Brief History Of The Philadelphia Flyers

In the mid 1960s, the national Hockey League decided they needed to expand. They had only six teams and were afraid that a competing league would start up and they did not want that. So, the decision was made to double the number of teams to twelve. Among the teams added was the Philadelphia flyers. This franchise would quickly become one of the most successful expansive teams in hockey or any other sport. Here we will look at some pieces of their interesting story.

All six of the new teams were put into the same division. When the 1967-1968 season ended, Philly was in first place, even though they had a losing record. Their first appearance in the playoffs did not end the way the players or fans had hoped. They lost in the first round to the St. Louis Blues in seven games.

Things did not get better for them right away. The 1969-70 season saw only 17 wins for Philly and no trip to the playoffs. But there was one interesting tradition that came about that year. One night, Lou Schienfield, vice president of the team, played Kate Smith's awe inspiring version of "God Bless America" in lieu of the national anthem before a game. He wanted to do something different to engage the fans who seemed distant before game time. The crowd loved it and it became a tradition that still takes place today. On a number of occasions, Kate Smith was invited to games to perform it live.

The club soon earned themselves a nickname. The Flyers played on Broad Street at the Spectrum. They played a very aggressive, brawling game. People began to refer to them as the Broad Street Bullies. The name caught on and it became their moniker.

Perhaps the nickname proved inspirational as the playoff drought did not last long. In 1974 the Flyer team prevailed over the Bobby Orr led Boston Bruins, as they won the series in six games. In but seven short years an NHL expansion club had won hockey's most cherished prize, the Stanley Cup.

If anyone thought that the 1974 championship was a fluke, they would soon be proven wrong. The Broad Street Bullies were part of the Stanly Cup race just a year later. They faced the New York Rangers in a tough semi-final series and advanced to the next round. The championship series pitted them against the Buffalo Sabres, whom they beat in six games.

Through the years, Flyer teams have included many legendary players. Among them is Bobby Clarke. He started playing in 1969 and skated his way to the NHL Hall of Fame. Clarke was given three MVP awards and is considered to be one of the top 100 players of all time by many experts.

The Philadelphia flyers are known for being one of hockey's most consistent teams. Year after year there they are: in the hunt for a playoff spot. It is pretty likely that on any day during hockey season, if you check the newspaper or a sports website, you are bound to find them at the top or close to the top in the standings.