WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.060 Welcome to our deep dive. Today's focus is the 00:00:03.060 --> 00:00:07.299 1953 -54 NHL season, the birth of the Gordie 00:00:07.299 --> 00:00:09.580 Howe hat trick, and original six brawls. Oh, 00:00:09.599 --> 00:00:11.419 it's a good one. It really is. I mean, if you 00:00:11.419 --> 00:00:13.880 are a fan of hockey history, the original six 00:00:13.880 --> 00:00:17.120 era, or honestly just... incredible sports drama, 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:19.579 this is for you. Absolutely. I want you to just 00:00:19.579 --> 00:00:21.019 close your eyes for a second and picture this. 00:00:21.519 --> 00:00:24.039 You're stepping off the freezing winter streets 00:00:24.039 --> 00:00:28.059 into a bustling, smoky arena in the early 1950s. 00:00:28.079 --> 00:00:31.320 You can smell the freshly cut ice. And the cigarette 00:00:31.320 --> 00:00:33.560 smoke. Yeah, exactly. The smoke. You hear the 00:00:33.560 --> 00:00:35.859 roar of the crowd echoing off the rafters. You 00:00:35.859 --> 00:00:38.939 look down at the ice. And there is not a single 00:00:38.939 --> 00:00:41.380 helmet in sight. Not one. Just wool sweaters, 00:00:41.399 --> 00:00:44.280 wooden sticks, and the pure, unadulterated grit 00:00:44.280 --> 00:00:47.649 of the original. era right so we've got a comprehensive 00:00:47.649 --> 00:00:49.969 historical overview of this specific season and 00:00:49.969 --> 00:00:52.969 our mission today is to unpack this intense regular 00:00:52.969 --> 00:00:55.890 season you know extract the most fascinating 00:00:55.890 --> 00:00:58.130 chaotic and foundational moments from this 70 00:00:58.130 --> 00:01:00.630 game campaign we want to show you why this specific 00:01:00.630 --> 00:01:03.270 year shaped modern hockey so okay let's unpack 00:01:03.270 --> 00:01:06.209 this well it really is a phenomenal season to 00:01:06.209 --> 00:01:11.329 examine Because to truly understand this period, 00:01:11.530 --> 00:01:14.189 we have to establish the stakes. Right. This 00:01:14.189 --> 00:01:17.109 isn't just a list of game scores. This is a snapshot 00:01:17.109 --> 00:01:21.209 of a league standing right at a crossroads. It's 00:01:21.209 --> 00:01:24.930 a year defined by brutal physicality, sure, but 00:01:24.930 --> 00:01:28.689 also bitter media feuds, business squabbles over 00:01:28.689 --> 00:01:32.689 amateur players. And this is key, the rise of 00:01:32.689 --> 00:01:35.109 television broadcasting. Yes. Hockey Night in 00:01:35.109 --> 00:01:38.280 Canada. Exactly. It's entering its second season 00:01:38.280 --> 00:01:40.859 on CBC television. You can actually watch selected 00:01:40.859 --> 00:01:44.099 playoff games on TV now. Which is wild to think 00:01:44.099 --> 00:01:45.959 about. They usually join the games in progress, 00:01:46.060 --> 00:01:48.680 but that visual element was bringing the raw 00:01:48.680 --> 00:01:51.180 emotion of the sport right into people's living 00:01:51.180 --> 00:01:53.079 rooms for the very first time. And the emotion 00:01:53.079 --> 00:01:54.819 was definitely raw. I mean, speaking of raw, 00:01:54.879 --> 00:01:56.799 the Gordie Howe hat trick. Any hockey fan today 00:01:56.799 --> 00:01:58.939 knows the phrase. Rate a goal and assist in a 00:01:58.939 --> 00:02:00.799 fight. Right. But looking at the records, this 00:02:00.799 --> 00:02:03.159 is the actual season that birthed it. And the 00:02:03.159 --> 00:02:04.799 craziest part isn't just that he pulled it off 00:02:04.799 --> 00:02:07.120 in one night. It's that he did it twice. Twice 00:02:07.120 --> 00:02:09.539 in one season. Yeah. And both times it was against 00:02:09.539 --> 00:02:12.300 the exact same team. The Toronto Maple Leafs. 