The Greatest Sporting Event in History

[Argoknot]

Guy Lafleur was known to do that during intermissions. I'm sure he wasn't the only one.

The Flower loved his Craven As. In Tretiak's book he couldn't believe Gerry Cheevers smoked between periods during the 74 series.

[Argoknot]

You forgot the after dinner "cancer stick" which many pro athletes still participated in back then.

Rick Noonan, Canadian trainer assisting the USSR: "In the Russian dressing room (after Game One), there was no great jubilation. They were calm as could be. Some of them, like big Viktor Kuzkin, seemed more enthusiastic about having a smoke in the shower than anything else. And vodka, they liked that too."

[PullTogether73]

Whoa, totally disagree with the above, Clarke was very effective, he centred Canada's best line in camp and during the series. It was basically the only line that stayed intact. It wasn't just speed why Henderson got those goals, he had room to maneuver courtesy of Clarke. Clarke had six points in eight games on the supposed "checking line"

The reason why guys didn't play was because they weren't useful to the overall effort. Parise and Cashman played because we had to play along the boards because we weren't yet in shape to play the Soviets straight up. That wasn't Berenson's or Perrault's game. Had there been no other options they might have played, unlike Park who had to play even though he wasn't very good until the last game.

I think it's also a myth about matching up with speed to beat the Soviets, sure it helps, but Esposito dominated them and in 74, 46 year old Gordie Howe was also very good against them. Howe was a good skater but he wasn't the fastest guy out there.

I'm still confused about how this team was chosen actually.
I know about the WHL players being banned by Clarence Campbell.
But how do Bobby Clarke and Ron Ellis (as examples) get chosen over Dave Keon?

It worked out very well for Canada actually, as the Clarke/Henderson/Ellis line was, as you mention, the only one that was kept intact throughout the tournament. And yes, Clarke created space for Henderson while Ellis shut down Kharlamov as the tournament progressed, until Clarke permanently shut him down.

But how does Dave Keon not make this team?

[Argoknot]

Greatest (Canadian) individual performance? Donovan Bailey, Chuvalo going the distance against vs. Ali, Mike Weir winning the Masters? Pardon me if I've forgotten something.

Have to say I enjoyed this. Esmie, Esmie, Esmie!

Start vid at 35 seconds

[Argoknot]

I'm still confused about how this team was chosen actually. I know about the WHL players being banned by Clarence Campbell. But how do Bobby Clarke and Ron Ellis (as examples) get chosen over Dave Keon?

It worked out very well for Canada actually, as the Clarke/Henderson/Ellis line was, as you mention, the only one that was kept intact throughout the tournament. And yes, Clarke created space for Henderson while Ellis shut down Kharlamov as the tournament progressed, until Clarke permanently shut him down.

But how does Dave Keon not make this team?

AFAIK, Keon was the last player cut or not chosen, ironically he was beaten out by Clarke. Each coach, Sinden and Ferguson picked their 35 players (way too much by today's standards) but they wanted enough for two scrimmaging teams. The first 17 or so players were unanimous and they haggled over the rest.

Dallas Smith and Jacques Laperriere refused invites, Smith was on the farm and Laperriere was either rehabbing an injury or his wife was having a baby (haven't cleared that one up yet) Laperriere would have been a good addition. Ed Giacomin had a serious knee injury IIRC which raises a point you don't hear much. Aside from Ed Johnston who didn't play during the Soviet part of the series, Esposito and Dryden weren't all that experienced only a few years apiece.

I'm reading about some of the choices being "Eagle's Boys" but for the most part as it was the first time they didn't really know how to put a team together like this. They picked who they thought were the best players and weren't really thinking about very specific role players. It was only after the first game that Ellis was assigned to Kharlamov.

Michel "Bunny" Larocque, John Van Boxmeer and Billy Harris (not the coach) were invited to the camp to fill out numbers.

[Argoknot]

This may not make "The Greatest" list but cool and a great achievement nonetheless

[Argoknot]

Again, maybe not "The Greatest" but a pretty damn good moment that people remember fondly

[Argoknot]

Berdusco, Berdusco! Brazil caught dreaming!

