Throughout the 1970s, solely the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins had extra victories than the Philadelphia Flyers’ 424. Throughout that decade, the Flyers received back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975, went to 2 extra Finals, and missed the playoffs as soon as. Moreover, they registered 100 or extra factors in 5 consecutive seasons between 1974 and 1978.
The Flyers of that period are sometimes missed by the Bobby Orr-led Bruins and the Man Lafleur-led Canadiens as a result of the Flyers lacked the elite offensive threats that different groups had in Orr and Lefleur of the 1970s or Mike Bossy and Wayne Gretzky of the 1980s. But, a scarcity of big-name scorers on Philadelphia’s rosters through the 1970s didn’t hinder their success.
As an alternative, they have been led by “the Broad Avenue Bullies,” a gaggle of gamers whose toughness and tenacity was unmatched, but they weren’t completely goons. Fairly, they introduced an offensive punch, hit arduous, repeatedly pushed the bounds of the rulebook, and backed all of it up with literal punches if the state of affairs deemed them mandatory.
Head coach Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers, together with gamers (l-r) Dave Hoyda, Bobby Clarke, Bob Kelly, Invoice Barber, and Reggie Leach, have been keys to the Flyers profitable consecutive Stanley Cups in 1974 and ’75. (Picture by Steve Babineau/NHLI through Getty Photos)
The Flyers of the 1970s, and particularly the groups between 1973 and 1976 have been three of the very best rosters ever assembled. Nevertheless, they’re typically misplaced between the Bruins and Canadiens that succeeded on the similar time and the New York Islanders and Edmonton Oilers that got here after. Now, over 40 years later and no extra Stanley Cups in franchise historical past, the Broad Avenue Bullies’ story stays as dynamic as ever.
The Flyers Earlier than the Broad Avenue Bullies
Hockey in Philly Earlier than the Flyers
Skilled hockey within the Metropolis of Brotherly Love dates again to 1930 when the Pittsburgh Pirates moved cross-state and have become the Philadelphia Quakers. They solely lasted one season in Philadelphia with an abysmal Four-36-Four document and their .136 profitable proportion stays second-lowest in league historical past. After the 1930-31 season, group house owners introduced they’d not have a group the next season and the town needed to wait 36 years earlier than an NHL group returned.
Associated: Origins of Each Japanese Convention Group
Ed Snider Brings the Flyers
After the Quakers dissolved, the subsequent rumors of an NHL group in Philadelphia arose in 1946 when a gaggle tried to boost cash to construct an area and transfer the defunct Montreal Maroons south. Nevertheless, they missed their deadline for funding and it wasn’t till 1964 when critical discussions to deliver a group to Philly started once more.
Ed Snider was the primary motive that skilled hockey returned to Philadelphia when his Flyers joined the NHL within the 1967 Enlargement. (Comcast-Spectacor PR)
These discussions have been sparked by the late Ed Snider, then-vice president of the Philadelphia Eagles, who put forth a bid for an NHL franchise. Philadelphia was awarded the franchise for the 1967 Enlargement over Baltimore and joined the league together with the California Seals, Los Angeles Kings, Minnesota North Stars, Pittsburgh Penguins, and St. Louis Blues.
The Flyers certified for the postseason every of their first two seasons regardless of not having a profitable document in both. In each playoffs, they have been ousted by the larger, stronger Blues within the first spherical. In 1968, they misplaced in seven video games and have been swept in 1969. The Blues pushed the Flyers round and dominated their smaller gamers. This led to Snider making the choice to vary the group’s roster development.
“…I don’t wish to see our group ever get beat up once more. I don’t give a (expletive) about this (group) having one policeman. Let’s have 5 or 6.” Ed Snider after watching his Flyers lose Recreation Seven to the Blues in 1968, as advised to The Hockey Information.
The Plan to Get Greater
The Flyers started implementing their plan to get larger by drafting Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Don Saleski, and Bob “Hound Canine” Kelly within the 1969 and 1970 Entry Drafts. These three have been the nucleus of what turned the Broad Avenue Bullies with every participant’s profession penalty minutes double his level totals.
