When the NHL traveled by train
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JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
VanIslander
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I've read several great stories of NHL teams on trains back in the earlier eras.
But the one that impressed me the most was when Eddie Shore missed the team's train departure from Boston to Montreal so he went by car, only it got stuck in the snow. He got to the rink in time to score the game's only goal in a 1-0 victory.
But the one that impressed me the most was when Eddie Shore missed the team's train departure from Boston to Montreal so he went by car, only it got stuck in the snow. He got to the rink in time to score the game's only goal in a 1-0 victory.
Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
The way I heard it it was a cab. The driver got the cab stuck and refused to try to go on. So Shore "borrowed" the cab and drove himself.
There are probably versions where he ran the last 10 miles, also. But apparently anything we read about Eddie Shore could be true.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
VanIslander
A 20-year ATDer on HfBoards
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I read there was a "chaffeur" and i recall someone offered him the vehicle so i assume it was a limo.
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
I've heard this story a few times about Gordie Howe on a train (I'll copy and paste this version of the story from the source below):
The greatest hockey player of all-time simply refers to it as “The only night I ever got a standing ovation and a standing boo.”
The date was November 27th, 1965, and the Detroit Red Wings were playing on the ice of their most bitter opponents of the era, the Montreal Canadiens. Though the Red Wings-Canadiens rivalry had cooled a bit by the mid-60s — owing to the phenomenal success of the Canadiens after the Wings’ domination of the early ’50s — the intensity was always evident when the two teams met.
Still, nothing had occurred that quite matched the events of that evening at the Forum.
As much as Montreal fans claimed to dislike Red Wings superstar Gordie Howe, there was no question that the Montrealers — often cited as the most knowledgeable followers of the game — greatly appreciated the unmatched talent and accomplishments of Detroit’s #9. Red Wings fans who followed their team to the Forum in those days came back to Detroit with stories of the French-Canadian fans there referring to Gordie as “Big Jesus.” Accolades don’t come much higher than that.That admiration was never more evident than when Gordie scored his 600th goal that evening, which led to a several-minute standing ovation, during which play was suspended as programs and hats littered the Montreal ice. Howe had eclipsed the all-time goal scoring record of Montreal’s favorite son, Maurice Richard, when he scored his 545th goal back in 1963 in Detroit. This record tally further cemented his status as the greatest player of all time. So their ovation was a sign of incredible class and good sportsmanship.
It was followed, moments later, by an eruption of boos and vicious catcalls that again held up the game … this time it was a vocal explosion against Howe. Just 2:26 after his historic goal, it seemed that Gordie had gone into a corner with Canadiens defenseman J.C. Tremblay. There was a collision involving Tremblay and one of Howe’s famous elbows, and the Canadiens player slumped to the ice in a stupor, his cheekbone badly fractured. Howe went to the penalty box for deliberately attempting to injure, a five-minute infraction, as Montrealers seethed all around him and voiced their hatred. Unmoved by it all, Gordie just blinked and took a seat.
Jump back now a half-year, to the spring of 1965. The same Montreal Canadiens were playing for the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Blackhawks. And the same Howe, whose team had been eliminated by Chicago in a semi-final round, was traveling with the teams by train while working as a Cup TV analyst for the CBC.
To pass time on the train, some of the players were playing Bridge, and Gordie was watching the card game. Howe’s world-class expertise as a Bridge player was little-known — in fact, for years many in hockey incorrectly thought him as being ‘slow’ though he actually had a brilliant mind.
When he congratulated a move by one of the Bridge contestants, Montreal player J.C. Tremblay — who was also observing — loudly cracked “What would YOU know about it, you big dummy?” Gordie, stung by the remark, blinked and then leveled a dog-stare at Tremblay. “Remember that you said that to me” was all he said.
Canadiens forward Dickie Duff had been present in the train car that day. And he was on the ice in Montreal some six months later when the groggy Tremblay failed to rise after meeting Gordie’s sharp right arm. Circling the area of the accident, as doctor’s rushed to Tremblay’s aid, Duff skated past Howe and said … “The Bridge game?”
Gordie blinked. And said “Yeah.”
My Favorite Gordie Howe War Story
The greatest hockey player of all-time simply refers to it as “The only night I ever got a standing ovation and a standing boo.”
The date was November 27th, 1965, and the Detroit Red Wings were playing on the ice of their most bitter opponents of the era, the Montreal Canadiens. Though the Red Wings-Canadiens rivalry had cooled a bit by the mid-60s — owing to the phenomenal success of the Canadiens after the Wings’ domination of the early ’50s — the intensity was always evident when the two teams met.
Still, nothing had occurred that quite matched the events of that evening at the Forum.