[Argoknot]

The YouTube poster calls it "The Best Boxing Fight Ever", I don't have a problem with that.

[ArgoRavi]

Berdusco, Berdusco! Brazil caught dreaming!

LOL! Playing teams heading to the World Cup in the U.S. in 1994 is as close to the World Cup that Canada has gotten since they last made it in 1986. I recall at least one pre-tournament game being played at old Varsity Stadium which may have been the last big event held there.

[Ron]

Again, maybe not "The Greatest" but a pretty damn good moment that people remember fondly

Ah, the days of blatant corruption. Manley got so obviously ripped off the gold medal that Olympics.

[Argoknot]

Another "Great Canadian Moment"

Cliff Thorburn (whom I've had the pleasure to meet) is a household name in the UK (and around the snooker world) because of this. He also was one of the great snooker players and a world champion. This is the snooker equivalent of Don Larson's World Series' perfect game.

If you want to skip some of this forward to 14:40 when the fun really starts to begin. Just a little backstory, fellow Canadian and beloved character Bill Werbeniuk was playing on the adjacent table.

"Ooh, what a moment this is, it is truly electric here" And later, commentator Jack Karnehm utters the greatest line in snooker history "Aww, good luck, mate"

[Argoknot]

A not often seen Canadian sporting moment

People tend to forget the WHA vs USSR series in 1974 (mainly because of the lack of availability of the video). Thankfully, you can see most of it on Youtube.

The tables were turned this time and people expected the Soviets to run over the old timers and never have beens of the WHA. The series was much closer than expected even though the Soviets won 4 lost 1 and tied 3. I often thought that to play the Soviets, pure speed was of the essence, but surprisingly the 46 year old Gordie Howe's game was tailor made for the Russians. Gord's pins were still pretty good.

Superseries 1974 CANADA vs USSR - Game 4 Here are the Canadian goals from one of the best periods a Canadian team would play against the Soviets (1974 Game 4 Vancouver 1st Period)



Gordie Howe scores at (22:55 on Youtube clip) nice
Bobby Hull at 38:40
Bobby Hull at 40:50 nice
Frank Mahovlich at 44:40 nice play by Houle
Bobby Hull at 47:10

On that second Hull goal Tretiak was probably seeing the old Hull trick of rifling one at your head and a few seconds later putting one in the net while you were still distracted by being happy to be alive.

"No wonder, people are telling legends about him. He's got some slap shot! Sometimes, I wasn't even able to see the puck!" Vladislav Tretiak on Bobby Hull

[Argoknot]

72 Summit Series documentary, September 1972. There was another doc that was once available on YouTube that is not available now, I'll have another look around.

[Argo57]

This may not make "The Greatest" list but cool and a great achievement nonetheless

Loved watching Brian Budd sticking it to all those high profile American Pro Athletes!!

[Argoknot]

Budgie stuck it to the world for three straight years, which led to the "Brian Budd Rule" forbidding him from competing for a fourth title.

[Argoknot]

There was another doc that was once available on YouTube that is not available now, I'll have another look around.

Found it!

[Argoknot]

Had it happened perhaps this could have rivalled 72, we'll never know.

The miracle that never was. I will always remember this team as the one that should have delivered the Miracle on Ice that the USA did in 1980. I still remember the fluke length of the ice goal versus Finland that killed the dream. This was the team of kids that initially exposed the Soviets planting doubt in their mind before the Americans were able to complete the job.

Haunted by Ghosts of 1980
Steve Simmons - Toronto Sun Mar 3, 2005

There was no movie made, no anniversary to celebrate, no miracle for them.

Twenty-five years later, they can view reminders of what could have been on the nightly news, rent them from their corner video store, hear about the Miracle On Ice again on radio.

Just not their miracle.

Everyone loves to relive the wondrous upset story of Lake Placid, but the Canadian Olympic hockey team of 1980 left behind a different kind of upset all its own.

"We had the better team. They had the better ending," Lorne Davis, one of the three Canadian coaches, recalled yesterday from Regina.

"We played them eight times before the Olympics, beat them five times. I don't think anybody remembers that.

"Do you?"

