Miscellaneous
The world of this week's story seems a million miles away from today's NHL.The brand of hockey the Broad Street Buddies introduced to the league soon went the way of the Dodo. The league changed its rule book, introducing penalties for instigation and limiting the potential for bench-clearing. Then, the Scotty Bowman-coached Montreal Canadiens ascended to dominance, ending Philadelphia's supremacy. With the likes of Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer and Larry Robinson, the 70s Canadiens embodied hockey purists' idea of 'the best of the game.' Even Leafs fan had to tip their hats to the Habs' four straight Cup wins.Kate Smith's talismanic potency came to a gradual end around the same time the Flyers' supremacy ended. She couldn't help Philly beat Montreal, and her record fell of considerably after that. In 1987, the team erected a statue of Smith outside The Spectrum. The statue was transported to what is now the Wells Fargo Center when the team moved. But in 2019, controversy around racist sentiment in Smith's 1931 recordings led to the end of her use in sports matches in Philadelphia and elsewhere. The statue was torn down and permanently removed. No one in Philly talks about Kate much anymore.As for Red, after he was fired by Harold Ballard in 1977, he never coached in the NHL again. Instead, he went into business, working as a director on the board of Computer Aircraft Maintenance Programs (CAMP), a company owned by his wife Andra's family. CAMP is where Red would work alongside his daughter, Casey. It's where she got a front row seat to her father's leadership style. And where their relationship transcended that of father-daughter.Nowadays, few talk much about Red's time behind the bench. He is remembered more for his exploits as a player - and rightly so. That is where he truly achieved greatness. But for those Leafs fan who followed the team in the 1970s, the mere mention of 'Pyramid Power' still evokes the hopes and hilarious hi-jinks of the era.If you have any feedback or ideas for future episodes of this show, feel free to contact us directly at paul.matthews@mlse.com or katie@vocalfrystudios.com.