The good ol’ hockey game.
This is belated, but I wanted to recognize the passing of all-time Blackhawks great Pierre Pilote, who died on September 9, 2017 at age 85. Pilote was a top defenseman in his day and in the history of the National Hockey League. He started his career as a center. Although he switched to defense, he used his skating prowess to become one of the all-time top scoring defensemen with 498 points (418 assists, 80 goals). He played for the Blackhawks from 1956-1968 and then finished his career with one year in Toronto. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall Of Fame in 1975.
When I was a kid, I grew up on the West Side of Chicago, about 6 miles from the now defunct Chicago Stadium and the current United Center. My dad patronized an auto mechanic who had a shop on the West Side. He was also the mechanic that most of the Blackhawks used. One day, my dad stopped by the auto shop and left me sitting in the car in the alley while he went in to briefly speak with the owner. Less than a minute later, he came out to the car and said, “Come on in the shop. You need to meet someone.” When I walked in, there was Pierre Pilote, casually sitting back in an old desk chair, just hanging out and shooting the breeze with the shop owner. I don’t remember what I said to him or what he said to me but I have a distinct memory of the smile on his face as he greeted me.
Pilote was one of the great Blackhawks from the 1960’s that was alienated by former owner “Dollar Bill” Wirtz. After Wirtz died, his son Rocky took over the team and turned it into what is now arguably the best and classiest team in the NHL. Upon gaining control of the team, he immediately reached out to former Blackhawks greats Pilote, Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Tony Espositio and made them all Blackhawks ambassadors (along with Denis Savard). This allowed me another thrill as prior to the Stadium Series game at Soldier Field on March 1, 2014 (Blackhawks beating Pittsburgh 5-1), I met Tony Esposito and Rocky Wirtz at a hospitality tent. While Tony was inside the tent, Rocky stood outside the tent in a heavy snowfall and a temperature of 15 degrees, greeting and shaking hands with every Blackhawks fan as they approached the entrance of the tent.
Pilote shared a jersey number with another great Blackhawks defenseman, Keith Magnuson who died in an auto accident in 2003. Their #3 hangs from the rafters in the United Center. (Ambassadors photo L-R: Esposito, Pilote, Hull, Savard, Mikita. The photo above the team photo is from the Soldier Field game on March 1, 2014.)
Getting ready for a win. Go Blackhawks!
Finally getting to my first Blackhawks game of the season this evening as they take on the Carolina Hurricanes at that UC. So I’m kicking off the weekend with every Blackhawks fan’s favorite song, Chelsea Dagger. Here’s hoping I hear that song often tonight!
Good time last night with the family at the good ol’ hockey game!
Blackhawks clinch a playoff birth with a 3-1 win over Vancouver. Goals by Teravainen, Toews and Kruger and 35 saves by Crawford.