00:02:12.300 --> 00:02:14.719 Maple Leafs, yeah. The first time was early on, 00:02:14.800 --> 00:02:18.120 October 11th. He scores. He assists on a goal 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:20.819 by Red Kelly. And then he drops the gloves with 00:02:20.819 --> 00:02:23.500 Toronto's Fernie Flamin. Flamin was tough, too. 00:02:23.659 --> 00:02:26.719 Very tough. Then, fast forward to March 21st. 00:02:26.990 --> 00:02:29.210 He does it all again, scores the opener, sets 00:02:29.210 --> 00:02:31.710 up two goals for Ted Lindsey, and then gets into 00:02:31.710 --> 00:02:34.270 it with Ted Kennedy. Unbelievable. What's fascinating 00:02:34.270 --> 00:02:37.509 here is how that achievement really synthesizes 00:02:37.509 --> 00:02:40.550 the broader culture of the era. Gordie Howell 00:02:40.550 --> 00:02:43.150 wasn't, you know, some fourth line enforcer sent 00:02:43.150 --> 00:02:45.590 out there purely to throw punches. No, not at 00:02:45.590 --> 00:02:47.650 all. He was the most dominant offensive force 00:02:47.650 --> 00:02:50.229 in the sport. Yeah. He led the entire league 00:02:50.229 --> 00:02:53.430 in scoring that season with... 81 points. 81 00:02:53.430 --> 00:02:57.110 points in a 70 -game season. 33 goals, 48 assists, 00:02:57.330 --> 00:03:00.370 and this is in an era where open ice was practically 00:03:00.370 --> 00:03:03.009 non -existent. Yeah, you had to fight for every 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:06.409 inch. Exactly. Alongside that elite skill, he 00:03:06.409 --> 00:03:10.330 racked up 109 penalty minutes. The physical play 00:03:10.330 --> 00:03:12.949 wasn't some separate specialized role back then. 00:03:13.090 --> 00:03:16.120 It was interwoven with the skill game. You physically 00:03:16.120 --> 00:03:19.340 had to fight to protect your space just to have 00:03:19.340 --> 00:03:21.680 the opportunity to score. Precisely. It was pure 00:03:21.680 --> 00:03:25.439 survival of the fittest. But the battles weren't 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:27.240 just happening on the ice. The business side 00:03:27.240 --> 00:03:29.659 of the game was just as fiercely contested. Oh, 00:03:29.680 --> 00:03:32.219 absolutely. I was reading about this major dispute 00:03:32.219 --> 00:03:34.960 between the NHL owners and the Canadian Amateur 00:03:34.960 --> 00:03:38.099 Hockey Association, the CAA. What exactly was 00:03:38.099 --> 00:03:40.360 the NHL trying to pull there? Well, they were 00:03:40.360 --> 00:03:42.580 trying to completely overhaul the player pipeline. 00:03:43.370 --> 00:03:46.050 The NHL owners gave notice that they wanted to 00:03:46.050 --> 00:03:48.409 terminate their professional amateur agreement 00:03:48.409 --> 00:03:51.530 with the CAA. Which is a massive deal. A huge 00:03:51.530 --> 00:03:54.189 deal. Essentially, the NHL teams were pouring 00:03:54.189 --> 00:03:56.909 money into amateur teams to develop talent and 00:03:56.909 --> 00:03:58.569 they felt they weren't getting enough financial 00:03:58.569 --> 00:04:01.710 return or, more importantly, control. Right. 00:04:01.770 --> 00:04:03.569 They wanted to scrap the traditional Memorial 00:04:03.569 --> 00:04:07.069 Cup format and create a totally new national 00:04:07.069 --> 00:04:10.870 junior playoff format exclusively. for teams 00:04:10.870 --> 00:04:12.830 sponsored by the NHL. Wait, but wouldn't that 00:04:12.830 --> 00:04:15.189 completely upend the amateur leagues? They couldn't 00:04:15.189 --> 00:04:17.850 have just accepted that. Not at all. The CAHA 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:20.910 president, W .B. George, fired back with serious 00:04:20.910 --> 00:04:24.589 resistance. He publicly predicted the NHL wouldn't 00:04:24.589 --> 00:04:27.639 last three years without them. Wow. Three years. 