However it was the group’s choice to draft diminutive middle Bobby Clarke within the second spherical of the 1969 Entry Draft that introduced the group collectively and made them a professional risk to win a Stanley Cup. But, regardless of expert and aggressive forwards, the Flyers wouldn’t have achieved their success had Bernie Guardian not been in web as his 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons are extensively thought of the very best consecutive seasons by a goaltender in league historical past.
Lastly, no group could be full and not using a becoming coach. Fred “The Fog” Shero was the person behind the bench for the Flyers’ Cup runs and though he wasn’t as aggressive as his gamers, he was a participant’s coach and allowed their personalities to shine. These are the tales of those that made up the Broad Avenue Bullies and what allowed the Flyers to change into among the finest groups of the 1970s.
GM Keith Allen
Keith Allen was the architect of the Broad Avenue Bullies and served as Philadelphia’s basic supervisor from 1969 to 1983. He was additionally the franchise’s first head coach and guided them throughout their first two seasons with Bud Poile as basic supervisor. Previous to changing into Philadelphia’s head coach for the 1967-68 season, Allen was a defenseman and performed for the Detroit Purple Wings in 1953-54 and 1954-55. He even had his identify engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1954 after showing in 10 video games that season.
Keith Allen was the GM of the Philadelphia Flyers after they started buying and drafting gamers who turned members of the Broad Avenue Bullies.
After his taking part in profession ended, he coached the Seattle Individuals/Totems of the Western Hockey League from 1956 to 1965 and left when the Flyers joined the NHL. He remained with them in some capability till his loss of life in 2014, serving as an govt following his tenure as basic supervisor. He was inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame as a builder in 1992, the Flyers Corridor of Fame in 1989, and was named The Hockey Information’ Government of the 12 months for the 1979-80 season.
Head Coach Fred Shero
If Allen was the architect of the Broad Avenue Bullies, Shero was their basic, serving behind the Flyers’ bench from 1971 to 1978. He compiled a 308-151-95 common season document with them and a 48-35 document within the postseason. He additionally received his solely Jack Adams Trophy with them after the 1973-74 season. After the 1977-78 season, he left them to change into the top coach of the New York Rangers, a submit he held for 2 full seasons earlier than he stepped down midseason in 1980-81.
Head coach Fred Shero (middle) with Bobby Clarke (left) and Bernie Guardian, arguably the three most necessary individuals to the Philadelphia Flyers’ success through the 1970s.
Previous to changing into a coach, he was a defenseman like Allen. The Rangers signed Fred Shero out of junior hockey however navy service in World Conflict II prevented his NHL debut till 1947. He performed elements of three seasons with the Rangers earlier than they traded him to the AHL’s Cleveland Barons in 1951. He completed out his taking part in profession within the WHL and Quebec Hockey League earlier than retiring in 1958.
Following his taking part in profession, he coached within the minors from 1958 till 1971 when the Flyers employed him. As a coach, he was identified for getting essentially the most out of his guys with out operating them ragged. As talked about above, he was a gamers’ coach who not often yelled however sought to make the sport enjoyable. He was additionally modern as the primary coach to make use of programs and examine sport tape of opponents.
The Rangers have been the final NHL group Shero coached. He spent a season teaching within the Netherlands earlier than he returned to be a particular assistant with the Flyers in 1989. At this level in his life, he was battling abdomen most cancers. The Flyers inducted him into their group Corridor of Fame in March 1990 and he handed away on Nov. 24 that 12 months. He was posthumously elected to the Hockey Corridor of Fame as a builder in 2013. His son, Ray, is the final supervisor of the New Jersey Devils.
Goalie Bernie Guardian
Though Guardian was not a member of the Broad Avenue Bullies, the Flyers wouldn’t have approached their success within the 1970s with out him. His NHL profession started with the Bruins who left him uncovered within the 1967 Enlargement Draft. The Flyers chosen him and subsequently traded him to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1971 with Rick MacLeish as a part of the return. It was with the Maple Leafs that Guardian honed his craft, studying from childhood hero Jacques Plante.
