The Day the Blues' Early Years Magic Ended in Boston

[Pink Freud]

It's great to hear the voice of Dan Kelly on CBS's Sunday Game of the Week, setting the stage for Stanley Cup Finals OT, and to see an NHL rink with no ads on the boards or ice, and so few helmets. Boston Garden was so loaded with atmosphere, with the upper bowl hanging right over the ice and a rink only 190 feet long, not NHL-regulation 200.

There is something very chilling here, though, for those of us who saw it live on May 10, 1970: This was the exact moment --- just 40 seconds after OT started at the Gahden --- when the magical first three years of the Blues' franchise ended, starting a long downhill spiral that lasted a decade, bottoming out in the late '70s with half-empty attendance.

Within weeks after this defeat at Boston, Jacques Plante, KO'd in Game One of the Finals, left for Toronto.
Glenn Hall prepared for his final season in '70-'71, backed by Ernie Wakely.
In February 1971 Red Berenson was traded.
The WHA came calling to steal away depth players with shaky contracts for supposed riches and better opportunities.
The enormous maintenance demands of the badly-aging, non-air-conditioned (meaning no summer events to book) St. Louis Arena, which the Salomons spent millions luxuriously renovating for hockey, started stressing their finances.
Huge deferred contracts given to lure some of the team's early veteran stars came due.
Desperate for more revenue, the Salomons in the mid-70s petitioned the City of St. Louis to buy land by the Mounted Police Stables in Forest Park, enabling fans to park there and walk above Hwy. 40 to the game. The City said no, and the Salomons foolishly responded by threatening to move the team out of St. Louis. It never recovered from this PR disaster.

But...it's always nice to harken back to what once was our Xanadu...even if that was the day Charles Foster Kane dropped the snow globe and uttered "Rosebud" (ask your grandparents): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18i2KjVuAs/

[Spyro Gyra]

I miss Dan Kelly.

[seattleblue]

I confess I never heard a take on Blues history that the loss to Orr's Boston began "a long spiral that lasted a decade" since the heights of the Cup final were not as legitimate due to them giving an expansion team a berth in them. A long spiral that lasted a decade implies the franchise doesn't have the best track record in the league for not having long spirals, which I think it does. (Vegas is too recent to count, I am aware of their playoff pct)

I also miss Dan Kelly, I wish we had three more decades of his calls.

[BrummerStealsHome]

I confess I never heard a take on Blues history that the loss to Orr's Boston began "a long spiral that lasted a decade" since the heights of the Cup final were not as legitimate due to them giving an expansion team a berth in them. A long spiral that lasted a decade implies the franchise doesn't have the best track record in the league for not having long spirals, which I think it does. (Vegas is too recent to count, I am aware of their playoff pct)

I also miss Dan Kelly, I wish we had three more decades of his calls.

I think there was a long spiral related to the ownership. I watched a documentary on this a few months ago. The Salomon's bringing the NHL to St. Louis and the Arena was a wonderful thing, but they eventually became bad owners to make a long story short. And then you had Ralston-Purina who injected life and excitement into the franchise, only to almost lose the entire thing to Saskatoon. Still, I think the support from the fan base was good overall through all that, with the expected waxing and waning reflecting on-ice performance.

[DawgDad]

The 70's WAS a long tough decade for the Blues. Good thing this forum wasn't around. For all the deep dysfunction in the 80's the decade produced more good hockey, more star players, and far more historically significant moments on the ice for Blues fans.

[seattleblue]

There would have been some fascinating board years for sure. I would be fascinated to have seen 90-91 go down on the boards due to their 25 point (no loser points either) gain year over year. Then what that trade would have done to this place. Then going down 3-1 to Detroit before roaring back to win in 7. Then losing to one of the worst playoff teams to ever go on a run in the second round. Then the summer shanahanegans. The entire Lou Lamoreillo of it all. I think it would have been just about the wildest board year ever. So on second thought I am just glad I have that purely to memory.

[DawgDad]

There would have been some fascinating board years for sure. I would be fascinated to have seen 90-91 go down on the boards due to their 25 point (no loser points either) gain year over year. Then what that trade would have done to this place. Then going down 3-1 to Detroit before roaring back to win in 7. Then losing to one of the worst playoff teams to ever go on a run in the second round. Then the summer shanahanegans. The entire Lou Lamoreillo of it all. I think it would have been just about the wildest board year ever. So on second thought I am just glad I have that purely to memory.

Heads would have exploded. Heads DID explode!

Our family has a very pleasant memory from encountering Garth Butcher after a Blues practice at the Affton rink, when he invited the whole bunch of suited up mites waiting to practice onto the ice and took a skate with them following behind. Still, that trade, ugh!