00:04:28.040 --> 00:04:30.980 He threatened to end the entire system that allowed 00:04:30.980 --> 00:04:33.759 amateur players to have a three -game tryout 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.379 with a pro team. Which is a massive threat. If 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.399 you cut off the tryouts, you cut off the oxygen 00:04:38.399 --> 00:04:40.980 to the pro teams. Exactly. It's a classic struggle 00:04:40.980 --> 00:04:44.079 for control over the player pipeline. In a six 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:46.540 -team league long before the modern draft existed, 00:04:46.939 --> 00:04:49.759 controlling young talent was the only way to 00:04:49.759 --> 00:04:52.259 build a dynasty. Every player was a vital asset. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:54.360 They eventually reached a tentative agreement 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:57.819 by August of 1953, resuming transfers and adjusting 00:04:57.819 --> 00:05:01.379 profit sharing. But that tension reveals so much. 00:05:01.500 --> 00:05:04.000 The owners were fiercely protective of their 00:05:04.000 --> 00:05:06.120 investments. And that desperation to protect 00:05:06.120 --> 00:05:08.120 their assets makes total sense when you look 00:05:08.120 --> 00:05:09.639 at what was actually happening on the ice. It 00:05:09.639 --> 00:05:11.699 was a bloodbath. These guys were destroying each 00:05:11.699 --> 00:05:14.180 other. OK, I have to ask you to walk us through 00:05:14.180 --> 00:05:16.420 this December 9th game between Montreal and Toronto. 00:05:16.459 --> 00:05:18.500 The penalty minute records are just staggering. 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:21.160 The December 9th game at Maple Leaf Gardens. 00:05:21.790 --> 00:05:23.970 It is legendary. It set a record for the most 00:05:23.970 --> 00:05:26.509 penalties in a single game, but it wasn't a sudden 00:05:26.509 --> 00:05:29.889 explosion. It was a slow boil. It started in 00:05:29.889 --> 00:05:32.810 the first period. Montreal's Eddie Mazur and 00:05:32.810 --> 00:05:35.029 Toronto's George Armstrong get into a fight, 00:05:35.129 --> 00:05:38.870 both tossed with game misconducts. But the real 00:05:38.870 --> 00:05:41.290 catalyst happened early in the second period. 00:05:41.430 --> 00:05:44.430 What happened? Montreal's Bud McPherson viciously 00:05:44.430 --> 00:05:47.430 breaks his stick across the ribs of Toronto's 00:05:47.430 --> 00:05:50.470 Ron Stewart. Ouch. But Stewart didn't retaliate 00:05:50.470 --> 00:05:53.009 right away, did he? He didn't. He waited. And 00:05:53.009 --> 00:05:54.949 that delayed reaction is what made the eventual 00:05:54.949 --> 00:05:57.750 explosion so massive. He filed that broken stick 00:05:57.750 --> 00:06:00.230 away until the third period. I'm biding his time. 00:06:00.370 --> 00:06:03.009 At 18 minutes and 12 seconds, Stewart and McPherson 00:06:03.009 --> 00:06:05.290 collide again. The gloves immediately come off 00:06:05.290 --> 00:06:07.069 and they just start pummeling each other. And 00:06:07.069 --> 00:06:10.230 from there, it just devolves into absolute pandemonium. 00:06:10.529 --> 00:06:12.970 I was looking at the play -by -play. Montreal's 00:06:12.970 --> 00:06:16.430 Tom Johnson rushes in. puts Stewart in a headlock, 00:06:16.569 --> 00:06:19.050 but Stewart manages to clock Johnson on the jaw 00:06:19.050 --> 00:06:21.850 while still tangled up. It's chaos. Then Stewart 00:06:21.850 --> 00:06:24.550 breaks free and goes right back after McPherson, 00:06:24.750 --> 00:06:27.529 who by this point is busy fighting Eric Nestorenko. 