Maybe you went to see a fight at the Spectrum in the 1970s and a hockey game broke out. The old quip was probably true if you were going to a Philadelphia Flyers game back in their infamous “Broad Street Bullies” era from 1972-78. During that time, the Flyers enjoyed success with two straight Stanley Cup championships, but it was their colorful characters and aggressive, hard-nosed style of play that earned them both adoration and abhorrence.
On Tuesday, May 4 at 10pm ET, HBO (HD) looks back at the notorious Flyers teams of the ’70s in the new documentary Broad Street Bullies. Combining archival footage and interviews with several former players from that time, Broad Street Bullies “explores how a group of characters, who also happened to be an extraordinarily talented collection of hockey players that enjoyed contact on the ice, formed one of the most prominent and controversial teams in pro sports history,” says Ross Greenburg, president of HBO Sports. “We are going to retrace the steps that led to the love affair between the city and the team, and show how to this day these players are revered in Philadelphia and despised elsewhere.”
The Flyers joined the NHL in 1967, but it wasn’t until 1972 that they broke out of their expansion team mediocrity and started pushing around the Original Six. Under head coach Freddie Shero and led by players like Dave “The Hammer” Schultz, Bobby Clarke, Bill Barber, Bernie Parent, Ed Van Impe, Bill Clement, Rick MacLeish, André “Moose” Dupont, Bob Kelly, Joe Watson and Gary Dornhoefer, the Flyers brawled and scrapped their way to win games and win over fans. The Philadelphia fans adored their team, and the Flyers even drew national interest as big crowds came to watch them at opposing arenas. In economically depressed American cities, the players’ blue-collar, hard-fighting mentality resonated with fans.
The Flyers not only menaced NHL teams, but they also practically started an international incident. When the Flyers played the Soviet Union’s Central Red Army team in an exhibition series in 1976, the Soviets left the ice during the first period to protest a hit on one of their players. The Soviets returned to the ice and were beaten 4-1.
The Rap Sheet: Broad Street Bullies 1972-1978
- Stanley Cup Champions: 1974 (4-2 vs. Bruins), 1975 (4-2 vs. Sabres)
- Campbell Conference Champions: 1975, ’76, ’77
- Hockey Hall of Famers: Bernie Parent (1984), Bobby Clarke (1987), Bill Barber (1990)
- Share the NHL record for the longest home winning streak with 20 games in 1976.
- Dave Schultz holds the record for penalty minutes in one season with 472 in 1974-75.
- Reggie Leach shares the NHL record for most goals in one playoff season with 19 in 1976.
