listen to the local St. Louis Blues' broadcast and any other NHL game that I could pick up from other cities north & east of us on good "AM skip" nights.
I don't remember 1972 series, because I was too young, but I remeber, I was really pissed, because they didn't invite Firsov to the team.
SealsFan
Registered User
- May 3, 2009
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Awesome! That's how I spent much of the 70's, listening to as many Seals and Barons games as I could over the various east coast AM stations I could pick up from Long Island. I got as far west as Detroit and Chicago although those stations would fade in and out, very frustrating -- "lead pass to Croteau, he shoots, zxxzzzxxxzzxxxzzxxx (sound of static)..." To the south, Washington and Atlanta were on big stations that came in loud and clear.
As well, AM radio during the 70's, in SW Ontario I could get stations from Atlanta, Boston, and a few others as well. Back then we could only get 2 or 3 TV stations on the antennae so I spent quite a bit of time listening to sports on the radio. I still look around for a hockey game when I am driving around the province.
My earliest hockey-related memory is probably a conversation with a classmate in the first grade. On that night, a new WWII documentary (known to the Westerners as The Unknown War) was scheduled to premiere on TV. All the boys in my class were obviously excited... except for Dmitry, apparently.
When he was asked what he was going to watch tonight, he replied "hockey" instead of the obvious "the war movie!" Needless to say, we all looked at him as if he was a total idiot.
As to actually watching hockey on TV, that was probably in the second grade... that would be 1979/80, the year Dynamo Minsk (my hometown team) won Soviet First Division (actually Division II) and qualified for the Top Division (Division I). I can't remember the exact first game I saw, but I did enjoy the season a lot.
As to the first specific game I actually remember seeing on TV... I think it was a game in Izvestia Tournament 1979... I know Canada played... it was the Olympic team... I even remember a player's name... John Devaney... but was it their first game (Czechoslovakia - Canada 10:1)? Well, December 16 was a Sunday, so yes, it's quite possible.
When he was asked what he was going to watch tonight, he replied "hockey" instead of the obvious "the war movie!" Needless to say, we all looked at him as if he was a total idiot.
As to actually watching hockey on TV, that was probably in the second grade... that would be 1979/80, the year Dynamo Minsk (my hometown team) won Soviet First Division (actually Division II) and qualified for the Top Division (Division I). I can't remember the exact first game I saw, but I did enjoy the season a lot.
As to the first specific game I actually remember seeing on TV... I think it was a game in Izvestia Tournament 1979... I know Canada played... it was the Olympic team... I even remember a player's name... John Devaney... but was it their first game (Czechoslovakia - Canada 10:1)? Well, December 16 was a Sunday, so yes, it's quite possible.
BenchBrawl
Registered User
- Jul 26, 2010
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Somehow my oldest memory is at my cousin's place and I remember Ray Bourque. It's quite vivid, but no longer than a GIF. Actually, it is a GIF inside my mind. I'm a Montreal fan, but I'm 80% sure this was an all-star game. I remember Bourque, he didn't have a black and yellow jersey. I was probably 1 1/2 years old.
Early memories are an interesting topic in themselves. Some (like me) pretend they have early memories going back to their first year of life. Others, including a lot of professionnals, claim this is impossible due to the nature of the brain and how it evolves up to age 3.
Who knows really? I cannot categorically deny this wasn't my brain reconstructing a fake memory from pieces of many memories and the chronology got confused. OTOH, I'm fairly confident I have memories in my bassinet (with the bars and the rotating toys that play music), and this cannot be after age 2 at all. So I find it hard to dismiss my own experience despite what skeptics are saying.
Early memories are an interesting topic in themselves. Some (like me) pretend they have early memories going back to their first year of life. Others, including a lot of professionnals, claim this is impossible due to the nature of the brain and how it evolves up to age 3.
Who knows really? I cannot categorically deny this wasn't my brain reconstructing a fake memory from pieces of many memories and the chronology got confused. OTOH, I'm fairly confident I have memories in my bassinet (with the bars and the rotating toys that play music), and this cannot be after age 2 at all. So I find it hard to dismiss my own experience despite what skeptics are saying.