People don't remember much of anything about the 1980 team, except they happened to play bystander to history. They don't remember that twisted circumstances -- a fluky flip-shot goal from 100 feet and a rare hockey win by Holland -- pushed Canada to a disastrous sixth-place finish.

"I tell people all the time, I was with the miracle that didn't happen," said Ron Davidson, the crown attorney from Peterborough, who centred a line with Glenn Anderson and Jim Nill at the Olympics.

"For the longest time, I had to distance myself from (Lake Placid). I couldn't even bear to think about it. My picture was on the front page of The Globe and Mail after scoring a goal against the Russians. My parents took steps to buy it but I didn't want that picture. I didn't want any reminders at all."

For a team that went nowhere at the Games, individually the players went somewhere after Lake Placid. In all, 4,070 National Hockey League games were played by the 12 Team Canada members who would play at least one night in the big leagues. There would be 14 Stanley Cup celebrations.

The accomplishments away from the rink were even more impressive.

Davidson became a lawyer; Randy Gregg became a doctor; Stelio Zupancich became a banker. Paul Mac-Lean was a 30- and 40-goal scorer before becoming a successful coach. Anderson, one day, may be able to call himself a Hall of Fame member.

"It was an amazing group," said Nill, now the assistant general manager with the Detroit Red Wings. "Everybody has been successful. We're talking good people here. You don't think about it when you're going through it but you can see it 25 years later. We've had success -- just not the kind anyone talks about."

More than anyone, Bob Dupuis has had to live with the ghost of 1980. He was the goalie -- fresh from senior hockey of all places -- who didn't look to the stands to make eye contact with his father. He was the scapegoat who allowed a flip shot against Finland to deflate Canada's hopes.

"Looking back, and I've looked back a lot, we should have spent more time getting a goaltender," Davis said. "You couldn't really blame Bobby. He played really well for us. He was probably just the wrong guy for the job."

That wasn't the only mistake Team Canada made. Over Christmas, two months before the Olympics, the decision was made to split the team in two. Half went to a pre-Olympic tournament in Lake Placid, the other half went to a tournament overseas. One month before the Games, Team Canada travelled to Japan to play. They never quite recovered from that trip.

"We peaked too early," Davidson said.

"In Japan, Bob (Dupuis) hurt his hand badly. I don't think he made the coaching staff aware of how bad he was hurt. He'd come this close, he didn't want to have it taken from him."

At Lake Placid, the long, slow goal hurt as did a 3-1 lead the Canadians couldn't hold over the famed Russians.



But strangely, other Canadians undid the last chance this team had for a medal, the Canadians who held Dutch passports.

"The way it worked out in the round-robin was, if Poland beats Holland, the way it should have, we go to the medal round. When Poland lost, we were absolutely shocked," Davidson said. "We would have played the Americans and Sweden in the medal around. We had done well against both. Who knows what would have happened if Poland wins that game?"

There are tentative plans for the 1980 Olympic team to get together this summer for a reunion, swap old stories, tell some lies. If only they can find the time and the place.

"There's lots to talk about," Nill said.

So much still unspoken.

---

TEAM CANADA, 1980

GOAL
Bob Dupuis (1), Paul Pageau (1)

DEFENCE
Randy Gregg (474), Tim Watters (741), Terry O'Malley, Warren Anderson, Don Spring (259), Brad Pirie, Joe Grant

FORWARDS
Glenn Anderson (1,129), Paul MacLean (719), Jim Nill (524), Dave Hindmarch (99), Kevin Maxwell (66), John Devaney, Dan D'Alvise, Ken Berry (55), Kevin Primeau, Ron Davidson, Stelio Zupancich

CO-COACHES
Tom Watt, Clare Drake, Lorne Davis

(Number of NHL games played are in brackets.)

[Argoknot]

Thank Canada for legendary game in 1980 Winter Olympics
STEPHEN WHYNO The Canadian Press Feb. 19, 2015

Tom Watt still has a video tape of the “Miracle On Ice,” with his own voice as part of the soundtrack. One of Canada’s coaches during the 1980 Winter Olympics, Watt worked the television broadcast of the legendary game between the United States and Soviet Union after his team didn’t reach the medal round.

