The Philadelphia Flyers. Broad Street Bullies. Of the 4 major professional sports, the most disliked franchise by the nation (if not a Flyers fan) due to the violence promoted by Fred Shero in the 1970s. Almost 50 years....and the list of thugs and cheap shot (but a few were actually talented) artists is endless (especially for the old timers on the board). Name your most disliked Flyer. Dave Schultz will be named by most of the old generation. Simmonds by the younger folks. For me...Bobby Clarke! Had talent...but used his hockey stick as a weapon...never fought--he let his enforcers do it for him.
OT: Your Most Disliked Philadelphia Flyer
- Thread starter RU old timer
- Start date
Disagree. It's a thread bashing a team - deservedly so - that just happens to be from Philly.
I forgot how much I hated Tocchet.
But the Lindbergh reference is classless.
Ranjizz fans chanted "We want Lindbergh" at MSG after his untimely demise.
Horrible stuff from a nasty fan base.
My avatar is Mad Dog Madison flipping off the visiting fans, you think the "classless" label bothers me? LOL
I'm not old enough to have seen Schultz play, yet I still hate Clarke as both a player and an executive. He was a big spokesman for the rule that restricts the goalies from the playing the puck in the corners when he was facing Brodeur and DiPietro sixteen times a year, but he was all about it when he had Hextall on his team. When I was a kid, Lindros was my least favorite player. Zac Rinaldo is up there too though even though he's not on the team anymore. At least Clarke and Lindros had actual NHL-level hockey skill.
If you take pride in making jokes about a guy who died in a tragic accident, you might as well be a Flyers fan.
No one has mentioned the late Dave Hoyda. He probably ranks number 2 behind Scultz in players on Phila who were hired to fight--and not play hockey. Fortunately the game survived the Shero Era. But it was (and still is) a beautiful game that unfortunately permanently was harmed by the tactics of that regime that the NHL "tolerated" with the "let them play, fight, do whatever they want" attitude at that time.
Yes I am so jealous of a franchise that has won two Stanley Cups in 49 years, the most recent of which being 41 years ago.
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It all started back in the late 60s, when the St Louis Blues, with fighters like the Plager brothers and Noel Picard, physically pummeled the Flyers, leaving them bloody and beaten. At that time, there was no instigator penalty, both fighters would receive equal penalties, no matter who started it (and even if one of the combatants wouldn't even get to throw a punch). Also, there was no third-man-in penalty, which meant several players could gang up on a single opponent. Witnessing his team get both physically pounded and beaten on the scoreboard, Ed Snider, Flyers owner, told his GM to bring in some tough guys. The GM then drafted Schultz, Kelly, Saleski and traded for a tough defenseman named DuPont. That was the start of the "Broad Street Bullies."
And Snider's strategy worked. The Flyers became a winning team and continued to bring in tough guys like Hoyda, Berube, Holmgren, Wilson, Tocchet, Brown, etc. They were especially successful against the Rangers, because Ranger coach Emile Francis felt hockey was a "gentleman's" game and, for the most part, had no enforcers to defend his slick-skating, but physically softer players.
It is interesting to note that the Islanders, fairly new to the league, adopted the Flyers tough-guy strategy (bringing in Gillies, Nystrom, Howatt and others), and using this strategy, became successful -- much more so than the Rangers.
Dumbass, Hextall is still alive. Linberg was killed in the crash of his Porche.
Classy by the way - and totally unexpected. [eyeroll]
You get out of here with your Facts. We're kicking the Flyers dead horse.
- Clarke- I still wine when I think about the slash that broke Kharlamov's ankle in the Russian Summit series in 72.Great but filthy player.
- Schultz- No Ranger fan will forget the pummeling of Dale Rolfe and the lack of help Cat Francis's pacifist team provided in the 74 playoffs.
- Dave Brown- breaking Sandstroms jaw with a blind cross check was brutal
"best NHL team ever"? Really? Wow that's a new one! There have been a slew of better teams starting with the dynasty's at Edmonton and on Long Island, along with the '77 Canadians, a couple of those Red Wing teams and so-on-and-so-forth, that most would put ahead of the back-to-back Flyer Cup teams.
While it is a matter of opinion, there are 2 distinct definitions. Rugged forwards were players like Bob Nystrom, Clark Gillies. Fighters/thugs were those players like Schultz, Berube, Fotiu, Howatt, Domi, Tiger Williams. Snider's philosophy worked in the short-term but turned off many folks---NOT only Rangers and Islanders fans--he outraged the entire league. Montreal loathed how Snider used violence (a combination of fighters and dirty stick-work players) against talent. So did the rest of the league. This was NOT a Phila vs NY issue--never was. It was Phila's "brand" or "style" of hockey--if you can call it a "style" against the rest of the league.
And to be as objective as I can be on the topic (I'm not a NY Ranger or Islander fan...I just enjoy the sport WHEN IT IS WELL PLAYED),,,in my view, Bernie Parent has been underestimated by many (even though he is in the Hall of Fame) and not on the list of the top few goalies of all time largely because the "main act" was the play of the Broad Street Bullies (Bernie was never the lead story).
No one said it was a Flyer/Ranger issue. In fact, the most epic battles were between the Flyers and the Bruins (who also had a slew of tough guys). What Snider did was take advantage of the rules in place and the culture of officiating that allowed the beating of slicker, non-violent skaters without penalty. Yes, he outraged many owners and players, but he also won games and filled arenas. However, this eventually led to stricter rules against violence which were sorely needed.
By the way, The claim that the Flyers are the most hated team in the 4 major sports is ridiculous. They're not even top 10. And by the way, your precious Yankees are easily #1, probably followed by the Cowboys, Lakers, Patriots and Red Sox.
