RIP Red Wings legend Alex Delvecchio

[maumann]

Died at 93. Along with Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay, part of Detroit's famous "Production Line." Played from 1951 to 1973. One of the greatest players in a Red Wings sweater, let alone all of the NHL. RIP.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alex_Delvecchio
EDIT: Didn't see Jake's post in the hockey thread but thought he deserved his own thread.

 

[Liut]

Let's not forget Sid, now.
Geez, now that I think about it, Sid was Alex's coach for a hell of a long time.

 

[maumann]

Let's not forget Sid, now.
Geez, now that I think about it, Sid was Alex's coach for a hell of a long time.

My grandfather, a lifelong Wings fan (although he was 37 by the time the Victoria Cougars relocated there in 1926), would be especially proud to know he and Grandma are buried in the same cemetery as Sid Abel.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

I saw Alex play when I was a youngster at the Olympia, one of the great Original Six barns. Alex had Gordie Howe at right wing and Frank Mahovlich at left wing. Three time Lady Byng winner

 

[micropolitan guy]

I had Sabres season tickets in 1971-72, their second year. Didn't have to buy a program when Delvecchio and the Wings and the Original 6 came to the Aud, you knew everyone. Not so when the first expansion clubs, and Vancouver, played.

 

[WolvEagle]

Alex was a vastly underrated superstar, simply because he was playing in Gordie's shadow. Plus, he was a class player and person.

The first Red Wings game I attended was on his 40th birthday, so he became my favorite. Of course, 6-year-old me fell asleep during the game. I also got my first two packs of hockey cards at home before the game, which launched a love of collecting sports cards.

Yes, the Olympia was a great place to watch a game - you felt like you were on top of the action.

And, my mother-in-law also is in the same cemetery as Sid Abel. My grandmother-in-law and grandfather-in-law are in the mausoleum.

 

[Ookpik]

RIP.

 

[ChrisLong]

Alex was a vastly underrated superstar, simply because he was playing in Gordie's shadow. Plus, he was a class player and person.

The first Red Wings game I attended was on his 40th birthday, so he became my favorite. Of course, 6-year-old me fell asleep during the game. I also got my first two packs of hockey cards at home before the game, which launched a love of collecting sports cards.

Yes, the Olympia was a great place to watch a game - you felt like you were on top of the action.

And, my mother-in-law also is in the same cemetery as Sid Abel. My grandmother-in-law and grandfather-in-law are in the mausoleum.

As a Kings beat writer (definitely a rookie), I was at a game at the Olympia. The assistant trainer was helping me and told me to make sure my ass was on the bus after the game. I said there might not be enough time to write, so I'd catch a cab. Not here, he said, make sure you're on the bus.

Then, I covered the first game at Joe Louis Arena, which was the All-Star Game. I was kind of a late addition to the media corp and I didn't get into the press box. I had a seat in the stands. One of the guys I was sitting next to said he hated the new arena and he assured me that if the NHL granted an expansion team to Detroit to play at the Olympia, it would immediately outdraw the Red Wings playing at Joe Louis. I was skeptical. Much later, arena security helped direct me back to the Renaissance Hotel, walking out of Joe Louis, into Cobo, then out of Cobo to the hotel.

The capper to this story is the next day the Kings played in Hartford -- they had opened the season against the Whalers but the game was in Springfield because of the roof collapse in Hartford. By midseason, finishing the repairs was day-to-day. It was supposed to be done by the All-Star break. The writers flew to the Windsor Locks and we didn't know if we should go to Springfield or Hartford. We took a guess and went to Hartford. Lucky guess.

 

[Jake from State Farm]

Joe Louis Arena was put together pretty quickly. When they went through the dry run they realized they forgot to put in a press box. They took the last two rows and made it a cramped, makeshift press box.
During the 1997 Stanley Cup run the Wings had a 3 OT game with the Ducks. During the second OT attention in the press box was diverted to the stands about three rows below us, where a local Romeo was entering his girlfriend’s blue paint area

 

[ChrisLong]

Joe Louis Arena was put together pretty quickly. When they went through the dry run they realized they forgot to put in a press box. They took the last two rows and made it a cramped, makeshift press box.
During the 1997 Stanley Cup run the Wings had a 3 OT game with the Ducks. During the second OT attention in the press box was diverted to the stands about three rows below us, where a local Romeo was entering his girlfriend's blue paint area

All these wonderful architects. When the L.A. Forum was built, just before opening, Jack Kent Cooke hosted a group of VIPs on a tour of this magnificent new facility. One of the guests asked where the press box was. Cooke looked at the architect, who shrugged. They didn't have one. They pulled out about 6 rows of seats above the walkway that separated the Loge with the Colonnade, put in an impromptu press area right in the middle of the stands. It was temporary, but they never changed it. It did lend to some interesting byplay between fans and media.

There were no suitable VIP suites, either. Some of the front office people sat there. One game, goalie Mario Lessard lost his stick and gave up a goal. One fan shouted, "Lessard, get off the ice." Irascible Kings GM George Maguire shouted back, "What do you want him to do, stop the puck with his pecker!!" Another time, the final game of the Minnesota North Stars was in L.A. They had already announced they were moving to Dallas. Owner Norm Green was sitting in the last row of the press box. A fan right behind shouted, "Norm Green, I hate your ass" and dumped a full beer on him.

 

[cyclingwriter2]

Anyone ever know if Happy Days ever worked in Al Delvecchio/ Alex Delvecchio jokes into the scripts? Even a “hey Al, this hamburger tastes like a hockey puck.”

 

[Jake from State Farm]

Anyone ever know if Happy Days ever worked in Al Delvecchio/ Alex Delvecchio jokes into the scripts? Even a "hey Al, this hamburger tastes like a hockey puck."

The Detroit athlete who should have had a natural endorsement was Al Kaline but alkaline batteries weren’t a thing then

 

[maumann]

The Detroit athlete who should have had a natural endorsement was Al Kaline but alkaline batteries weren't a thing then

As a kid, I honestly thought the batteries were named after the Tigers' rightfielder. And the top row of the keyboard was WERT, as in Don Wert.

 

[WolvEagle]

As a kid, I honestly thought the batteries were named after the Tigers' rightfielder. And the top row of the keyboard was WERT, as in Don Wert.

As a child, I remember asking my parents why guys like Willie Horton and Mickey Lolich didn't have batteries named after them.

And, the Olympia was in a lousy area of town. At least Joe Louis Arena was and Little Caesars Arena is downtown.

 

[maumann]

As a child, I remember asking my parents why guys like Willie Horton and Mickey Lolich didn't have batteries named after them.

And, the Olympia was in a lousy area of town. At least Joe Louis Arena was and Little Caesars Arena is downtown.

From the house where my mother grew up (near Joy/West Chicago/Grand River) it was only a two-mile streetcar ride down Grand River to the Olympia. Even in the late '50s, my dad said Northwestern High School was a dangerous place for opponents to play -- and he went to Mumford!

My grandparents sold the house he built across Grand River from Nardin Park Methodist just before I was born in late 1958 and moved to Schoolcraft just west of what became the Southfield Expressway, one of the last homes he constructed before he retired. That area of Grand River was severely impacted by the 1967 riots and eventually the house was condemned and is now I-96 runs through what would have been the basement.

I think the last time I was in the old barn was for the Great Lakes Invitational in 1972. I know Dad didn't like us to dilly-dally in that part of town, so I'm certain we scooted out of there rather soon after the final horn. But the loge boxes hung almost over the ice surface, which made for amazing views.