00:06:27.709 --> 00:06:30.769 And it doesn't stop there. Yeah. The bench is 00:06:30.769 --> 00:06:33.910 completely empty. Everyone is fighting, even 00:06:33.910 --> 00:06:37.339 the goaltenders. Yes. Jerry McNeil for Montreal 00:06:37.339 --> 00:06:39.620 and Harry Lumley for Toronto skate out and start 00:06:39.620 --> 00:06:42.040 throwing punches at each other. My favorite detail 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:44.879 of this entire bench clearing brawl is what the 00:06:44.879 --> 00:06:47.480 superstars were doing. Oh, Richard and Horton. 00:06:47.600 --> 00:06:50.379 Yes. While goalies are swinging at each other, 00:06:50.600 --> 00:06:53.060 Maurice Richard and Tim Horton apparently just 00:06:53.060 --> 00:06:55.800 grabbed onto each other's sweaters and calmly 00:06:55.800 --> 00:06:59.279 watched the madness unfold. Just two heavyweights 00:06:59.279 --> 00:07:01.379 agreeing to take a front row seat. Just holding 00:07:01.379 --> 00:07:03.779 on like, are you seeing this? It's a hilarious 00:07:03.779 --> 00:07:06.279 mental image. Yeah. But the aftermath was serious. 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:09.600 Referee Frank Udvari handed out 36 penalties, 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:13.420 including 15 misconducts. Unbelievable. It totaled 00:07:13.420 --> 00:07:16.779 a record -breaking 204 penalty minutes. By the 00:07:16.779 --> 00:07:19.220 final two minutes, only eight players from each 00:07:19.220 --> 00:07:20.899 team were even allowed on the ice. The almost 00:07:20.899 --> 00:07:22.699 loss in all of that is the fact that Toronto 00:07:22.699 --> 00:07:25.620 actually won the game 3 -0. A shutout amidst 00:07:25.620 --> 00:07:28.079 the chaos. Here's where it gets really interesting, 00:07:28.220 --> 00:07:31.120 because the violence didn't stay isolated to 00:07:31.120 --> 00:07:33.920 that one night. NHL president Clarence Campbell 00:07:33.920 --> 00:07:36.259 must have been working overtime this season. 00:07:36.399 --> 00:07:38.540 He was incredibly busy handing out discipline. 00:07:38.819 --> 00:07:41.100 The aggression was spilling over everywhere. 00:07:41.319 --> 00:07:45.100 For example, Bernie, boom, boom. Jeffrey to Montreal 00:07:45.100 --> 00:07:47.720 pushed referee Udvari into the boards in November. 00:07:47.980 --> 00:07:51.379 You can't do that. No. That resulted in a $250 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:54.949 fine. Then right before Christmas. Jeffrey and 00:07:54.949 --> 00:07:58.509 Chicago's Ron Murphy got into a terrifying stick 00:07:58.509 --> 00:08:01.149 swinging duel. Right. That was bad. Murphy ended 00:08:01.149 --> 00:08:03.730 up with a broken jaw and Campbell suspended both 00:08:03.730 --> 00:08:06.649 players. And that specific suspension is what 00:08:06.649 --> 00:08:10.050 kicks off this massive media war. Maurice Richard 00:08:10.050 --> 00:08:12.050 was furious that his teammate was suspended. 