This is a very unique playing card featuring a caricature of Detroit Red Wings defenseman Bucko McDonald.McDonald earned his NHL paycheck by being one of the hardest hitting defensemen of the 1930s and early 1940s.
One night paid off more than others for the man who would later become better known as Bobby Orr's peewee and bantam coach.
On March 24th, 1936 the Detroit Red Wings were playing the Montreal Maroons. A well-to-do Detroit fan offered McDonald $5 for every player that he knocked off of his feet.
Little did the fan know that this game would go into six overtime periods and forever be the longest game in NHL history.
That gave McDonald plenty of time to pad his wallet while bruising Maroon players' butts.
McDonald earned $185 that night, a significant sum during the Great Depression. He was credited with having knocked Maroon players down 37 times!
Read the full Bucko McDonald biography here.
1 comment:
Ah yes, there was time when hip checks were not considered dirty plays.
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