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1972 Summit Series 50th Anniversary Thread

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Team Canada training camp, Maple Leaf Gardens, August, 1972.

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Team Canada training camp, Maple Leaf Gardens, August, 1972.

Ken Dryden getting his medical....
 
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Summit Series 'jail' guy, Pierre Plouffe

After the Canadians’ victory in the second game in Moscow, the atmosphere quickly turned to celebration.
Plouffe, despite the strict ban on leaving his hotel, wanted to join the players, to drink in their company.
“With a few tips to the taxi drivers like gum or nylon stockings, everything worked out. You have to remember how these people were kept in total ignorance,” he recalls.
After a few drinks, the spirit of distrust manifested itself.
“Pete Mahovlich wanted me to get him a scotch . . . "

oicanadian.com

The Dark Side of the Series of the Century - OI Canadian

Pierre Plouffe is part of the folklore of the Series of the Century. However, he never put on the skates.
oicanadian.com
 
Trying to explain the Summit Series to those who didn't experience it because of age or nationality is hard. The best analogy I could come up with would be to use the original USA 1992 Olympic Dream Team in basketball.

Obviously, everyone anticipated a cakewalk and for the Americans to put on a show and not be challenged which is what happened. Imagine though if they had lost games and found themselves in a dogfight of a tourney only to pull out the gold medal dramatically in the end. That would've been insane.

My Best-Carey
 
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frisco said:
Trying to explain the Summit Series to those who didn't experience it because of age or nationality is hard. The best analogy I could come up with would be to use the original USA 1992 Olympic Dream Team in basketball.
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From the North American point of view, this may be the only analogy. Difference is, USA hoops suffered one night of injustice. Canada hockey's injustice spanned up to 16 years by 72, depending on how one measures the duration of Olympic shamateurism.

The USA's sting was Canada's slow burn.
 
frisco said:
Trying to explain the Summit Series to those who didn't experience it because of age or nationality is hard. The best analogy I could come up with would be to use the original USA 1992 Olympic Dream Team in basketball.

Obviously, everyone anticipated a cakewalk and for the Americans to put on a show and not be challenged which is what happened. Imagine though if they had lost games and found themselves in a dogfight of a tourney only to pull out the gold medal dramatically in the end. That would've been insane.

My Best-Carey
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It's a good analogy, though even then the popularity of basketball in the United States in 1992 does not compare to the popularity of hockey in Canada in 1972. I'm not sure that there is a real comparable scenario in sports history, but again the alternate reality USA basketball scenario is not bad.
 
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frisco said:
Trying to explain the Summit Series to those who didn't experience it because of age or nationality is hard. The best analogy I could come up with would be to use the original USA 1992 Olympic Dream Team in basketball.

Obviously, everyone anticipated a cakewalk and for the Americans to put on a show and not be challenged which is what happened. Imagine though if they had lost games and found themselves in a dogfight of a tourney only to pull out the gold medal dramatically in the end. That would've been insane.

My Best-Carey
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Imo, the 1992 Dream Team wouldve been crucified by the public in the same situation.

Keep in mind, unlike 1972 Canada, guys like Jordan, Bird, Magic, Barkley were celebrities on a global scale. Untouchable.
USA Basketball's objective wasn't to just win, but to embarass the opposition in front of, not only basketball fans, but the entire world. I'm talking Harlem Globetrotter-style performance showing complete American dominance.
It's why (unlike some 1972 guys), all the 1992 players took the endeavour very seriously from the onset. Winning by the skin of their teeth was not an option.
 
This series seemed so big at time but nobody hardly mentions it now. Imagine majority of people alive back then are dead now is why. Not the same to folks who never lived through it
 
Scorey Perry said:
This series seemed so big at time but nobody hardly mentions it now. Imagine majority of people alive back then are dead now is why. Not the same to folks who never lived through it
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Scorey:

Were you to ask in multiple question format, I would wager that more Canadians would think that the Summit Series was a reality show about mountain climbing than something to do with hockey.
 
PrimumHockeyist said:
Scorey:

Were you to ask in multiple question format, I would wager that more Canadians would think that the Summit Series was a reality show about mountain climbing than something to do with hockey.
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Hockey fans would know.

As far as current casuals, they probably all know about the Crosby golden goal in 2010 but in fifty years they won’t.
 
Fenway said:
I have an interesting perspective as I sat in the stands for Game 1 in Montreal and 7 1/2 years later I was in the stands in Lake Placid.

We all know how Game 1 in Montreal started but my lasting memory is when a pane of glass needed to be replaced and the Russians did wind sprints during the delay and Team Canada was relaxing.

My then-girlfriend got the tickets for the early game in Lake Placid a month before and we had no idea that it would be USA/USSR and driving up that Friday she was so excited saying we can win. I was fearful of a 10-2 blowout and most hockey experts felt that way.
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So what was the mood like in the crowd in Game 1 in 1972? That would be interesting to hear. I suspect it was jovial, confident and such, even well into the game when we were up 2-0. But then how did things shake down as the game went on and there was the realization that the Soviets could not only play, but were beating us?
 
Big Phil said:
So what was the mood like in the crowd in Game 1 in 1972? That would be interesting to hear. I suspect it was jovial, confident and such, even well into the game when we were up 2-0. But then how did things shake down as the game went on and there was the realization that the Soviets could not only play, but were beating us?
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After pure jubilation when Canada got an early 2-0 lead the crowd went tense, silent, and then angry. Dryden got a standing ovation making a soft save and boos were getting louder.