Earlier than Bernie Guardian turned a Vezina Trophy winner with the Philadelphia Flyers, he performed elements of two seasons with the Boston Bruins.
After the 1971-72 season, Guardian joined the World Hockey Affiliation and performed the 1972-73 season with the Philadelphia Blazers. Afterwards, he returned to the NHL and the Maple Leafs traded his rights to the Flyers. He instantly turned their starter and his 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons have been phenomenal. In 141 common season video games, he had a 91-27-21 document, a .926 save proportion (SV%), 1.96 objectives towards common (GAA), and 24 shutouts. He received the Vezina Trophy each seasons.
He was even higher within the postseason. In 1974, he completed with a 12-5 document with a .933 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and two shutouts. He allowed two or fewer objectives in 11 video games. In 1975, he had a 10-5 document, .924 SV%, 1.89 GAA, and 4 shutouts. He had 9 video games by which he allowed two or fewer objectives. He took dwelling the Conn Smythe Trophy each years as playoff MVP.
Bernie Guardian was key within the Philadelphia Flyers profitable back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975 and received the Conn Smythe Trophy each years. (THW Archives)
Neck and again accidents held him to 121 video games over the subsequent three seasons and a watch harm on Feb. 17, 1979 pressured him to retire at age 34. That October the Flyers retired his quantity. He turned Philadelphia’s goaltending coach for a number of seasons and mentored future Vezina Trophy winner and present group GM Ron Hextall together with Pelle Lindbergh. He was inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame in 1984 and was an inaugural inductee, together with Bobby Clarke, to the Flyers Corridor of Fame.
Proper Wing Gary Dornhoefer
Like Guardian, Gary Dornhoefer started his profession with the Bruins. Over three seasons with them, he had 12 objectives and 24 factors in 62 video games. He was left uncovered within the Enlargement Draft and the Flyers chosen him. In his first season with Philadelphia, he had 13 objectives, 43 factors, and 134 penalty minutes in 65 video games. Between 1968-69 and 1970-71, he scored 20 or extra objectives twice and by no means gathered greater than 100 penalty minutes.
Throughout the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he scored 28 objectives and 94 factors and totaled 227 penalty minutes in 126 video games. Between the Flyers’ 1974 and 1975 Stanley Cup runs, he totaled 10 objectives, 21 factors, and 76 penalty minutes in 31 video games. He retired after the 1977-78 season as Philadelphia’s second-leading scorer with 202 objectives and 518 factors in 725 video games. Moreover, he had 1,256 penalty minutes as a Flyer.
Upon his retirement, the Flyers commissioned a statue in his honor positioned in entrance of the Spectrum to commemorate the time beyond regulation aim he scored towards the North Stars in Recreation 5 of the opening spherical of the 1973 Playoffs. After his taking part in profession ended, he joined Hockey Evening in Canada as a coloration commentator from 1978 till 1987. He returned to Philadelphia in 1992 to be in the identical function and remained there by way of the 2005-06 season. He was a 1991 inductee of the Flyers Corridor of Fame.
Defenseman Ed Van Impe
Saskatoon native Ed Van Impe performed for the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL for 5 seasons earlier than debuting with the Chicago Black Hawks through the 1966-67 season. As a rookie, he had eight objectives and 19 factors in 61 video games and completed runner-up to Bobby Orr in Calder Trophy voting. After that season, Chicago uncovered Van Impe within the Enlargement Draft, which paved the best way for him to hitch the Flyers.
Ed Van Impe pictured right here as a member of the Buffalo Bisons, the AHL group he performed for earlier than becoming a member of the Chicago Black Hawks.
