Original Six Hockey Barns

[Alan Ryan]

Treat yourself to this wonderful trip down memory lane by Dom. He had the good fortune to visit all the old barns and shares his experiences with us.

Enjoy: https://scoutingpost.com/2016/12/16/the-original-six-the-arenas-by-dominic-tiano/

Click to read more...

 

[22Brad Park]

Really nice read.Not many that never played in NHL can say they were in all 6 rinks
.I watched that New Years game as well on tv between Montreal and The RedArmy.Loved watching Valeri Kharlamov play.I rooted for the Russians vs them.lol

 

[Fenway]

Great read Dom

I saw the Bruins play in 5 of the O6 barns and did get inside the Olympia in Detroit in 1976 but had to get a swine flu shot to do so.

Madison Square Garden at 8th Avenue and 50th was a much nicer version of Boston Garden as it had amenities like an escalator. The game I saw there was a disaster as the Bruins lost 9-2 but it was an important game in Bruins history as it was locally televised and the ratings were strong enough to convince the new Channel 56 to pick up the Bruins the following year. 56 televised for one season and then decided the Celtics were a better fit for them and another new station Channel 38 picked up the Bruins.

Maple Leaf Gardens was a disappointment. It was the same design that Hartford would later use, one level from top to bottom.

Chicago Stadium - Boston Garden on steroids. The fans were loud and the pipe organ was incredible. They also had the same clock that the Garden had ( see my avatar ).

Olympia - Didn't see a game there but similar to the Garden but it didn't have a second balcony. The Red Wings left Olympia because the neighborhood around the arena became the worst section of Detroit. It was not downtown but a few miles away. It would be like the old Boston Garden being on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester.

Montreal Forum - The greatest NHL arena ever.

 

[bruinsfan1970]

Great read Dom

I saw the Bruins play in 5 of the O6 barns and did get inside the Olympia in Detroit in 1976 but had to get a swine flu shot to do so.

Madison Square Garden at 8th Avenue and 50th was a much nicer version of Boston Garden as it had amenities like an escalator. The game I saw there was a disaster as the Bruins lost 9-2 but it was an important game in Bruins history as it was locally televised and the ratings were strong enough to convince the new Channel 56 to pick up the Bruins the following year. 56 televised for one season and then decided the Celtics were a better fit for them and another new station Channel 38 picked up the Bruins.

Maple Leaf Gardens was a disappointment. It was the same design that Hartford would later use, one level from top to bottom.

Chicago Stadium - Boston Garden on steroids. The fans were loud and the pipe organ was incredible. They also had the same clock that the Garden had ( see my avatar ).

Olympia - Didn't see a game there but similar to the Garden but it didn't have a second balcony. The Red Wings left Olympia because the neighborhood around the arena became the worst section of Detroit. It was not downtown but a few miles away. It would be like the old Boston Garden being on Blue Hill Avenue in Dorchester.

Montreal Forum - The greatest NHL arena ever.

Thanks for sharing the ad for channel 5 WHDH. When I saw the letters WHDH I thought it was channel 2 Boston's PBS station but they are WGBH I believe. Was cool seeing it was televised in color. Curious who was Cusicks broasdcast partner then I am thinking Johnny Pierson. When I was growing up I used to always buy the Baseball and Hockey magazines that came out and they always had an ad for Fleetwood records. Those records had the play by play of the games and the one called Super Sox was called by the great Red Sox announcer Ned Martin and the Bruins album had more announcers, sure do miss the good ol days, sure today we got more high tech but I still say I would trade it all in for the way things used to be. The same for the old hockey barns they all had great stories and The Montreal Forum and their ghost was probably the best. Yes the Chicago stadium was so loud with the pipe organ and our own Garden which got you so close to the game by the way the overhang was you were actually on top the game.

Thanks Dom for the nice read it sure brought back the memories I described above.

 

[DominicT]

Thanks guys.

Just a bit more about Don Awrey.

The summer following my visit to the Boston Garden, he was home in Kitchener. To my surprise, he remembered me.

The first day back in school that September, Mr. Awrey called me into his office and said "I have something for you". He handed me an envelope and when I opened it, it was a signed photo of Bobby Orr. On the back was a hand written note that said "next time you're in Boston, come say hello" - signed Bobby Orr. He had signed it front and back. Not sure many like that exist. Has to be pretty rare.

 

[bruinsfan1970]

Thanks guys.

Just a bit more about Don Awrey.

The summer following my visit to the Boston Garden, he was home in Kitchener. To my surprise, he remembered me.

The first day back in school that September, Mr. Awrey called me into his office and said "I have something for you". He handed me an envelope and when I opened it, it was a signed photo of Bobby Orr. On the back was a hand written note that said "next time you're in Boston, come say hello" - signed Bobby Orr. He had signed it front and back. Not sure many like that exist. Has to be pretty rare.

Wow!!! What a nice little treasure indeed. Congrats

 

[Fenway]

Thanks for sharing the ad for channel 5 WHDH. When I saw the letters WHDH I thought it was channel 2 Boston's PBS station but they are WGBH I believe. Was cool seeing it was televised in color. Curious who was Cusicks broasdcast partner then I am thinking Johnny Pierson.

Thanks Dom for the nice read it sure brought back the memories I described above.

Channel 5 most likely sent Don Gillis down to work with Fred.

I have told the story about going to NYC that day and telling my mother I was going to the library and would be home after 6. However standing behind Fred and waving at the TV cameras kind of blew the cover off that story

 

[Fenway]

Thanks guys.

