Looking for people who attended Habs games in the 50s, 60s, 70s

[Cournoyer12]

Great stories guys! I didn’t get to a Habs game until 2015 at the Naussau County Coliseum on Long Island and then the Winter Classic at Foxboro against the Bruins, both wins! Being from central New York I know that sounds odd. My first memory of the NHL was by happenstance, 8 years old flipping through channels I came across this marvelous game. Was the 68 final against the Blues. I was mesmerized with the shine of the ice and the spectacular colors of that sweater with that fabulous crest! And then the names Beliveau, Cournoyer,Richard, Rousseau!! Man I WAS HOOKED!! I have never wavered for my love of this team and it’s members. Through thick and thin good and bad! Forever HABS my friends!!!!

 

[Eastern Shores]

Attended my first Habs game in 1959... all I remember is that the Rocket scored.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Everyone telling their (cool) stories while I'm here wondering why OP's looking for those people.

Don't leave us hanging, buddy!

Maybe he’s a funeral director.

 

[Tyson]

Attended my first Habs game in 1959... all I remember is that the Rocket scored.

Wow!
What a memory!

 

[Chili]

Seems like there was a poster over age 80 here, haven't seen awhile though and can't remember his username. Used to enjoy McPhee's comments on the history forum. Great story here about the New Year's Eve 1975 game:

TSN classic games

I don't know if anyone has payed any attention to these but last night I caught some of the 1st game of the 1976 Czech/Canada final. I had forgotten how great that team was. On defense it was Orr's last statement. He was playing on one leg but still making plays no one else could. If you...

forums.hfboards.com

 

[DougHarvey]

First game in 1971 and at least one game every year since then. Still haven't paid to attend.

 

[Rapala]

Seems like there was a poster over age 80 here, haven't seen awhile though and can't remember his username. Used to enjoy McPhee's comments on the history forum. Great story here about the New Year's Eve 1975 game:

TSN classic games

I don't know if anyone has payed any attention to these but last night I caught some of the 1st game of the 1976 Czech/Canada final. I had forgotten how great that team was. On defense it was Orr's last statement. He was playing on one leg but still making plays no one else could. If you...

forums.hfboards.com

It was probably SBAH.

 

[Chili]

It was probably SBAH.

SBah remembered that era too. The poster I'm thinking of believe mentioned he was living in NYC. He only posted from time to time. Someone mentioned him to me when I suggested there was probably no one here that remembered Howie Morenz ha ha.

Edit: The poster I was trying to remember was Teufelsdreck

 

[Rapala]

SBah remembered that era too. The poster I'm thinking of believe mentioned he was living in NYC. He only posted from time to time. Someone mentioned him to me when I suggested there was probably no one here that remembered Howie Morenz ha ha.

Edit: The poster I was trying to remember was Teufelsdreck

Yeah I remember Teufelsdreck. We didn't see eye to eye on Paccioretti for the longest time. He did come around some eventually.

 

[Harry Wong]

I became a habs fan after watching the Leafs win their 4 cups in the 1960's and then trading Frank Mahovalich, my favorite player. Frank went first to Detroit for 2 years where he played with Gordie Howe and Alex Delvechio and one season scored 49 goals, big numbers in those days. When he was traded to Montreal Henry Richard (11 cups) and I think, Beliveau were still playing and Montreal won an unexpected cup with Al McNeil as coach. It was easy being a fan in those days. . They had Franks brother Pete, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire, Reggie Houle and Marc Tardiff to name a few up front. On the back end they had JC Tremblay, Guy 'Pointu' Lapointe, Serge Savard and' Big Bird' Robinson. And of course Ken Dryden who went on to be a great goalie and wrote arguably the best book ever written on hockey. Scott Bowman was coach and Sam Polloch was the best manager of his day.
I was just done University, single and working. We would fly for Hamilton and scalp tickets to the old forum and afterwards go out for a few pops on Cresent St.
I've been to the old forum many times, the last a month before the end. The Bell Centre is of course not the same.
By 1986 and 1993 the once well oiled machine spit out 2 post dynasty cups..
It was so easy to be a fan in those early days. The Habs almost never lost so if you were a fan you really knew your hockey, or so you came to believe. Alot of new fans jumped on the bandwagon. It lead ,IMO to a bit of a culture of entitlement amongst the fans where when we began to lose like all teams eventually do we got really pissed off. It was like we felt we deserve to win There is still some of this in the DNA of this Board.
Its' hard though not to be a bit excited by the youngsters we have now and our new front office.
Hope springs eternal.