In 1968, he turned Philadelphia’s second captain in group historical past, a submit he served till 1973. In 155 video games through the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he had three objectives, 36 factors, and 228 penalty minutes. In 34 playoff video games between 1974 and 1975, he had one aim, seven factors, and 68 penalty minutes. Throughout the 1975-76 season, the Flyers dealt Van Impe to the Penguins, with whom he completed out the season however solely performed in 10 video games the next season earlier than retiring.
He was a standard stay-at-home defenseman who introduced little offensively. He was additionally not often known as a robust skater however was bodily and aggressive. He was considered one of three authentic Flyers, alongside Dornhoefer and Joe Watson, who received each Stanley Cups. Van Impe was inducted into the Flyers Corridor of Fame in 1993.
Middle Bobby Clarke
Probably the most completed participant from the Flyers’ Cup-winning groups, Clarke made the groups well-rounded. The Flyers drafted him within the second spherical, 17th general, of the 1969 Entry Draft, nicely under his expertise degree. With the Flin Flon Bombers of the Western Canada Junior Hockey League, he had 173 objectives and 488 factors in 162 video games throughout his remaining three seasons. He slid within the draft on account of a prognosis of Kind-1 diabetes as an adolescent which led many to really feel he’d by no means survive the NHL.
Bobby Clarke (left in Canadian sweater) of Group Canada celebrating Paul Henderson’s series-winning aim in Recreation eight of the 1972 Summit Sequence between Canada and the Soviet Union on the Luzhniki Ice Palace in Moscow, Soviet Union on September 28, 1972. (Picture by Denis Brodeur/NHLI through Getty Photos)
Nevertheless, medical doctors believed he might play so long as he monitored his well being, which was sufficient for the Flyers to take an opportunity on him. He made his NHL debut on Oct. 11, 1969 and completed fourth in Calder Trophy voting that season. Previous to the 1972-73 season, the Flyers named him captain at age 23, then the youngest captain in NHL historical past.
After a 100-point breakout marketing campaign in 1972-73 when he received his first Hart Trophy, Clarke regressed barely through the 1973-74 season with 35 objectives and 87 factors in 77 video games. He additionally surpassed the 100 penalty minutes mark for the primary time. Throughout the 1974 Stanley Cup run, he added 5 objectives, 16 factors, and 42 penalty minutes in 17 video games.
He rebounded for the 1974-75 season with 27 objectives, 116 factors, and 125 penalty minutes in 80 video games. He received his second Hart Trophy at season’s finish. In that 12 months’s playoffs, he had 4 objectives, 16 factors, and 16 penalty minutes in 17 video games.
He was pivotal within the 1975 Stanley Cup Remaining towards the Bruins as he repeatedly went up towards Phil Esposito within the faceoff dot and received a majority of attracts within the collection. Clarke’s affect on the sport and the Flyers franchise was immense. His 89 assists in 1973-74 have been a document for a middle. He received a 3rd Hart Trophy after the 1975-76 season and was an All-Star each season between 1973 and 1976. He added a Selke Trophy following the 1982-83 season.
Bobby Clarke as captain of the Philadelphia Flyers, a task he held between 1972 and 1983.
Clarke retired comparatively younger at 34 after the 1983-84 season after his manufacturing fell each season between 1976-77 and 1981-82. Following his retirement, he instantly turned Philadelphia’s basic supervisor. He remained in that function till he was fired after the 1989-90 season following Stanley Cup Remaining appearances in 1985 and 1987. Afterwards, he served as GM of the Minnesota North Stars and Florida Panthers earlier than returning to the Flyers for the 1994-95 season.
He moved to the group’s vp function in 2006 and stays in that place right this moment. Clarke is extensively thought of the very best participant within the group’s historical past. His quantity 16 was retired upon the conclusion of his taking part in profession, he was an inaugural member of the Flyers Corridor of Fame, and was inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame in 1987. He completed his profession fourth all-time in assists and 11th all-time in factors.