As much as Montreal fans claimed to dislike Red Wings superstar Gordie Howe, there was no question that the Montrealers — often cited as the most knowledgeable followers of the game — greatly appreciated the unmatched talent and accomplishments of Detroit’s #9. Red Wings fans who followed their team to the Forum in those days came back to Detroit with stories of the French-Canadian fans there referring to Gordie as “Big Jesus.” Accolades don’t come much higher than that.That admiration was never more evident than when Gordie scored his 600th goal that evening, which led to a several-minute standing ovation, during which play was suspended as programs and hats littered the Montreal ice. Howe had eclipsed the all-time goal scoring record of Montreal’s favorite son, Maurice Richard, when he scored his 545th goal back in 1963 in Detroit. This record tally further cemented his status as the greatest player of all time. So their ovation was a sign of incredible class and good sportsmanship.
It was followed, moments later, by an eruption of boos and vicious catcalls that again held up the game … this time it was a vocal explosion against Howe. Just 2:26 after his historic goal, it seemed that Gordie had gone into a corner with Canadiens defenseman J.C. Tremblay. There was a collision involving Tremblay and one of Howe’s famous elbows, and the Canadiens player slumped to the ice in a stupor, his cheekbone badly fractured. Howe went to the penalty box for deliberately attempting to injure, a five-minute infraction, as Montrealers seethed all around him and voiced their hatred. Unmoved by it all, Gordie just blinked and took a seat.
Jump back now a half-year, to the spring of 1965. The same Montreal Canadiens were playing for the Stanley Cup against the Chicago Blackhawks. And the same Howe, whose team had been eliminated by Chicago in a semi-final round, was traveling with the teams by train while working as a Cup TV analyst for the CBC.
To pass time on the train, some of the players were playing Bridge, and Gordie was watching the card game. Howe’s world-class expertise as a Bridge player was little-known — in fact, for years many in hockey incorrectly thought him as being ‘slow’ though he actually had a brilliant mind.
When he congratulated a move by one of the Bridge contestants, Montreal player J.C. Tremblay — who was also observing — loudly cracked “What would YOU know about it, you big dummy?” Gordie, stung by the remark, blinked and then leveled a dog-stare at Tremblay. “Remember that you said that to me” was all he said.
Canadiens forward Dickie Duff had been present in the train car that day. And he was on the ice in Montreal some six months later when the groggy Tremblay failed to rise after meeting Gordie’s sharp right arm. Circling the area of the accident, as doctor’s rushed to Tremblay’s aid, Duff skated past Howe and said … “The Bridge game?”
Gordie blinked. And said “Yeah.”
My Favorite Gordie Howe War Story
Longtime Bruins radio announcer Fred Cusick told the story of after a chippy game in Montreal both teams took the same train back to Boston to play the next night and while both teams had a coach and sleeper assigned the Boston & Maine RR kept the club car open.
At 3 AM the railroad called the Vermont State Police to break up a brawl.
At 3 AM the railroad called the Vermont State Police to break up a brawl.
Hockey Outsider
Registered User
- Jan 16, 2005
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I've heard that story too. Apparently he played 58 minutes that game - the only reason it wasn't 60 is because he took a penalty.
I met Gordie Howe in 2000. He had published a book with his wife called "And Howe". I put my name in as a STH with the Admirals and was selected with a number of other people. Gordie Howe was a gentleman. He was gracious, humorous and sharp as a tack at 72! I took his picture with my wife. We still have his autographed book.
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
On a sadder note, the minor league San Francisco Shamrocks were involved in an awful train accident in 1947.
A truck carrying two tanks of fuel had come to a crossing just ahead of the train. Because of cars stowed on a parallel line, the driver wasn't able to see the oncoming locomotive (there were conflicting accounts of whether the crossing signal worked). He carefully went ahead across the tracks, and didn't make it over before the train slammed into one of the tankers.
The collision not only created a fireball and a violent shock, but also sent flaming fuel splashing back over the passenger cars as the train hurtled several hundred more feet down the track. As terrified passengers broke doors and windows to climb out of the sudden death-trap, they had no choice but to jump directly into pools of burning oil.
The Shamrocks were in a private car relaxing and playing cards when the collision occurred. Like most passengers, they frantically smashed windows to get away from the spreading flames inside the car, and then leapt directly into an inferno outside. The really remarkable thing is that, once they staggered clear of danger, the players rallied and rushed back into the flames to help other passengers escape. It's all but certain that they saved lives that day, at the expense of their own bodies.
In the end, several people were killed either by the initial explosion or from subsequent wounds. About half of the Shamrocks team suffered severe burns (including a lost ear in one case) and a couple of them never played pro hockey again. The other PCHL teams added players so the Shamrocks could finish their season.