00:08:12.230 --> 00:08:14.889 So he goes to a newspaper called Semedi Dimanche 00:08:14.889 --> 00:08:17.930 and ghost writes this scathing article. Oh, yeah. 00:08:18.029 --> 00:08:20.889 He completely unloads on Clarence Campbell, outright 00:08:20.889 --> 00:08:23.620 calling him a dictator. And looking purely at 00:08:23.620 --> 00:08:26.060 the historical record, the Lee's retaliation 00:08:26.060 --> 00:08:28.899 was remarkably swift. Campbell forced Richard 00:08:28.899 --> 00:08:33.159 to post a $1 ,000 bond. In 1954, $1 ,000 was 00:08:33.159 --> 00:08:36.200 a massive sum of money. It was huge. And on top 00:08:36.200 --> 00:08:38.580 of that financial penalty, Richard had to promise 00:08:38.580 --> 00:08:41.519 to stop writing articles altogether. Just completely 00:08:41.519 --> 00:08:44.320 silencing your biggest star. It perfectly illustrates 00:08:44.320 --> 00:08:47.080 the intense, highly personal power dynamics. 00:08:47.629 --> 00:08:49.889 The players, the media, the league executives, 00:08:50.029 --> 00:08:51.909 they were all living in each other's pockets 00:08:51.909 --> 00:08:55.629 in this tiny six team ecosystem. So incestuous. 00:08:55.629 --> 00:08:57.789 When a superstar calls the president a dictator 00:08:57.789 --> 00:09:00.570 in the press and the president retaliates by 00:09:00.570 --> 00:09:03.070 effectively gagging him with a financial bond, 00:09:03.269 --> 00:09:05.789 it shows you how concentrated the power was. 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:08.529 Every suspension was a battle in a larger war. 00:09:08.730 --> 00:09:11.669 Exactly. It was a powder keg. Let's look at how 00:09:11.669 --> 00:09:14.549 all this tension actually translated to the standings, 00:09:14.549 --> 00:09:16.470 because you have this incredible tale of two 00:09:16.470 --> 00:09:18.570 entire. Entirely different realities. At the 00:09:18.570 --> 00:09:21.250 top of the mountain, you had the Detroit Red 00:09:21.250 --> 00:09:23.850 Wings. An absolute juggernaut. They finished 00:09:23.850 --> 00:09:26.169 first overall for the sixth consecutive season 00:09:26.169 --> 00:09:28.789 with 88 points. But then at the very bottom, 00:09:28.830 --> 00:09:31.610 you have the Chicago Blackhawks. I need you to 00:09:31.610 --> 00:09:34.370 explain just how abysmal Chicago was this year 00:09:34.370 --> 00:09:36.529 because the numbers are shocking. They were historically 00:09:36.529 --> 00:09:39.909 bad. Chicago finished with a record of 12 wins, 00:09:40.110 --> 00:09:43.870 51 losses, and 7 ties. 12 wins. 31 points total. 00:09:44.240 --> 00:09:47.360 The franchise was struggling so heavily on the 00:09:47.360 --> 00:09:50.100 ice and at the box office that there were persistent 00:09:50.100 --> 00:09:52.320 rumors the team was actually going to fold. Fold 00:09:52.320 --> 00:09:56.000 completely. Yes. It got so bad that Arthur M. 00:09:56.019 --> 00:09:58.440 Wurtz and Clarence Campbell had to issue public 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.639 statements categorically denying that the Blackhawks 00:10:01.639 --> 00:10:04.659 were shutting down. Okay, so keeping that 12 00:10:04.659 --> 00:10:07.500 -win record in mind, how on earth does their 00:10:07.500 --> 00:10:09.919 goaltender, Al Rollins, end up winning the Hart 00:10:09.919 --> 00:10:12.019 Trophy for the league's most valuable player? 00:10:12.279 --> 00:10:14.919 It's a great question. It sounds completely contradictory 00:10:14.919 --> 00:10:18.039 to how we view sports awards today, the MVP from 00:10:18.039 --> 00:10:19.860 the worst team in the league. Well, if we connect 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:22.320 this to the bigger picture, looking at Rollins' 00:10:22.360 --> 00:10:24.919 season really prompts you to rethink what valuable 00:10:24.919 --> 00:10:28.019 actually means. Okay. Rollins played 66 games 00:10:28.019 --> 00:10:30.720 that season. He faced a monumental amount of 00:10:30.720 --> 00:10:33.620 rubber behind a defense that was completely overmatched 00:10:33.620 --> 00:10:36.120 every single night. His goals against average 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:39.470 was 3 .23. Which just doesn't sound great. Right. 