Proper Wing Don Saleski
One other Saskatchewan native, Don Saleski turned a Flyer after they drafted him within the sixth spherical of the 1969 Entry Draft. Previous to his skilled profession, he performed for the Regina Pats, the place he had 33 objectives and 58 factors in 40 video games his remaining season. Throughout the Flyers’ Cup-winning seasons, he had 25 objectives, 68 factors, and 238 penalty minutes in 140 common season video games.
In comparison with his common season scoring common over these two seasons, his common through the 1974 Playoffs was a bit larger with two objectives and 9 factors in 17 video games. His manufacturing fell the next postseason with two objectives and 5 factors in 17 video games. The Flyers traded Saleski to the Colorado Rockies through the 1978-79 season and he retired in 1980.
Left Wing Dave Schultz
Additionally a Saskatchewan native, Dave “The Hammer” Schultz was essentially the most fearsome of the Broad Avenue Bullies. The Flyers drafted him within the fifth spherical of the 1969 Entry Draft after a productive junior profession. With the Swift Present Broncos, he had 85 objectives, 167 factors, and 264 penalty minutes in 146 video games.
He didn’t change into often known as an enforcer till he joined the Salem Rebels of the Japanese Hockey League as soon as his junior profession ended. In a single season with the Rebels, he had 32 objectives and 69 factors in 67 video games. Nevertheless, he additionally had 356 penalty minutes.
Dave “The Hammer” Schultz gathered 1,386 penalty minutes in 297 common season video games with the Philadelphia Flyers. (Picture by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Photos)
In 4 AHL seasons following his season with Salem, he totaled 42 objectives, 107 factors, and 1,035 penalty minutes in 211 video games. His presence within the penalty field proved to have endurance as soon as he reached the NHL. In 1972-73, his first full NHL season, he had 259 penalty minutes to steer the league. It was his first of 4 instances doing so. His manufacturing additionally dropped to 9 objectives and 21 factors in 76 video games.
Between the 1973-74 and 1974-75 seasons, he mixed for 820 penalty minutes alongside 29 objectives and 62 factors in 149 video games. His 472 penalty minutes through the 1974-75 season stay an NHL document. His penalty minutes didn’t decline as soon as the postseason began both. In 17 video games in 1974, he had 139 penalty minutes which included 9 majors, six misconducts, and 5 video games with no less than 10 penalty minutes. It was an identical story in 1975 with 83 penalty minutes in 17 video games. That 12 months he had seven majors, one misconduct, and three video games with 10-plus penalty minutes.
The Flyers traded Schultz to the Kings through the 1977-78 season. He additionally performed for the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres earlier than retiring after the 1979-80 season. He completed his profession with 2,292 penalty minutes, 134 majors, one match penalty, 73 misconducts, and 25 sport misconducts in 535 video games, a median of over 4 penalty minutes per sport. An everyday fighter, he started taping his palms with boxing tape, a apply banned with Rule 46.15, also called “The Schultz Rule,” which gave gamers a match penalty if discovered with tape on their palms.
Following his taking part in profession, Schultz coached a number of groups within the minor leagues and was inducted into the Flyers Corridor of Fame in 2009. Though arguably essentially the most well-known enforcer in league historical past, he has regrets for spreading a tradition of violence within the sport.
“I’ve sure regrets over my place because the hit man of hockey. I turned a task mannequin for younger gamers equivalent to your self…Fairly quickly there have been juniors and peewees emulating Dave Schultz relatively than Bobby Orr…If taking part in hockey means preventing, then take up golf, tennis – something that stresses talent over easy violence.” As written by Dave Schultz in A Letter to My Son About Violence, The New York Instances, Feb. 7, 1982
Left Wing Invoice Barber
The Flyers drafted Invoice Barber seventh general in 1972, the very best place of any of the Broad Avenue Bullies. He reached the NHL in his draft 12 months after simply 11 AHL video games. He completed that season with 30 objectives and 64 factors in 69 video games and was runner-up in Calder Trophy voting. Throughout the 1973-74 season, he had 34 objectives and 69 factors in 75 video games and solely gathered 54 penalty minutes. He added three objectives and 9 factors in 17 playoff video games that 12 months.