Just a bit more about Don Awrey.

The summer following my visit to the Boston Garden, he was home in Kitchener. To my surprise, he remembered me.

The first day back in school that September, Mr. Awrey called me into his office and said "I have something for you". He handed me an envelope and when I opened it, it was a signed photo of Bobby Orr. On the back was a hand written note that said "next time you're in Boston, come say hello" - signed Bobby Orr. He had signed it front and back. Not sure many like that exist. Has to be pretty rare.

Dom we shared a fascination over the analog clock that Boston, Chicago and Detroit used. Providence (AHL) also had one pictured below

Dom you will enjoy this thread

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=872744

 

[DominicT]

Dom we shared a fascination over the analog clock that Boston, Chicago and Detroit used. Providence (AHL) also had one pictured below

Dom you will enjoy this thread

http://hfboards.mandatory.com/showthread.php?t=872744

That was awesome pal. Thanks.

I remember the Aud in Buffalo having the analog clock, but can't recall if it was switched before the joined the NHL

 

[Chief Nine]

Thanks guys.

Just a bit more about Don Awrey.

The summer following my visit to the Boston Garden, he was home in Kitchener. To my surprise, he remembered me.

The first day back in school that September, Mr. Awrey called me into his office and said "I have something for you". He handed me an envelope and when I opened it, it was a signed photo of Bobby Orr. On the back was a hand written note that said "next time you're in Boston, come say hello" - signed Bobby Orr. He had signed it front and back. Not sure many like that exist. Has to be pretty rare.

Terrific article Dom, thanks for putting that together. Not to veer off topic, but I had to smile when I got to the Don Awrey part. He was my favorite player (out of many from that era, the list is far too long!) I just loved his game.

 

[Fenway]

That was awesome pal. Thanks.

I remember the Aud in Buffalo having the analog clock, but can't recall if it was switched before the joined the NHL

Everybody went digital in the late 60's except Chicago which didn't upgrade until the mid 70's and they bought a board from the same company that built Montreal and Boston.

Couple of clips that capture Chicago Stadium ( including a strange version of O Canada )

 

[Sharp Shooting Neely]

What a wonderful read Dom. Had a feeling of walking along with you as you relayed details of what would be a surreal experience for any hockey fan, let alone those who can readily relate to that era. To have it continue in the encounters you relay after your actual visits just adds to the WOW factor. To say it has been a dream experience for you is no doubt understating it. There would be few people around today who would have had the unbelievably good fortune to have made such a journey.

Though I was unbelievably fortunate to have had the opportunity to visit just 2 of the shrines before they sadly disappeared. That's without meeting a single hockey related person of note. As it stands now, really don't see how I could prevent a prominent smile from appearing on my face at the end of my life's journey. Can't help but imagine that you could do anything else but have an ear to ear wide grin yourself, even if you tried.

Thanks for sharing an epic tale.

 

[Dennis Bonvie]

Thanks for this.

I only got to Boston, Montreal & Toronto.

Most memorable in Boston (1965) was watching the game from the balcony through the cigar smoke. Very cool effect.

Montreal (early 80's) it was one hallway that two wide people would have had trouble getting through at the same time.

Toronto I went to only months before it closed with my son. Just a great experience. Got to see the HHOF in the morning, St Mike's junior team in the afternoon and Leafs-Sens at night. Walked into the lobby the day before and was surprised to see doors opened to the rink about 10 feet in front of me. Got tickets for the junior game at the box office and then got a couple Leafs tickets from Mike the scalper out front. Also, cheapest beers I'd ever gotten at a professional game. Loved the whites.

 

[29dryden29]

Great article I was lucky enough to see games in the Olympia and the Forum Boston garden Chicago and NY and Montreal. Nothing comes close to the old barns loved the escalators at the forum and the organ and sound of Chicago. They are all something special.

 

[ODAAT]

Chicago/Boston/Toronto/Montreal are the Original 6 barns I`ve been to, nothing like them and having been to all of those cities "new" barns, for as polished as they look, nowhere close to the atmosphere and character of the old one`s

 

[Fenian24]

The only good thing about getting old is I got to see the Forum, Stadium, Maple Leaf Gardens and had season tix in the old Garden for 10 years. Those buildings were special, I only saw one game at the Stadium but what an amazing place to see a game, The Forum was special, it was a hockey rink, not a multi use facility, if you went to another event there (I Saw Iron Maiden there as well as many Habs games) it still felt like it was the Canadiens rink not just an arena. Maple Leaf gardens was hot and cramped, I'm a big guy and while Fenway has small seats they seem like Lazy boy loungers compared to MLG. I got to see one game at the current MSG back in the mid 80's and the reputation of the crowd was more than lived up to. Joe Louis was OK, what I remember most was the awful traffic at the exit to the rink, at least I got my Probert wear clothing but the building felt very generic, much like most of the new arenas. Concourse was very crowded with plenty of Little Ceaser's stands making it even more cramped.

The Garden was special, cramped, hot, not great sight lines ( my seats were in the 4th row of the balcony behind the net, until the league moved the net out a few feet in the late 80's I never saw the back of the cage) and I miss it so much, the "new" garden has none of the atmosphere of the old place, to me that isn't a good thing.

I miss those old rinks, old AHL and junior building as well, they had a feel to them that the new rinks, while very nice with amenities cannot match. Probably the only rink left with that feel is the Colisée de Laval, I'm not sure when the Canadiens move their AHL team to Laval if they will be playing in this rink or a new one, hopefully the Colisee stays the same.