00:10:39.529 --> 00:10:41.509 If you compare that to Montreal's Jacques Plant, 00:10:41.750 --> 00:10:45.110 who had a 1 .59, it doesn't look elite. It looks 00:10:45.110 --> 00:10:47.250 average at best. But you have to consider the 00:10:47.250 --> 00:10:49.909 context of the team in front of him. Rollins 00:10:49.909 --> 00:10:52.549 kept a terrible team from being a complete historic 00:10:52.549 --> 00:10:56.169 disaster. Ah, I see. The voters recognize that 00:10:56.169 --> 00:10:59.210 pure value to a team doesn't always equate to 00:10:59.210 --> 00:11:02.389 leading them to a championship. Sometimes value 00:11:02.389 --> 00:11:04.169 is just keeping the ship from sinking to the 00:11:04.169 --> 00:11:06.210 bottom of the ocean when there's a giant hole 00:11:06.210 --> 00:11:08.990 in the hull. He was the only thing standing between 00:11:08.990 --> 00:11:12.889 Chicago and total humiliation. Precisely. That 00:11:12.889 --> 00:11:15.629 is a really great perspective. And speaking of 00:11:15.629 --> 00:11:18.190 major awards, we also saw a massive historical 00:11:18.190 --> 00:11:21.950 milestone this year with the debut of the James 00:11:21.950 --> 00:11:24.529 Norris Memorial Trophy. Awarded to the league's 00:11:24.529 --> 00:11:27.190 best defenseman. Right. Named in honor of the 00:11:27.190 --> 00:11:29.970 former Detroit Red Wings owner, James E. Norris, 00:11:29.970 --> 00:11:31.870 who had passed away. away two years prior and 00:11:31.870 --> 00:11:34.629 the inaugural winner was detroit's own red kelly 00:11:34.629 --> 00:11:37.309 he had an unbelievable year he didn't just win 00:11:37.309 --> 00:11:39.470 the norris either he also took home the lady 00:11:39.470 --> 00:11:42.299 being memorial trophy for sportsmanship cementing 00:11:42.299 --> 00:11:45.580 his legacy. And those individual accolades for 00:11:45.580 --> 00:11:48.679 Detroit were really just a preview of their ultimate 00:11:48.679 --> 00:11:51.460 team success. They were a powerhouse. As we move 00:11:51.460 --> 00:11:53.960 into the playoffs, the disparity between the 00:11:53.960 --> 00:11:56.519 top teams and the bottom teams becomes glaringly 00:11:56.519 --> 00:12:00.059 obvious. Montreal faced Boston in the semifinals, 00:12:00.179 --> 00:12:02.559 and it wasn't exactly a nail -biter. It was a 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:05.960 demolition. Montreal swept the Bruins four games 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:09.500 to zero. Wow. Boston only managed to score four 00:12:09.500 --> 00:12:12.299 goals in the entire series. Their offense just 00:12:12.299 --> 00:12:14.720 completely vanished against Montreal's defense. 00:12:15.059 --> 00:12:17.200 Which actually marks a massive turning point 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:18.840 in hockey history, right? Because immediately 00:12:18.840 --> 00:12:21.259 after that sweep, Boston's legendary general 00:12:21.259 --> 00:12:23.620 manager, Art Ross, announces his retirement. 00:12:23.980 --> 00:12:26.460 Exactly. Art Ross had managed the Bruins since 00:12:26.460 --> 00:12:28.799 the very day they entered the NHL. That's incredible. 00:12:29.080 --> 00:12:30.799 He was a foundational pillar of the franchise 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:33.600 and the league itself. So for his career to end 00:12:33.600 --> 00:12:36.320 on a quiet four -game sweep was a somber moment. 