Notably, the only thing that kept it from being a much more horrifying situation was that the engineer had the presence of mind to pull the brake before the collision. He, of course, died instantly in the explosion... but there was no "dead man's switch" on that train. If he had not pulled that brake, the train would have continued to rocket down the tracks with a flaming fuel tanker stuck to the front. The mind boggles at possibilities for how that might have ended.
A truck carrying two tanks of fuel had come to a crossing just ahead of the train. Because of cars stowed on a parallel line, the driver wasn't able to see the oncoming locomotive (there were conflicting accounts of whether the crossing signal worked). He carefully went ahead across the tracks, and didn't make it over before the train slammed into one of the tankers.
The collision not only created a fireball and a violent shock, but also sent flaming fuel splashing back over the passenger cars as the train hurtled several hundred more feet down the track. As terrified passengers broke doors and windows to climb out of the sudden death-trap, they had no choice but to jump directly into pools of burning oil.
The Shamrocks were in a private car relaxing and playing cards when the collision occurred. Like most passengers, they frantically smashed windows to get away from the spreading flames inside the car, and then leapt directly into an inferno outside. The really remarkable thing is that, once they staggered clear of danger, the players rallied and rushed back into the flames to help other passengers escape. It's all but certain that they saved lives that day, at the expense of their own bodies.
In the end, several people were killed either by the initial explosion or from subsequent wounds. About half of the Shamrocks team suffered severe burns (including a lost ear in one case) and a couple of them never played pro hockey again. The other PCHL teams added players so the Shamrocks could finish their season.
Notably, the only thing that kept it from being a much more horrifying situation was that the engineer had the presence of mind to pull the brake before the collision. He, of course, died instantly in the explosion... but there was no "dead man's switch" on that train. If he had not pulled that brake, the train would have continued to rocket down the tracks with a flaming fuel tanker stuck to the front. The mind boggles at possibilities for how that might have ended.
JMCx4
Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
NyQuil
Big F$&*in Q
A few teams have travelled by train more recently, usually associated with anniversary events:
Flames in 2017.
Senators in 2012.
I remember a few teams travelling by train in old-school threads back in 1991 during the NHL's 75th anniversary but oddly enough I can't seem to find any pictures.
Flames in 2017.
Senators in 2012.
I remember a few teams travelling by train in old-school threads back in 1991 during the NHL's 75th anniversary but oddly enough I can't seem to find any pictures.
Dennis Bonvie
Registered User
Crosstraffic
Registered User
Staniowski
Registered User
The Panther
Registered User
I started a thread sort of about this a few years ago when I was wondering the same thing:
When did Teams start Air-travel?
The Bruins started flying on scheduled airliners around 1960 as the old Boston & Maine RR diminished Boston/Montreal service to Budd cars
tarheelhockey
Offside Review Specialist
Full story here: The Saskatoon Phoenix - Google News Archive Search
Sometime around 1906*, the Ottawa Silver Seven were scheduled to play their bitter rival Wanderers in Montreal. These teams were comprised almost entirely of HOF'ers -- Frank McGee, "Rat" Westwick, Harvey Pulford on one side... Lester Patrick, Hod Stuart, Moose Johnson on the other. Their games against each other were a big deal, often with Cup implications.
Frank McGee in particular was at the peak of his game around this time. Unfortunately, he wasn't on time for the team's train to Montreal, and it seems nobody noticed his absence until it was too late. The team's trainer and future coach, Pete Green, send a telegram back to Ottawa ordering a special train to be chartered for McGee -- just him, individually -- to make the trip alone.
Green had solved the problem of getting McGee to the game, but he still had to contend with the fact that McGee would obviously be late. While his team headed to the hotel, Green quietly slipped away with their equipment box and loaded it into a hack cab. He ordered the cabbie to just drive around Montreal as long as it took for the train to arrive.
Back at the Montreal Arena, a sellout crowd had gathered (I have seen references to Ottawa/Montreal games of that era drawing 7000+ for arenas with only 4000 seats) and the Wanderers were already on the ice for the start of the game. In the Ottawa dressing room, the team was in a panic... missing their equipment as well as the man responsible for it. The stalling tactic gave Green just enough time to pick up McGee, race back to the Arena, and have the team on the ice after a reasonably brief delay. McGee was the dominant star in a memorable victory.
* The combination of players mentioned theoretically narrows it to 1906-07, on the assumption that the writer mis-remembers Jimmy Gardner as playing for the Wanderers at the time. He didn't join them team till 08-09.
