Flashback 1980: Sox Opener & Bruins vs. Penguins
This past week, I couldn’t help but be drawn back to an April day in 1980 that happened to be the Red Sox home opener. I was a teenager who, in my second year as a Fenway Park vendor and the city was abuzz. It was more than just Opening Day, Celtic’s rookie, Larry Bird was just beginning his legendary ascent as he led the Celtics into a playoff series win against the Houston Rockets and the Bruins were entrenched in a physical, first-round, five game series against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a day I will always remember for not only the sports day it was, but because of the personal experience I had with a professional athlete that day that should be a lesson for athletes of today.
That day I sold Coca Cola in the Fenway bleachers as the Red Sox and Tigers sent their respective aces to the mound.
Pictured: Jim Derochea, circa 1980
Dennis Eckersley went for the Sox and Jack Morris for the Tigers. I remember that Eckersley struggled in the first inning and it look liked the Tigers might put up a crooked number on him when he wriggled out of it. Eckersley pitched well after that but left after a rain delay in the 6th or 7th inning, as the Red Sox went on to prevail, 3-1.
After the game, I jumped on the Green Line (Boston’s MBTA) and scurried across town to meet another friend at the old Boston Garden. (Note: This is the same Green Line that the infamous Rosie Ruiz would use a week later to cheat her way to winning the Women’s Division of the Boston Marathon, before eventually being disqualified.)
What a world, when you could get away with cheating without worrying about Iphone Cameras everywhere!
The Bruins were slated to face the Penguins in a deciding Game 5 in what had developed into a tough, physical series. My friend worked in the press box during games so we had a bird’s eye view for game 5! And what a game it was! The Bruins won a fight filled game, 6-2 as Rick Middleton and rookie, Ray Bourque, led the Bruins offensively. Peter McNabb and Bob Miller had scored early first period goals and the rout was on.
Tempers flared and the third period featured a seemingly endless string of fights. Old-time hockey! At one point, the Penguins Kim Clackson crosschecked Terry O’Reilly in the chops and before O’Reilly could right himself, Clackson brawled him to the ice. After wrestling on the ice, O’Reilly was furious and had to be restrained by several teammates and officials as he tried to get at Clackson again. As another official escorted Clackson toward the penalty box, rookie Ray Bourque came to O’Reilly’s defense and challenged Clackson, eventually pummeling him as he lay on top of him on the ice. If the rookie had not earned his stripes by then, he did that game! Clackson, for his efforts, earned himself a then record-tying eight penalties that night!
What a world, when Felonious Assault is whimsically looked back on, as “Old School Hockey!”
What a sports day! Red Sox Opening Day in the afternoon and a deciding Bruins playoff game that night! But it was about to get better. My friend had arranged to get me into the locker room after the game to meet the players! Holy crap! The Bruins freakin’ locker room!
As we entered, the locker room was electric. The Bruins had just knocked off Pittsburgh in the first round of the playoffs. There were reporters and players all around me and an army of reporters around a player in the corner of the locker room, no doubt, one of tonight’s stars! One by one, I got autographs. First it was homegrown favorite Bob Miller, then rookie Brad McCrimmon. I tracked down Jean Ratelle, Peter McNabb, Gerry Cheevers and Calder Trophy winner (Rookie of the Year), Ray Bourque. Then I moved on to some of my all-time favorite Bruins, Brad Park and Terry O’Reilly. I remember how solid and thick O’Reilly was; yet he was very soft-spoken as he chatted with me while signing an autograph for me. I couldn’t help but notice how torn up his knuckles were, bloody and raw, no doubt from pounding on a few Penguin helmets during numerous fights earlier that night.
Finally, I searched for my favorite player from that team, “Nifty, aka Rick Middleton. But I hadn’t seen him as I made the rounds. Finally, I decided to saunter over to the crowd of 20 or so reporters huddled around a player in the corner of the locker room. As I squeezed into the swarm of reporters, I saw a player sitting there in a blue robe and holding a Budweiser can in his left hand. It was Rick Middleton and he was holding court with a slew of reporters for his outstanding game and series against the Penguins.
I stood there for a few minutes, pen and Game Program in hand, hoping for one more autograph, but finally concluding that I wasn’t about to get close to Middleton. The questions were coming fast and furious. I wasn’t about to interrupt and I couldn’t wait for hours until the seemingly endless questions ceased. Suddenly, Middleton held up his hand as reporters tried to fire another barrage of questions at him. “Hold up,” he said as he gestured toward me and waved me over. A reporter next to me patted me on the back and gently nudged me forward towards Middleton. I slowly approached “Nifty” and he held out his hand to receive the pen and Program from me. I expected him to quickly sign and then resume answering reporter’s questions, but he engaged me in conversation. Nifty asked me if I enjoyed the game and what position I played in hockey. He asked who my favorite players were and how long I had been a Bruins fan for. We chatted for what seemed like 10 minutes at the time, but was in actuality less than a minute. Wow, here I was, standing in front of Rick Middleton, who had halted his post-game interviews, to call me over to chat and sign an autograph! He’d earned a fan for life!
So as I flash back to that night in 1980, Rick Middleton set the bar high for me as far as an athlete’s relationship with fans are concerned. As the Bruins swept away the mighty Pens in the 2013 playoffs, memories flooded in. Memories of that 1980 win against the Pens, the night that solidified my “love” and allegiance for the Bruins and for #16, Rick Middleton!
More of today’s athletes should take a lesson; young fans are impressionable and a little positive interaction can mean a lifetime of allegiance and memories for those fans.
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