For all commotion and consternation Mike Shanahan created one could never question his passionate desire to improve the team.

[seattleblue]

There would have been some fascinating board years for sure. I would be fascinated to have seen 90-91 go down on the boards due to their 25 point (no loser points either) gain year over year. Then what that trade would have done to this place. Then going down 3-1 to Detroit before roaring back to win in 7. Then losing to one of the worst playoff teams to ever go on a run in the second round. Then the summer shanahanegans. The entire Lou Lamoreillo of it all. I think it would have been just about the wildest board year ever. So on second thought I am just glad I have that purely to memory.

Heads would have exploded. Heads DID explode!

Our family has a very pleasant memory from encountering Garth Butcher after a Blues practice at the Affton rink, when he invited the whole bunch of suited up mites waiting to practice onto the ice and took a skate with them following behind. Still, that trade, ugh!

For all commotion and consternation Mike Shanahan created one could never question his passionate desire to improve the team.

Lol I was thinking of the Brendan Shanahanegans and totally forgot about those Mike Shanahanegans!

[Plagers4Ever]

.......

Desperate for more revenue, the Salomons in the mid-70s petitioned the City of St. Louis to buy land by the Mounted Police Stables in Forest Park, enabling fans to park there and walk above Hwy. 40 to the game. The City said no, and the Salomons foolishly responded by threatening to move the team out of St. Louis. It never recovered from this PR disaster.

Well, we ALWAYS parked in Forest Park and used the overpass-walkway above Highway 40. That has always been a key item of my memories of the Blues games in those initial seasons!!!

[Hazelwood72]

It's great to hear the voice of Dan Kelly on CBS's Sunday Game of the Week, setting the stage for Stanley Cup Finals OT, and to see an NHL rink with no ads on the boards or ice, and so few helmets. Boston Garden was so loaded with atmosphere, with the upper bowl hanging right over the ice and a rink only 190 feet long, not NHL-regulation 200.

There is something very chilling here, though, for those of us who saw it live on May 10, 1970: This was the exact moment --- just 40 seconds after OT started at the Gahden --- when the magical first three years of the Blues' franchise ended, starting a long downhill spiral that lasted a decade, bottoming out in the late '70s with half-empty attendance.

Within weeks after this defeat at Boston, Jacques Plante, KO'd in Game One of the Finals, left for Toronto.
Glenn Hall prepared for his final season in '70-'71, backed by Ernie Wakely.
In February 1971 Red Berenson was traded.
The WHA came calling to steal away depth players with shaky contracts for supposed riches and better opportunities.
The enormous maintenance demands of the badly-aging, non-air-conditioned (meaning no summer events to book) St. Louis Arena, which the Salomons spent millions luxuriously renovating for hockey, started stressing their finances.
Huge deferred contracts given to lure some of the team's early veteran stars came due.
Desperate for more revenue, the Salomons in the mid-70s petitioned the City of St. Louis to buy land by the Mounted Police Stables in Forest Park, enabling fans to park there and walk above Hwy. 40 to the game. The City said no, and the Salomons foolishly responded by threatening to move the team out of St. Louis. It never recovered from this PR disaster.

But...it's always nice to harken back to what once was our Xanadu...even if that was the day Charles Foster Kane dropped the snow globe and uttered "Rosebud" (ask your grandparents): https://www.facebook.com/share/v/18i2KjVuAs/

I was at Game 1 of the Finals against Boston in 1970. I was 16 years old. Was an afternoon game. Can’t recall if it was Saturday or Sunday. That was when Fred Stanfield hit Jacques Plante in the forehead with a slap shot. Plante was knocked out cold — thank God he had a mask, but those old flush fitting masks didn’t protect much. You could hear a pin drop in The Arena. Ernie Wakely replaced Plante, but the roof caved in on the Blues & Wakely and we lost 6-1.

Fast forward 49 years. I spent a fortune to go to Game 3 against Boston. Yeah, the same g-d Bruins. Drove all the way from San Antonio where I live now. Blues lost 7-2. Same g-d 5 goal differential. Fortunately the ultimate outcome was much better after Game 7 !!

[TAFKAP]

I confess I never heard a take on Blues history that the loss to Orr's Boston began "a long spiral that lasted a decade" since the heights of the Cup final were not as legitimate due to them giving an expansion team a berth in them. A long spiral that lasted a decade implies the franchise doesn't have the best track record in the league for not having long spirals, which I think it does. (Vegas is too recent to count, I am aware of their playoff pct)

I also miss Dan Kelly, I wish we had three more decades of his calls.