00:12:36.730 --> 00:12:39.190 It handed the reins over to Lynn Patrick and 00:12:39.190 --> 00:12:42.350 truly signaled the end of an era in Boston. Meanwhile, 00:12:42.450 --> 00:12:44.470 over in the other summer final, Detroit had to 00:12:44.470 --> 00:12:46.730 grind it out against the Toronto Maple Leafs. 00:12:46.730 --> 00:12:48.769 That was a much tighter series. Yeah. Detroit 00:12:48.769 --> 00:12:51.450 wins the first two, but Toronto fights back to 00:12:51.450 --> 00:12:54.110 take game three. Detroit responds in game four, 00:12:54.129 --> 00:12:56.029 and then they finally put the series away in 00:12:56.029 --> 00:12:58.909 game five. But it took double overtime, with 00:12:58.909 --> 00:13:01.009 Ted Lindsey scoring the series winner. Which 00:13:01.009 --> 00:13:03.669 sets up the exact clash of the titans everyone 00:13:03.669 --> 00:13:06.870 was waiting for. First place Detroit Red Wings 00:13:06.870 --> 00:13:09.710 versus second place Montreal Canadiens in the 00:13:09.710 --> 00:13:12.090 Stanley Cup Finals. I want to spend some time 00:13:12.090 --> 00:13:14.549 on this final series because it is everything 00:13:14.549 --> 00:13:16.809 you could possibly hope for in a championship 00:13:16.809 --> 00:13:19.490 matchup. Yeah, everything. It's a brutal back 00:13:19.490 --> 00:13:21.889 -and -forth affair. Detroit comes out strong 00:13:21.889 --> 00:13:24.250 and takes a commanding three games to one lead. 00:13:24.450 --> 00:13:27.389 They push Montreal right to the brink of elimination. 00:13:27.929 --> 00:13:30.049 But you can never count out the Canadians. Never. 00:13:30.309 --> 00:13:33.409 Facing elimination in Game 5, Montreal fights 00:13:33.409 --> 00:13:36.169 back with a desperate performance. The game goes 00:13:36.169 --> 00:13:38.929 into overtime, and Ken Mosdell scores the winner 00:13:38.929 --> 00:13:41.110 to keep Montreal alive, shutting out Detroit 00:13:41.110 --> 00:13:43.929 1 -0. And then Montreal carries that momentum 00:13:43.929 --> 00:13:47.549 right into Game 6, winning decisively 4 -1. Which 00:13:47.549 --> 00:13:50.470 means this grueling, violent, chaotic season 00:13:50.470 --> 00:13:54.690 all comes down to a game seven. April 16th, 1954 00:13:54.690 --> 00:13:57.909 at the Olympia Stadium in Detroit. Paint the 00:13:57.909 --> 00:14:00.149 picture of that final game for us. The tension 00:14:00.149 --> 00:14:02.909 in that building was suffocating. Montreal strikes 00:14:02.909 --> 00:14:05.409 first in the opening period with a goal by Floyd 00:14:05.409 --> 00:14:08.129 Curry. The crowd must have been stunned. Completely 00:14:08.129 --> 00:14:11.669 silent. But Detroit regroups and early in the 00:14:11.669 --> 00:14:14.269 second period, Red Kelly, your newly crowned 00:14:14.269 --> 00:14:16.980 Norris Trophy winner. scores a power play goal 00:14:16.980 --> 00:14:19.460 to tie the game. Stepping up when it matters 00:14:19.460 --> 00:14:23.000 most. Exactly. And then nobody can score in the 00:14:23.000 --> 00:14:25.320 third period. The goaltenders just lock it down. 00:14:25.379 --> 00:14:27.860 They absolutely shut the door. So Game 7 of the 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:30.379 Stanley Cup Finals goes to sudden death overtime. 00:14:30.940 --> 00:14:33.059 Just imagine the exhaustion of these players. 00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:35.100 They've been beating each other up since October. 00:14:35.480 --> 00:14:38.360 They were running on pure adrenaline. Just over 00:14:38.360 --> 00:14:40.720 four minutes into the extra frame, Detroit's 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:43.440 Tony Leswick throws a puck toward the net. Yeah. 00:14:43.639 --> 00:14:45.820 It deflects off Montreal defenseman Doug Harvey 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:48.399 and finds its way into the back of the net. Oh, 00:14:48.399 --> 00:14:51.679 man. What a way to end it. Detroit wins the game 00:14:51.679 --> 00:14:54.860 2 -1, securing the Red Wings' sixth championship 00:14:54.860 --> 00:14:57.820 in franchise history. What an unbelievable climax. 