#3 retired for Magnuson and Pilote

I was going to put this on the NHL thread, but what the hell, I figured these guys deserve their own thread for a day. And maybe some people who don't look at the NHL thread frequently would enjoy knowing about this event.

The Chicago Blackhawks will be retiring jersey number 3 on Wednesday night for two players: Pierre Pilote and Keith Magnuson. I can't recall any other instance of a team retiring one number for two players, though I suppose it's happened before.

For you younger SportsJournalists.commers (and non-NHL history dorks)...

Pierre Pilote was a hell of a defenseman (defenceman ) and played for Chicago's last Cup-winning team during the Pleistocene Epoch. A multiple Norris Trophy winner and All-Star, Pilote was a well-rounded player who combined durability, toughness and finesse. Along with Hull, Mikita, Hall and linemate Moose Vasko, Pilote was an outstanding player for some very talented Hawk teams of the 1960s that should have won more than one Stanley Cup, but didn't.
http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?type=Player&mem=P197505&list=ByName#photo
http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=391506

Keith Magnuson wasn't nearly as skilled a defenseman as Pilote. But he was an anchor for the good-but-not-great Chicago teams of the 1970s and was on the Hawks for two Cup Finals (lost to Montreal both times). He may have lost more fights than any player in NHL history. Which isn't to say he was a bad fighter- Magnuson won his share, too, even though he spent much of the 1970s getting the shit beat out of him by the likes of Dave Shultz and other 70s enforcers. Magnuson would drop the gloves if he felt the team needed him to do so. Never dirty, always tough, always ready to do anything for the team. Despite his modest talents, he remains one of the most beloved Hawks ever. He died in 2003 in a car accident...RIP.
http://blackhawks.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=391507

 

The joy of watching Pilote and Elmer Vasko team up to wreak havoc on opposing offensive sorties will not be forgotten.

Vasko was the biggest NHL player of his time, nicknamed "Moose" after Midge's boyfriend in the Archie comics. He was a dead-ringer, even down to the haircut.

 

I remember Moose Vasko being introduced at the first Minnesota North Stars game in 1967. I asked my dad why they were booing him.

 

;D

 

And for old time's sake, here's Magnusson and Cashman going at it:

I doubt there are stats but did Magnusson win half the fights he was in?

Moose Vasko was 6'3", a huge hockey player back in the 60's. Now he'd be normal.

Those were the glory days of the Hawks.

Still, the answer to the forty year old question, "Who was the best left-winger, Hull or Mahovlich?" is still "The Big M".

Sorry, Ben.

 

I was born right before Magnuson came into the league, so I'm relying on the accounts of others here.

But from what I understand, he was just a guy other players generally didn't want to fight- even if they thought they would win. The problem with fighting Magnuson was that he'd just keep coming at you, even if you were kicking his ass, well past the point when a lot of guys would have given up. So even if you won, you'd end up looking like you'd lost. Lots of guys would just rather not fuck with that- which made Magnuson an effective enforcer even though he wasn't the greatest fighter.

 

I still hate Rob Ramage for what he did.

 

Yeah, cuz of all of Magnuson's blood on you, after you kicked his butt. ;D

Grew up with this team: Golden Jet, Stosh, Espo, Whitey, Pit. Magnuson had a hate-love relationship with second-balcony types at Stadium. They loved his mayhem but ragged on him for mistakes, raining down "MAG-nu-son! MAG-nu-son!" from the rafters when he'd take a dumb penalty or fall down at a winger's dekes.

Glad it eventually became love-love, and that his number (shared) is retired. RIP.

 

WI, the Celtics have 18 up there for both Lusky and Cowens, kind of (except that "LUSKY" is in the rafters, too).

 

I thought the 'forty year old question' was who was the better owner: Ballard or Wirtz :-X

 

I was in my early teens in the early 60's and they were probably my second favourite time after the Leafs because of Hull and Hall.

Glenn Hall, at least in my mind, is perhaps the least appreciated goalie of the last fifty years.

This was a guy who INVENTED the butterly style of goaltending, long before Esposito refined it and Roy made it the standard. This was an era when goalies were instructed to "stay up, stay on your feet" and also an era when going down in a butterfly made your kisser vulnerable--this was before goalies wore masks.

He also played in 502 consecutive games, a stat that will never be broken. Not probably never. Never.

One of the greatest achievements in any sport and you can include Ripken,Joe Dimaggio's and maybe even all of Gretzky's.

 

I'd agree on Hall being under appreciated.

Back to the question. Tie, or does this move to a 'who will win the Cup first' discussion?