I'm not 100% certain whether or not this version of the story is apocryphal, but it bears an awfully strong resemblance to this incident, as reported in the Ottawa Journal and Ottawa Citizen on 1/9/1905 regarding a game played two days earlier:
Quite easy to assume the Saskatoon writer had heard an embellished version of the real-life Liffiton story, and either accidentally or deliberately swapped the teams so that Green and McGee ended up in the hero roles.
The Liffiton in that story is Charlie Liffiton, great-granduncle of Dave Liffiton who played in the NHL as recently as 2011. As a side note, Charlie actually lost his job for playing in that game... the jeweler who hired him was a M.A.A.A. fan and furious that Liffiton had joined up with the Wanderers, and fired him on the spot. Liffiton immediately signed with a team in the original IHL, the first openly professional hockey league, and became the highest paid player in hockey that season.
In some respect, this whole incident -- the specially chartered train, the obvious kickback Liffiton was getting as an "amateur", the very visible escalation of salaries now available to pros -- helped nudge the hockey world a little closer to the end of amateurism and the rise of professionalism.
Sometime around 1906*, the Ottawa Silver Seven were scheduled to play their bitter rival Wanderers in Montreal. These teams were comprised almost entirely of HOF'ers -- Frank McGee, "Rat" Westwick, Harvey Pulford on one side... Lester Patrick, Hod Stuart, Moose Johnson on the other. Their games against each other were a big deal, often with Cup implications.
Frank McGee in particular was at the peak of his game around this time. Unfortunately, he wasn't on time for the team's train to Montreal, and it seems nobody noticed his absence until it was too late. The team's trainer and future coach, Pete Green, send a telegram back to Ottawa ordering a special train to be chartered for McGee -- just him, individually -- to make the trip alone.
Green had solved the problem of getting McGee to the game, but he still had to contend with the fact that McGee would obviously be late. While his team headed to the hotel, Green quietly slipped away with their equipment box and loaded it into a hack cab. He ordered the cabbie to just drive around Montreal as long as it took for the train to arrive.
Back at the Montreal Arena, a sellout crowd had gathered (I have seen references to Ottawa/Montreal games of that era drawing 7000+ for arenas with only 4000 seats) and the Wanderers were already on the ice for the start of the game. In the Ottawa dressing room, the team was in a panic... missing their equipment as well as the man responsible for it. The stalling tactic gave Green just enough time to pick up McGee, race back to the Arena, and have the team on the ice after a reasonably brief delay. McGee was the dominant star in a memorable victory.
* The combination of players mentioned theoretically narrows it to 1906-07, on the assumption that the writer mis-remembers Jimmy Gardner as playing for the Wanderers at the time. He didn't join them team till 08-09.
I'm not 100% certain whether or not this version of the story is apocryphal, but it bears an awfully strong resemblance to this incident, as reported in the Ottawa Journal and Ottawa Citizen on 1/9/1905 regarding a game played two days earlier:
Quite easy to assume the Saskatoon writer had heard an embellished version of the real-life Liffiton story, and either accidentally or deliberately swapped the teams so that Green and McGee ended up in the hero roles.
The Liffiton in that story is Charlie Liffiton, great-granduncle of Dave Liffiton who played in the NHL as recently as 2011. As a side note, Charlie actually lost his job for playing in that game... the jeweler who hired him was a M.A.A.A. fan and furious that Liffiton had joined up with the Wanderers, and fired him on the spot. Liffiton immediately signed with a team in the original IHL, the first openly professional hockey league, and became the highest paid player in hockey that season.
In some respect, this whole incident -- the specially chartered train, the obvious kickback Liffiton was getting as an "amateur", the very visible escalation of salaries now available to pros -- helped nudge the hockey world a little closer to the end of amateurism and the rise of professionalism.
Theokritos
Global Moderator
- Apr 6, 2010
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Conversely a story from the Soviet Union: In March 1969, goaltender Viktor Konovalenko missed a train from Gorky/Nizhni Novgorod to Moscow. He couldn't fly either because the weather didn't allow it. Hence he missed a training of the national team. Such a thing was considered a grave offence in the USSR where a lot of emphasis was placed on the "sporting regime". Konovalenko was sent to the Soviet Sports Committee (=the ministry of sport) and was left there waiting all day. Just before closing time, the deputy chairman finally received him and announced he would be suspended for the rest of the season and put on parole for the next. The incident caused Konovalenko to miss the 1969 World Championship.
Theokritos
Global Moderator
- Apr 6, 2010
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Another Soviet episode: Anatoli Tarasov used to preach to the players that they should dedicate every second to hockey. One time in March 1968 his team was travelling to Sverdlovsk/Yekaterinburg by train and had a short stop in the city of Kazan. Anatoli Firsov recalled:
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