His manufacturing elevated once more for the 1974-75 season with 34 objectives, 71 factors, and 66 penalty minutes in 79 video games. Within the 1975 Playoffs, he had six objectives and 15 factors in 17 video games. A motive for his uptick in efficiency through the 1974-75 season was his installment onto the LCB line of he, Clarke, and Reggie Leach.
Invoice Barber talking on the AHL Corridor of Fame in 2013. (PhotoGraphics Images/AHL American Hockey League (AHL) AHL Corridor of Fame)
His manufacturing elevated to a career-high the next season with 50 objectives and 112 factors and was an All-Star for the primary time. His profession ended after the 1983-84 season at 31 after he was unable to get better from knee surgical procedure. He captained the Flyers in 1981-82 and a part of 1982-83. He completed his profession with 420 common season objectives, most in franchise historical past, and was a three-time All-Star. The Flyers retired his quantity in 1990, the identical 12 months he was inducted into the Hockey Corridor of Fame and one 12 months after the Flyers inducted him into their Corridor of Fame.
Following his taking part in profession, he turned a Flyers assistant coach for 3 seasons earlier than changing into the top coach of their AHL affiliate. He returned to the Flyers for the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons and received the 2001 Jack Adams Award. He turned the Tampa Bay Lightning director of participant personnel in 2002 and received the 2004 Stanley Cup with them, his third. He returned to Philadelphia after the 2007-08 season and presently serves as a scouting advisor.
Middle Rick MacLeish
The Bruins drafted MacLeish fourth general within the 1970 Entry Draft however he by no means performed a sport with them. As an alternative, he began his skilled profession with the Oklahoma Metropolis Blazers of the Central Skilled Hockey League. The Bruins traded him midseason to the Flyers in a three-way commerce, a part of which concerned sending Guardian to the Maple Leafs. MacLeish joined the Flyers afterwards and performed in 26 video games his rookie season.
Rick MacLeish was the primary 50-goal scorer in Philadelphia Flyers historical past. (picture: Bettmann/Corbis)
Two seasons later, in 1972-73, he turned the franchise’s first 50-goal scorer and likewise hit the 100-point mark for the one time in his profession. He had two productive seasons between 1973 and 1975, scoring 70 objectives and tallying 156 factors and 92 penalty minutes in 158 common season video games. He was actually good in each Stanley Cup runs, main the postseason in factors each years. In 1974, he had 13 objectives and 22 factors in 17 video games and 11 objectives and 20 factors in 17 video games in 1975.
MacLeish had two extra productive seasons with the Flyers in 1975-76 and 1976-77, together with 49 objectives and 97 factors within the latter. The Flyers dealt him to the Hartford Whalers through the 1981-82 marketing campaign and he completed his profession taking part in for the Penguins and Purple Wings earlier than retiring after the 1983-84 season. In 1990, the Flyers inducted him into their Corridor of Fame. MacLeish handed away in 2016 after affected by a number of well being points.
Proper Wing Reggie Leach
From Manitoba, Leach performed junior hockey for a similar group as Clarke, the Flin Flon Bombers. The Bruins took him third general within the 1970 Entry Draft and traded him to the Golden Seals halfway by way of his sophomore season. He performed two full seasons with them earlier than the Flyers acquired him in 1974. Earlier than becoming a member of the Flyers, he had 60 objectives and 120 factors in 250 common season video games. As a Flyer, he completed with 306 objectives and 514 factors in 606 video games.
Reggie Leach performed two full seasons with the California Seals earlier than he joined the Philadelphia Flyers and received the 1976 Conn Smythe Trophy. (Picture by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Photos)
As a result of Leach wasn’t current for Philadelphia’s 1974 Stanley Cup and by no means gathered greater than 63 penalty minutes in a season, he’s not a full member of the Broad Avenue Bullies. But, his presence on the LCB Line through the 1974-75 season and past can’t be missed. He was a right away success with the Flyers, scoring 45 objectives and 78 factors in 80 common season video games his first 12 months. He was additionally productive through the 1975 Playoffs with eight objectives and 10 factors in 17 video games.