00:14:58.000 --> 00:15:01.019 So what does this all mean? Why should you, listening 00:15:01.019 --> 00:15:03.639 to this today, care about a hockey season from 00:15:03.639 --> 00:15:06.450 over 70 years ago? It's a fair question. Well, 00:15:06.470 --> 00:15:08.730 because it wasn't just a random series of games. 00:15:09.129 --> 00:15:12.009 This specific season was the crucible that forged 00:15:12.009 --> 00:15:14.860 the modern identity of the sport. Every time 00:15:14.860 --> 00:15:17.600 you debate who should win the Norris Trophy today, 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.039 you are participating in a tradition that started 00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:22.940 right here. Every time a player gets a goal, 00:15:23.100 --> 00:15:25.519 an assist, and a fight, and you hear the announcer 00:15:25.519 --> 00:15:27.840 scream out that they've recorded a Gordie Howe 00:15:27.840 --> 00:15:30.779 hat trick, the echoes of this season are ringing 00:15:30.779 --> 00:15:33.759 out. It's woven into the DNA of the game. Exactly. 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:36.360 From the intense labor disputes that shape the 00:15:36.360 --> 00:15:39.000 modern draft, to the beginnings of television 00:15:39.000 --> 00:15:41.120 broadcasts bringing the sport into our living 00:15:41.120 --> 00:15:44.990 rooms, the echoes of 1953 are still felt every 00:15:44.990 --> 00:15:47.129 time you watch a game today? You know, this raises 00:15:47.129 --> 00:15:49.090 an important question. What's that? Looking back 00:15:49.090 --> 00:15:52.509 at the 1950s, the raw, violent emotion of the 00:15:52.509 --> 00:15:55.529 game was incredibly transparent. The bench -clearing 00:15:55.529 --> 00:15:57.850 brawls where goalies are swinging at each other, 00:15:57.950 --> 00:16:01.129 the delayed retaliation with broken sticks, players 00:16:01.129 --> 00:16:03.750 literally calling the league president a dictator 00:16:03.750 --> 00:16:06.129 in a newspaper. It was all out in the open. It 00:16:06.129 --> 00:16:09.320 was. Today, modern sports leagues spend billions 00:16:09.320 --> 00:16:11.779 of dollars sanitizing their image, controlling 00:16:11.779 --> 00:16:14.480 the narrative, and presenting a flawless, highly 00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:17.820 produced product. Very true. As a fan, when you 00:16:17.820 --> 00:16:20.620 look back at the sheer, unbridled chaos of the 00:16:20.620 --> 00:16:25.090 1953 -54 season, you have to ask yourself. In 00:16:25.090 --> 00:16:27.309 our modern quest for a perfectly polished sports 00:16:27.309 --> 00:16:31.070 experience, have we lost the raw, unscripted 00:16:31.070 --> 00:16:33.070 human drama that made us fall in love with the 00:16:33.070 --> 00:16:35.149 game in the first place? That is a fascinating 00:16:35.149 --> 00:16:36.889 thought. It's certainly something for you to 00:16:36.889 --> 00:16:38.629 chew on the next time you tune into a heavily 00:16:38.629 --> 00:16:41.309 commercialized broadcast. Beautifully said. The 00:16:41.309 --> 00:16:44.009 drama back then was as real as it gets. Thank 00:16:44.009 --> 00:16:45.730 you for taking this journey back in time with 00:16:45.730 --> 00:16:47.929 us, right into the heart of the original Six 00:16:47.929 --> 00:16:50.610 Era. Until next time, keep diving deep.