This season there have been three incidents involving Philadelphia players that have led to lengthy suspensions and lengthy injuries, leading some to think the Flyers are purposefully trying to bring back their Bullies image.
Sports Illustrated decided to find out what Schultz thinks of it all.
Dave Schultz was known as "The Hammer,'' a nickname earned with a ready to rumble style of play that satisfied the bloodlust of NHL fans who paid to see an old-fashioned brawl.
He dropped his gloves, busted and bloodied some chops, absorbed his own share of jabs and could have written a mortgage check to the league for all the minutes the Philadelphia Flyer spent in the penalty box. One thing the enforcer of the 1970s-era Broad Street Bullies never did was put another player on a stretcher.
"Oh my God, no. Never,'' Schultz said. "We didn't really hurt anybody. The only time you could hurt anybody was with your stick.''Full Sports Illustrated Story
By the way, in 1982 Schultz and Stan Fischler teamed up to write the autobiography The Hammer: Confessions of a hockey enforcer
. I see Amazon.ca has used copies for sale. Its certainly an interesting story about what the Hammer thought about Bobby Clarke, Fred Shero the Philadelphia Flyers, the Los Angeles Kings, and fighting and violence in hockey. It's a very revealing read, well worth a used copy.Meanwhile, over at Hockey Adventure.com, Lucas Aykroyd compares fighting in hockey to twinkies.
1 comment:
The interesting thing about The Hammer: Confessions of a Hockey Enforcer is that today, I doubt Schultz would endorse all the opinions he expressed in it.
It's been a few years since I last read the book, but as I recall, Schultz largely cast himself as a victim, indicating that he was pressured into fighting, didn't really enjoy his role, and didn't feel his Flyers teammates were as supportive of him as they should have been.
Nowadays, though, you can hire him to speak on such topics as "Comic Confessions of a Reformed Hockey Hitman." And since he heads up the Flyers Alumni Association, obviously there's been a rapprochement.
Post a Comment