Yeah but it was what led to the "Double Curse". The Expansion Team Makes The Finals Curse, and The Curse Of Scotty Bowman.

Bowman takes the Blues to the Finals in the Inaugural Season and the following 2 seasons without winning. He leaves in 1971 in a dispute. after which the Blues won't make the Conference Finals for another 15 years (1986), then 15 years later (2001), then 15 years after that (2016). In 2018 the Vegas Golden Knights become the second expansion team to make the finals (and lose) in their Inaugural Season. ONE YEAR LATER, the Blues make it to the Second Round, Game 7 against Dallas and Scotty Bowman calls Bobby Plager the night before and tells him he thinks this team can win the whole (bleep) thing. BOOM! Pat Maroon, Lucky 7's game, Finals, Cup, History.........

It all goes back to 1971.

[Pink Freud]

The whole Ralston-Purina involvement started so great...and ended so horribly. Here's why: Ralston CEO Hal Dean was a true St. Louis civic patriot, and he was determined to keep the Blues from being sold to an out-of-town owner when the Salomons had had enough. Ralston slapped the name "Checkerdome" on the beloved ol' barn to reflect Checkerboard Square, its corporate HQ just south of downtown. I'm just relieved they didn't paint that magnificent lamella done in red and white check patterns.

However, Dean retired shortly after, and his successor to the Ralston throne, William Stiritz, was about as fond of Blues hockey as August A. Busch III was of Cardinals baseball: They were just money-losing subsidiaries on a corporate balance sheet. Amazingly, Ralston under Stiritz made virtually no effort to cross-promote Blues hockey with their many consumer grocery brands.

Sadly for the Blues, Stiritz left both the franchise and the building to twist slowly, slowly in the wind, allowing Saskatoon flim-flam man Bill Hunter --- Robert Preston essentially portrayed him in "The Music Man" --- to waltz right in, recognize we had trouble, trouble, trouble with a capital "T" (and that stands for tool) right here in River City, and dang near take them north to the Toon.

During that painful time, Blues exec Emile Francis paid the building's utilities and the salaries of his top scouts Denis Ball and Teddy Hampson out of his own pocket. Blues star Bernie Federko was from Saskatoon, and was asked what he thought of the Blues moving there, replying he had worked his butt off for years to get OUTTA there.

While this was going on, the soccer Steamers were stealing our winter-sport hearts.

[11WSChamps]

I miss Dan Kelly.

I remember driving downtown when KMOX broke in with the news that Kelly had just passed. I had to pull over into a vacant lot. I was overcome with emotion at the news although we all knew it was coming.

Like Buck after him these guys were a fabric of our growing up and being a part of a passion of the sports culture.

They were family.

Yeah miss both those guys.

[Sudsy 11]

I miss Dan Kelly.

I remember driving downtown when KMOX broke in with the news that Kelly had just passed. I had to pull over into a vacant lot. I was overcome with emotion at the news although we all knew it was coming.

Like Buck after him these guys were a fabric of our growing up and being a part of a passion of the sports culture.

They were family.

Yeah miss both those guys.

He is a big part of me being a die hard Blues fan. Fell in love with hockey listening to him on KMOX. Listened to his call of Berenson's 6 goals vs. in Philly many times over the years

[Spyro Gyra]

I miss Dan Kelly.

I remember driving downtown when KMOX broke in with the news that Kelly had just passed. I had to pull over into a vacant lot. I was overcome with emotion at the news although we all knew it was coming.

Like Buck after him these guys were a fabric of our growing up and being a part of a passion of the sports culture.

They were family.

Yeah miss both those guys.

Indeed, I became a Blues fan listening to Kelly in those early years. I too was saddened when I learned he had passed. Blues games were and will never be the same.

[Pink Freud]

The Blues' first season had Jack Buck announcing many games, with Jay Randolph stepping in once Cardinals baseball started, but on that magical night when Ron Schock's Game 7 double-OT midnight goal vs. Minnesota put them into the Finals vs. mighty Montreal, neither Buck nor Randolph was available, so the PBP was called by......wait for it......Gus Kyle (the mind reels), with KMOX Sports Open Line host/Globe-Demagogue Sports Editor Bob Burnes on color.

I went to bed before either the Cardinals or Blues game was over. I woke up to a note from Mom, reading "Blues won. Cardinal's (sic) lost."

Had the Blues not moved on to play Montreal, with Dan Kelly in town for 4 days with the Canadiens for Games 1 & 2 at The Arena, one wonders who Buck (as KMOX Sports Director) would have hired for the Blues job. No way was Jack doing hockey again.