 

[rik schau]

Only saw one game at the forum.
Dec 1973. Habs beat the Rangers 7-1. Larocque was a minute away from his first NHL Shut out when big Walt Tkachuk scored.
Cournoyer scored 2 goals and was stopped on a penalty shot.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Bunny! so the year Ken took off.
Excellent memory you have,I forgot what I was saying mid sentence.lol.

 

[HuGort]

Only saw one game at the forum.
Dec 1973. Habs beat the Rangers 7-1. Larocque was a minute away from his first NHL Shut out when big Walt Tkachuk scored.
Cournoyer scored 2 goals and was stopped on a penalty shot.

I remember it like it was yesterday.

Who was in net for Rangers let in 7 goals. Giacomin and Villemure good goalies. Rangers were good team back then. Beat us in playoffs '73-74.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Who was in net for Rangers let in 7 goals. Giacomin and Villemure good goalies. Rangers were good team back then. Beat us in playoffs '73-74.

So many after that playoff loss

Who was in net for Rangers let in 7 goals. Giacomin and Villemure good goalies. Rangers were good team back then. Beat us in playoffs '73-74.

1973-1974 was an interesting season, because it was the year Ken Dryden stepped away from Hockey so that he could article for a law firm in Toronto, as completing a one year articling stint was a necessary requirement to be called to the Bar in Ontario. It was a most interesting career decision at the time in that Dryden forsook an annual professional hockey salary of around $200,000 for an articling position that paid him $250 weekly. Dryden, who had attended McGill Law School, rarely attended classes as school directly conflicted with his playing and travelling with the Canadiens. Molson sent a stenographer to each of his classes to transcribe the class presentation. I know, because I’m a McGill Law School graduate.

Its also interesting to know that after the team’s loss in the 1973-1974 playoffs (sans Dryden) our delightfully impatient and entitled fan base was bleating for the team to trade the ‘underperforming ‘ Lafleur. He had ‘only’ scored 29, 29 and 28 goals in his first three years with the team. It was at the following training camp that Lafleur removed his helmet and the rest, as they say, is history.
.

 

[HuGort]

So many after that playoff loss

1973-1974 was an interesting season, because it was the year Ken Dryden stepped away from Hockey so that he could article for a law firm in Toronto, as completing a one year articling stint was a necessary requirement to be called to the Bar in Ontario. It was a most interesting career decision at the time in that Dryden forsook an annual professional hockey salary of around $200,000 for an articling position that paid him $250 weekly. Dryden, who had attended McGill Law School, rarely attended classes as school directly conflicted with his playing and travelling with the Canadiens. Molson sent a stenographer to each of his classes to transcribe the class presentation. I know, because I’m a McGill Law School graduate.

Its also interesting to know that after the team’s loss in the 1973-1974 playoffs (sans Dryden) our delightfully impatient and entitled fan base was bleating for the team to trade the ‘underperforming ‘ Lafleur. He had ‘only’ scored 29, 29 and 28 goals in his first three years with the team. It was at the following training camp that Lafleur removed his helmet and the rest, as they say, is history.
.

Dryden beat to his own drummer.

 

[Habs Halifax]

I did, I'm 64.

Holy shit... didn't know you were an old geezer. (kidding).

 

[dinodebino]

Nimitz is the king here. Our Yoda. He’s probably 120 years old. I saw the Habs play in the 70’s. My dad was a good acquaintance of Serge S. Drank with them all often, while he had his 6 seasons ticks.

I went to see the shitty games against Colorado, Washington and the likes of Detroit, as his clients had all the good games. I saw some blowouts for sure. Took me to Le Texan for dinner. Couldn’t go to la Mise au jeu, the exclusive restaurant of old at the Forum for big season ticket holders.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Dryden beat to his own drummer.

