Tag Archives: Hockey History

Boston Bruins History: Bruins Brawl in the Stands

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The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers were bitter rivals in the ‘70s. The rivalry, at times, was just as intense as the rivalry between Boston and Montreal. On the night of December 23, 1979, closing in on the end of the decade, the Rangers hosted the Bruins at Madison Square Garden. They were having a good game, leading the Bruins 3-1 in the third. The Bruins came back, however, scoring three unanswered goals from Terry O’Reilly, Bobby Lalonde, and Stan Jonathan. They won the game 4-3. The comeback and how fast it happened caused a lot of anger. As a result, the fans became especially vocal and threw things onto the ice.

A Physical Game

The teams were physical throughout the night with a few fights and big hits. At the final buzzer Bruins left winger Al Secord tripped Rangers center Ulf Nilsson with his stick and chaos ensued. Nilsson had been badgered all night and this was the tipping point. John Davidson, the Rangers goalie, took issue with Secord and skated across the ice and hit him into the boards, starting a brawl.

Terry O’Reilly climbs into the stands at Madison Square Garden, Dec. 23, 1979.

The Fans Join In

In addition to the fighting, a fan in the New York stands reached over the glass and hit Bruins left winger Stan “Bulldog” Jonathan in the face with a rolled up program, drawing blood. Tempers were flaring and, because of that, more fans reached over the glass and began punching the Bruins. Jonathan raised his stick instinctively and someone in the crowd took it from him. After that, right winger Terry “Taz” O’Reilly climbed over the glass, into the stands, and started fighting the fans. The fans jumped on O’Reilly and one even took off their belt and swung it as a weapon. Eighteen members of the Bruins climbed into the stands to help, and a brawl with the fans was on.

The “Shoe Incident”

Defenseman Mike Milbury was already off the ice and in the locker room, celebrating the win. He noticed the locker room was close to empty. When goalie Gerry Cheevers entered, Milbury asked where everyone was. Cheevers told him about the skirmish, so Milbury went to check it out. He got back to the ice just in time to see O’Reilly go into the stands and get swarmed by fans throwing punches. Milbury skated over and joined the fight to back up his teammate.

John Kaptain, a businessman from New Jersey, ended up shoved into a seat. Mike Milbury took off Kaptain’s shoe and hit him with it, thereby creating the infamous “shoe incident”. Milbury later said, “I wanted to protect (O’Reilly); the team. It was the thing to do… The worst thing I did was throw the shoe on the ice, which I thought was the perfect medicine. And he got a slap on the thigh with his cheap penny loafer.”

Front Page of the New York Daily News, Dec. 24th, 1979.

Aftermath

As a result of the fiasco, the fallout came swiftly. John Kaptain was arrested for disorderly conduct. Terry O’Reilly was suspended eight games and Mike Milbury and Peter McNab were each suspended six for their roles in the brawl. All eighteen players that went into the stands were fined $500. The decision to install higher glass panels at every NHL arena was made almost immediately, therefore similar events were prevented in the future. The Big Bad Bruins lived up to their name countless times throughout the ‘70s. Fighting the New York Rangers and their fans was arguably the quintessential moment of it.

Boston Bruins History: The Kraut Line Part 1

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From 1937 to 1947 one of the most dominant lines in hockey belonged to the Boston Bruins. Left Winger Woody Dumart, Center Milt Schmidt (who’s well known as The Ultimate Bruin), and Right Winger Bobby Bauer made up what was originally named the “Sauerkraut Line” for their German heritage. The nickname was quickly shortened to “The Kraut Line”. The three grew up playing hockey together in Kitchener, Ontario and made their way through the ranks together. By the time they got to the NHL their skills were well known. So was their nickname.

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Dominating the NHL

The trio led the Bruins to two Stanley Cup victories in 1939 and 1941 and went 1, 2, and 3 in NHL scoring during the 1939-40 season. In that 39-40 season Milt Schmidt finished first in the NHL with 52 points. Woody Dumart and Bobby Bauer finished second and third in the NHL with 43 points each. That year Bauer won the Lady Byng Trophy for the NHL’s “Most Gentlemanly Player”, while Schmidt was elected to the First All-Star Team and Bauer and Dumart were elected to the Second All-Star Team.

Milt Schmidt later recollected, “There are several reasons why we had success that year. The three of us roomed together in Brookline, Massachusetts. We had one big room so that we were always together. After practices we discussed things we should work on. After a game we’d say, ‘Well we did this wrong or did that wrong.’ There was no nightlife or anything like that. We really worked at it and I think that had more to do with the success of our line than anything else. To finish one-two-three… I don’t know of any other line that did that before us and we were quite proud of the fact. Hard work. That was it.”

Rivalries Put on Hold

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When World War II started, Schmidt, Dumart, and Bauer joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. They continued playing for the Bruins until it was time for deployment overseas in 1942. On February 10, 1942, the Boston Bruins played against the Montreal Canadiens at the Boston Garden. It’s no secret that the Bruins/Canadiens rivalry is the oldest and bitterest in hockey. That night the Bruins put a beating on Montreal, winning 8-1. But this was no ordinary game. This was the last game The Kraut Line would play before going overseas to fight for the Allies. Accordingly, for the first and only time, the rivalry was put aside. After losing in Boston, the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins together hoisted all three members of The Kraut Line onto their shoulders and skated them around the ice.

Milt Schmidt talked about that night to the Boston Globe’s Kevin Paul Dupont in 2010. “It shows you that out on the ice you’re enemies, but as soon as you’re off the ice, you can be good friends. To be treated like that, Bob, Woody, and I, before going into the service, it’s such a credit to the Canadiens, as players and people.” And with that, The Kraut Line was off to war. Hockey would have to wait.