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MartinSkoulYa
MAAAAAckinon
I think really early life memories are super hard to pinpoint. I'd imagine this question would much easier to someone who was introduced to it later in life than someone who was in pre-school.
I clicked on the topic because it obviously interested me, but then after reading the posts and thinking to myself, what even is my earliest hockey memory? I think for me, the earliest event that I recall is the Rangers winning the cup in 94. But it's funny because I know I was exposed to it earlier than that, like I feel like I should have a pretty solid memory of the Leafs run in 93, and the Canadiens winning the cup. I have indirect memories like writing in my grade 1 or 2 journal at school that I played goalie for the Toronto Maple Leafs, or constantly drawing NHL team logos or playing NHL Stanley Cup for the SNES. Which would've all been events before my memory of the Rangers cup. It's just funny to me that the earlier memories don't even actually involve the sport directly.
More than anything though, tbh, I think the thing that pops into my mind when I think of earliest memory is Bob Cole's voice.
I know exactly what you mean. Bob Cole was THE voice of hockey for my childhood.
BenchBrawl
Registered User
- Jul 26, 2010
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I have a french last name and grew up an hour from Montreal in a bilingual Ontario town but I can’t really speak a word of french and only understand a bit. I’ve watched a lot of RDS over the years as I became a more hardcore Habs fan, but as a small child it was mainly Bob Cole and Hockey Night In Canada.
Brownies
Registered User
Wow crazy but same for me. I was supposed to be in bed but was making all sort of excuses to catch a few minutes of the game here and there and could not understand when they lost.
1966...watching our old RCA black & white with my dad as that kid with the crew cut from Parry Sound first took to the ice wearing # 4 in Boston.
Vague memories of 1991 world championships, i was 6 years old at the time, very clearly remember the 94 olympic final. Best early memories though is the 96 world cup semi final, waking up in the middle of the night with my dad to catch the game (canada vs sweden), such a nailbiter.
byrath
Registered User
The Canucks improbable Cup run in 1983, the white towels being waved about and the 'nanana heyhey goodbye' chant. I would have been six years old. Stan Smyl was my favorite.
Or, it might have been walking through the scary and unbelievably stinky smoking area to get to a certain concession spot in the old barn in Kamloops at a Blazers game (or was it still Jr. Oilers then?). Not sure what year that memory comes from.
Or, it might have been walking through the scary and unbelievably stinky smoking area to get to a certain concession spot in the old barn in Kamloops at a Blazers game (or was it still Jr. Oilers then?). Not sure what year that memory comes from.
VanIslander
A 19-year ATDer on HfBoards
Gawd..
You were a late teenager? Young teenager? Adult?
Since my memory comes from early elementary school i am staggered.
- Jan 22, 2007
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My earliest... sitting about 5 rows up at the Spectrum in 1977 watching the Flyers play the NY Rangers. I still remember how "bright" the ice looked, probably because it was a clean, white surface without all the ads, arena name, etc. splattered all over the place.
I also remember falling in love with the goaltenders' equipment. I thought their masks, brown pads, and neat-looking "waffle board" blockers were the coolest ever.
I also remember roller skating with my hockey stick from my house to the Spectrum as a little kid, while my mom walked next to me.
The other things that come to mind are my mom reading me hockey books each night about the greatest hockey legends. And the Christmas when I was about 6 years old and received four hockey jerseys as presents... North Stars, Leafs, Atlanta Flames, Bruins.
I also remember falling in love with the goaltenders' equipment. I thought their masks, brown pads, and neat-looking "waffle board" blockers were the coolest ever.
I also remember roller skating with my hockey stick from my house to the Spectrum as a little kid, while my mom walked next to me.
The other things that come to mind are my mom reading me hockey books each night about the greatest hockey legends. And the Christmas when I was about 6 years old and received four hockey jerseys as presents... North Stars, Leafs, Atlanta Flames, Bruins.