He was certainly not your average professional hockey player.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Dryden beat to his own drummer.

His ‘dual’ career rivalled that of Red Kelly who while playing for the Leafs and winning two Cups, served as a Liberal MP for a Toronto riding from 1962 to 1965. There were times when his party leader and then Prime Minister Lester Pearson attended Leaf games who sat right behind the Leaf bench. I always wonder who he would listen too: his coach Punch Imlach or the PM, Pearson if both shouted out contradictory instructions?

 

[JC Superstar]

I became a habs fan after watching the Leafs win their 4 cups in the 1960's and then trading Frank Mahovalich, my favorite player. Frank went first to Detroit for 2 years where he played with Gordie Howe and Alex Delvechio and one season scored 49 goals, big numbers in those days. When he was traded to Montreal Henry Richard (11 cups) and I think, Beliveau were still playing and Montreal won an unexpected cup with Al McNeil as coach. It was easy being a fan in those days. . They had Franks brother Pete, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Jacques Lemaire, Reggie Houle and Marc Tardiff to name a few up front. On the back end they had JC Tremblay, Guy 'Pointu' Lapointe, Serge Savard and' Big Bird' Robinson. And of course Ken Dryden who went on to be a great goalie and wrote arguably the best book ever written on hockey. Scott Bowman was coach and Sam Polloch was the best manager of his day.
I was just done University, single and working. We would fly for Hamilton and scalp tickets to the old forum and afterwards go out for a few pops on Cresent St.
I've been to the old forum many times, the last a month before the end. The Bell Centre is of course not the same.
By 1986 and 1993 the once well oiled machine spit out 2 post dynasty cups..
It was so easy to be a fan in those early days. The Habs almost never lost so if you were a fan you really knew your hockey, or so you came to believe. Alot of new fans jumped on the bandwagon. It lead ,IMO to a bit of a culture of entitlement amongst the fans where when we began to lose like all teams eventually do we got really pissed off. It was like we felt we deserve to win There is still some of this in the DNA of this Board.
Its' hard though not to be a bit excited by the youngsters we have now and our new front office.
Hope springs eternal.

Well, I'm pretty entitled having watched 13 cup wins. Remember manos de deo in '66 against Roger Crozier? That's the way it should be!

 

[kyne]

Habs against Toronto March 1968 at the Forum . Montreal won 3-2. Two teams full of Hall of Famers.

 

[General Fanager]

Saw The Habs late 70s in Maple Leafs Gardens.

 

[Habsfunk]

The Forum atmosphere was/is better than anytime at the Bell imo.

Watching the Habs at the Forum was like going to see your favorite band at a dive bar. Yeah, it's cramped and dirty and smelly, but the atmosphere is amazing.

The first game I ever went to was in 1988. The Habs beat the Penguins 11-1.

 

[kyne]

Its also interesting to know that after the team’s loss in the 1973-1974 playoffs (sans Dryden) our delightfully impatient and entitled fan base was bleating for the team to trade the ‘underperforming ‘ Lafleur. He had ‘only’ scored 29, 29 and 28 goals in his first three years with the team. It was at the following training camp that Lafleur removed his helmet and the rest, as they say, is history.
.

I do recall Pollock and later Dryden explaining why, saying that it was temporary and he would be coming back. What was unusual is he chose to finish his degree rather than do it after hockey like others did. Meanwhile, Thomas and Larocque provided very good goaltending that year.

I remember feeling sorry for Lafleur when I would hear booing at the Forum when he would miss a play. He was clearly doing his best. The media hype and fan pressure on him to be an instant francophone superstar was unbelievable. It didn't help that Lafleur was this shy kid and simply hated the attention. I've always wondered what really prompted him to take off his helmet? He was anything but flamboyant prior to this.

 

[rik schau]

Watching the Habs at the Forum was like going to see your favorite band at a dive bar. Yeah, it's cramped and dirty and smelly, but the atmosphere is amazing.

The first game I ever went to was in 1988. The Habs beat the Penguins 11-1.

Yes it was cramped,but far from dirty or smelly. It was only smelly during rock concerts,and I may have contributed to that.lol

 

[tinyzombies]