Another thing, there were no Soviet fans there outside of diplomatic staffers in Canada.

After the game, the city was very quiet.
 
Habsfan18 said:
Hope you guys are watching “Summit 72” on CBC! Episode 1 tonight and the remaining 3 episodes will air over the course of the next three Wednesday’s.
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I'll check that out later probably, though the article that CBC posted to promote it made me less interested than I was before. NHL radio is doing some commemorative work with a mixture of old interviews as well as new interviews with participants and even just hockey people from that era such as Bowman.
 
JackSlater said:
I'll check that out later probably, though the article that CBC posted to promote it made me less interested than I was before. NHL radio is doing some commemorative work with a mixture of old interviews as well as new interviews with participants and even just hockey people from that era such as Bowman.
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One thing I learned or forgot was Canada had no idea there was a handshake line expected after Game 1.
 
Excuse me if a thread on the CBC has already been posted, or if it belongs elsewhere.

I haven't yet seen the first episode of SUMMIT '72 - The 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series of Hockey changed the game forever, which debuted last night. Just wondering how people enjoyed it, and especially if resident Boomers found that the presentation accurately portrays what people felt at the time.
 
PrimumHockeyist said:
Excuse me if a thread on the CBC has already been posted, or if it belongs elsewhere.

I haven't yet seen the first episode of SUMMIT '72 - The 1972 Canada-USSR Summit Series of Hockey changed the game forever, which debuted last night. Just wondering how people enjoyed it, and especially if resident Boomers found that the presentation accurately portrays what people felt at the time.
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I just watched it. It's always nice to see footage of the Summit Series, as well as interviews with both the Canadian and Russian players, but this documentary is not very good. It just doesn't work very well. There's too much going on in the doc...the players are getting old, which affects some of the interviews....there's too much attempt at inclusion....some of the video usage is not good.

I was surprised to see the footage of Makarov, Krutov, etc. when describing the Soviets.
 
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Staniowski said:
I just watched it. It's always nice to see footage of the Summit Series, as well as interviews with both the Canadian and Russian players, but this documentary is not very good. It just doesn't work very well. There's too much going on in the doc...the players are getting old, which affects some of the interviews....there's too much attempt at inclusion....some of the video usage is not good.

I was surprised to see the footage of Makarov, Krutov, etc. when describing the Soviets.
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I haven't seen it yet, but have been wondering how old the writers are.

It can sooo mater.
 
Love the Docu so far. One more to go, and alllll Game 8. (Unless they talk about the very unknown exhibition Game in Czechoslovakia after the series ended).

I'll watch Game 8 from my DVD set on Wednesday the 28th. This is also the final night of the Docu (Part 4)

:fight:
 
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I saw both Frank and Peter Mahovlich at a card show recently. Frank is 83 I think. He isn't doing terribly well mentally I don't think. Still looks physically fit, but walks slow and doesn't talk a lot anymore according to people I have talked to. Anyway, I told Frank - and shook his hand - that I appreciate him doing something that the Leafs haven't done in 55 years, and that was win the Cup. He understood enough to smile about it. Didn't have a chance to ask him about 1972 though. He was sort of being ushered out by then.

Peter is still huge. I'm a big guy but he was taller than me, and he's in his mid-70s by now. I saw him hanging around one of the booths talking to Marcel Dionne, and I talked to him after that. I told him, how wonderful that goal in Game 2 was in 1972. He appreciated it and that was that.

I think this series is one of those things where the mystique will live on. Maybe sort of like the 1951 "Shot Heard round the World" from Baseball, it is something that interests a new generation of fans. And the fact that most who played in this tournament are alive and well is a good thing too.

Of the 1972 team, at least on Canada, I am trying to think about who has passed and if I miss someone, then correct me: Bill Goldsworthy, Gary Bergman, Rick Martin, Tony Esposito, John Ferguson (asst. coach), Pat Stapleton, Stan Mikita, Bill White, Rod Gilbert, JP Parise, Brian Glennie.

After 50 years, that's still a lot of players that were on that team.
 
Big Phil said:
I saw both Frank and Peter Mahovlich at a card show recently.
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Neat story. Do you rub shoulders with these kinds of guys often? It seems like you know where to look.
Big Phil said:
I think this series is one of those things where the mystique will live on. Maybe sort of like the 1951 "Shot Heard round the World" from Baseball, it is something that interests a new generation of fans. And the fact that most who played in this tournament are alive and well is a good thing too.
Click to expand...

Yes. You've nailed it. The Summit Series has the staying power of a great Shakespearean play. Lots f archetypal storylines that never grow old.

Big Phil said:
Of the 1972 team, at least on Canada, I am trying to think about who has passed and if I miss someone, then correct me: Bill Goldsworthy, Gary Bergman, Rick Martin, Tony Esposito, John Ferguson (asst. coach), Pat Stapleton, Stan Mikita, Bill White, Rod Gilbert, JP Parise, Brian Glennie.

After 50 years, that's still a lot of players that were on that team.
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I can't think of any.
 
1972 was a wake-up call that there were good hockey players not only in the Soviet Union but also in other countries in Europe.

The NHL even with the 1967 expansion was a Canadian league in 1972 with very few US players. The WHA created more chances for non-Canadians to get a shot in a North American league.

What happened in Lake Placid in 1980 defies logic but is also was the genesis of the USA winning the 1996 World Cup.
 
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