However it was his efficiency through the 1975-76 common season and the 1976 postseason that he’s finest identified for. In 80 common season video games, he had 61 objectives and 91 factors, was a plus-72, and was named to the second All-Star group. His 61 objectives led the league and stay a franchise single-season document. His postseason numbers that 12 months have been out of this world. In 16 video games, he led the league with 19 objectives and 24 factors and received the Conn Smythe Trophy regardless of the Flyers dropping the Stanley Cup Remaining to the Canadiens.
Reggie Leach (proper) taking part in towards the Montreal Canadiens within the 1976 Stanley Cup Remaining. Leach received the Conn Smythe Trophy that 12 months regardless of taking part in on the dropping group. (Picture by Denis Brodeur/NHLI through Getty Photos)
In doing so, he turned the solely non-goaltender to be named playoff MVP in a dropping effort. Following the 1981-82 season, Leach departed Philadelphia to play one season with the Purple Wings earlier than retiring. After his taking part in profession ended, he turned a junior hockey coach and is now a scout in juniors. His son, Jamie, performed on Pittsburgh’s Cup-winning groups in 1991 and 1992.
Left Wing Bob Kelly
The Flyers drafted Bob “Hound Canine” Kelly within the third spherical of the 1970 Entry Draft. Previous to his NHL profession, he performed for the Oshawa Generals after they have been a member of the Ontario Hockey Affiliation. Even in juniors he was a little bit of an enforcer with 100-plus penalty minutes each seasons. Within the NHL, that type of play continued with no less than 100 penalty minutes in eight of his 12 seasons.
That features the 1973-74 season when he had 130 and simply missed the mark the next season with 99 penalty minutes. He didn’t present a lot offensively with 15 objectives and 45 factors through the Stanley Cup years however he’s well-known for scoring the Cup-winning aim in Recreation Six of the 1975 Remaining towards the Sabres.
Kelly remained a Flyer by way of the 1979-80 season when he was traded to the Washington Capitals. The subsequent season he had profession highs with 26 objectives and 62 factors after which retired partway by way of the 1981-82 season. Since his taking part in profession ended, he, together with Dornhoefer and Guardian function hockey ambassadors for the Flyers. In that capability, he teaches kids concerning the sport and represents the group at charity occasions.
The Flyers Had been Actually Good
As talked about within the intro, the Flyers didn’t have the runs of the Canadiens, Islanders, and Oilers of that period. But, they nonetheless went to 3 consecutive Cup Finals and have been the primary growth group to win a Stanley Cup. The 1974 and 1975 Flyers didn’t have the names that these others groups had. When you embody Shero, every of the Flyers’ Cup-winning rosters had 4 future Hockey Corridor of Famers on them. By comparability, the 1975-76 Canadiens, whom the Flyers misplaced to within the Stanley Cup Remaining, had 10 members on it.
The Philadelphia Flyers celebrating their Stanley Cup in 1974. (CC BY-SA three.zero https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/three.zero)
Regardless of over 4 many years having handed because the Broad Avenue Bullies entertained followers on the Spectrum, the blokes who made up the group will ceaselessly be immortalized in hockey lore, each on account of their expertise and willingness to drop the gloves. Maybe it’s as a result of no group since has reached the heights of the 1974 and 1975 Flyers whereas taking part in that type.
I really feel assured in saying that there is not going to be a contemporary model of the Broad Avenue Bullies. Violence is now not as huge part of the sport because it was in earlier many years. However that doesn’t dismiss what the Flyers did. Because the league will get additional away from the Broad Avenue Bullies, all we’ll have left of them would be the lore. Very similar to the story of Invoice Barilko lives on in The Tragically Hip’s “Fifty Mission Cap,” the 1973-74 and 1974-75 Flyers groups will reside on in reminiscence as not simply two of essentially the most entertaining groups in hockey historical past, but additionally two of the best.