Two days earlier, Canada fell just short of a miracle of its own. The Canadians blew a two-goal lead to the Soviet Red Army team late in the second period, and a 6-4 loss marked the end of their run in Lake Placid, N.Y.

Thirty-five years later, the rag-tag Americans are being celebrated for one of the most memorable upsets in sports history on their way to an improbable gold medal, while Canada finished a forgettable sixth.

“We had a better team than [the United States] had,” Watt said this week. “There’s no question in my mind. But, hey, the Olympic Games are all about being right on the right day.”

Back before NHL players took part in the Olympics, Canada’s talent-rich team featured 12 future NHL players, including Glenn Anderson (then 19), captain Randy Gregg, Kevin Primeau, Jim Nill and Paul MacLean. They had a winning record over the U.S. in exhibition play but never got to prove that superiority at the Olympics.

Instead, Watt still laments a 150-foot fluke goal by Finland that ultimately cost Canada a spot in the medal round – he remembers the puck sliding past goaltender Bob Dupuis and will “see it till the day I die.” Loss to the Finns aside, the Canadians had their own chance to beat the Soviets to move on.

Even though Friday marks 35 years to the day of that game, players remember it like it was yesterday. One player’s back spasmed, leading to Alexei Kasatonov’s two-on-one goal with 13 seconds left in the second period that cut Canada’s lead to one.

“Games are decided in the moment on very small things,” said Terry O’Malley, the oldest player on that team at 39.

The “Mighty Red Machine” scored twice more in the first 65 seconds of the third and then twice more after Canada tied it again. As Nill said, “it’s a game that could’ve gone either way.”

“I think that game kind of showed that you know what, boy, these guys, they can be beat,” said Nill, now the general manager of the Dallas Stars.

U.S. captain Mike Eruzione learned a lesson about the Soviets from Canada’s game.

“I thought the Canadians had them on the ropes and let them off,” Eruzione said Wednesday. “In my head, I’m thinking, ‘If we ever had them in that position, we wouldn’t let them off.’”

The U.S. did just that, taking the lead midway through the third period and finishing off the upset to the sound of broadcaster Al Michaels’ call of, “Do you believe in Miracles?”

Gregg is at peace about the defeat 35 years later.

“A loss is never a loss unless you learn something from it, and I think we learned a lot from that,” Gregg said, pointing to the many players who went on to have success in hockey and other fields.

Nill is similarly convinced that things worked out for the best. He surmises that he might not have a job in Dallas today had the “Miracle On Ice” not happened.

“In the end, probably the best thing for hockey was the U.S. team winning, to tell you the truth,” Nill said, referencing the Cold War and struggling American economy. “The NHL was big in Canada, it wasn’t big in the U.S., and I think when the Americans won, these college kids won, hockey, it gave the people in the U.S. something to grab onto.”

Where are they now

Glenn Anderson
Canada’s best player went on to a Hall of Fame career and won the Stanley Cup six times.

Jim Nill
Nill played 524 NHL games. Nill won four Cups as a Detroit executive and is now in his second season as general manager of the Dallas Stars.

Paul MacLean
MacLean played in parts of 11 NHL seasons. He served as an assistant to Mike Babcock in Anaheim and Detroit before coaching the Ottawa Senators. He was fired in December.

Randy Gregg
The captain turned down a deal with the New York Rangers to play at the Olympics. He later won five Cups.

John Devaney
Canada’s second-line centre turned down a minor-league contract with the Oilers to go back to the University of Alberta. He never made the NHL but found success as an accountant.

Tim Watters
The blueliner played 741 NHL games and spent one year as a Bruins assistant coach.

Tom Watt
One of the team’s three coaches, Watt has spent the decades since coaching and managing. He’s now a scout for the Leafs.

Terry O’Malley
O’Malley never made the NHL but is in the IIHF Hall of Fame.

[Will]

The Americans will always have 1980, and why not? The USSR was sending "amateur" players who for all intents and purposes were of NHL quality while the rest of the countries had to send true amateurs. Team Canada was never (to my knowledge) ever able to pull such an upset.

I take solace in the fact though that when Canada and USSR played in 'best-on-best' tournaments that it was typically Team Canada that prevailed.