The Blues Hall of Fame
by gallagher on Jan 16, 2009 4:14 PM CST
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Print[This story originally appeared in the Jan. 15 issue of St. Louis Game Time.]
By Chris Gift
In a little over two weeks, during Super Bowl Week, the NFL will announce the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2009.
Monday afternoon, it was announced that Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Every October, the Hockey Hall of Fame welcomes their annual class of four. This year's was Glenn Anderson, Ed Chynoweth, Igor Larionov, and Ray Scapinello.
How about a St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame?
Bernie Federko is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but does he make our list for the first inductees into the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame?
Before you look up to the rafters and say "Well, it is fairly obvious that Dan Kelly, Bob Plager, Doug Wickenheiser, and the six players who have had their numbers retired would be in the Blues Hall of Fame," think about it for a minute.
While the retirement of a number is an honor to be proud of, quasi-immortality and a way of being remembered for years, it isn't the ultimate honor for a player. Being a Hall of Famer is.
Honored and Inducted aren't the same.
Say what you want about his skills in the broadcast booth, Bernie Federko is a HoFer. Many times, Pat Parris has thrown it from FSN's studio to the broadcast booth by saying something along the lines of "The broadcast is next, with John Kelly and Hall of Famer, Bernie Federko."
"The broadcast is next, with John Kelly and number retiree Bernie Federko," doesn't quite have the same zip to it, does it?
I'll bet of the farmland around Viking, Alberta that Brian Sutter would have had Brendan Shanahan wear his retired No. 11 (the number Shanny wore in New Jersey before he came to St. Louis) when he came here if it meant that he would be elected to the Hall.
So let's figure out a First Class for the Blues Hall of Fame. In using the term "First Class" I also want to indicate a double meaning.
Players, and coaches; executives, owners and broadcasters, all are eligible for induction. The only qualification for induction is that the following statement must be true: "If not for (blank), the St. Louis Blues wouldn't have been what they were when that person was here, and they wouldn't be what they are today."
Like flying in the comfortable seats in the front of the plane, like being sent through the postal system faster than everything else, and like service at a five-star restaurant, this First Class should be special.
To wit: The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (yes, that's the official name) welcomed its First Class in 1936. And, yes, I know this is a hockey newspaper, but remember, just a few blocks due east of here St. Louis is building a Ballpark Village, not a Hockey Rink Township where the Kiel Opera House is. The five players inducted in 1936 need no descriptions or team affiliations or credentials mentioned. Those who know sports, not just baseball, know them by name and know, without question, that they belong. Ty Cobb, Walter Johnson, Christy Mathewson, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner. No further explanation needed, no verb in that sentence required.
Also remember, Halls of Fame aren't supposed to open their doors for just anybody.
The Hockey Hall's annual foursome keeps a tremendous deal of exclusivity to it. Tom Barrasso, Guy Carbonneau, Dino Ciccarelli, Ken Daneyko, Doug Gilmour, Ron Hextall, Brett Hull, Brian Leetch, Mike Liut, Kevin Lowe, Adam Oates, Luc Robitaille, Pat Verbeek, Mike Vernon, and Steve Yzerman are all HoF eligible in 2009. And those are just 15 of the 67 names on the list. Go ahead, pick just four of them. OK, let's make it easier; assume that Hull and Stevie Y are locks. Now pick two more. Not so easy, is it?
With apologies to the Gassoff family, being dead doesn't mean you're in necessarily. Bob Gassoff's death was a tragedy, and Gassoff should never be forgotten, but he's not a Blues HoFer.
With all due love and respect, Gassoff doesn't make the cut.
A pit stop in St. Louis during a Hall of Fame worthy career doesn't automatically make a player a Blues Hall of Famer. To Scotty Bowman, Al Arbour, Scott Stevens, Brendan Shanahan, Rod Brind'Amour, Grant Fuhr, Glenn Anderson, and Wayne Gretzky, with sincerest apologies, you're not locks to be Blues' Hall of Famers. The Blues may have launched your careers, or the Blues may have been a stopping point along your trail, but when all is said and done, others are more worthy.
I'm not so sold on the number being set at four. It is too easy to make it sound like the Mount Rushmore crap that so many people want to name.
Who is on your Mount Rushmore of coaches? What about your Mount Rushmore of saxophone players? How about your Mount Rushmore of people that annoy the hell out of you at Blues games? Well, that one is easy...towelboy, Louie, and the collective groups of people that get up during play, and the parents of kids that kick the backs of seats and don't tell their kids to stop.
Anyway. Let's settle on the number of six. Six players on the ice at even strength, the Blues were one of six expansion teams, Red Berenson scored six goals in a game, the Blues have advanced to the Conference Finals six times in team history, and the franchise's best player for the next decade, Erik Johnson, wears No. 6.
Six it is.
In alphabetical order, my votes for the First Class of the St. Louis Blues Hall of Fame are:
Ron Caron, Bernie Federko, Brett Hull, Harry Ornest, Barclay Plager, and Brian Sutter.
Yes, Harry Ornest. Absolutely, and without question. If not for Harry Ornest, the St. Louis Blues wouldn't be what they are today.
I considered Gordon Berenson, Mike Liut, Joel Quenneville and Gary Unger, but they didn't have the impact on the franchise that the first six did.
We know that you have an opinion about this. Go to our website (if you haven't figured out the address yet, you've have real problems) and give us your six.
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Yer missin' the boat by not naming Gassoff, Gifter...
…I don’t know if you’re old enough to really remember his impact on the team when he first came up, but I am, and I do.
Bob Gassoff made the Blues feared around the league.
I gots to commend ya on your selection of harry Ornest, though… you’re absolutely right in saying that without Harry Ornest, the Blues wouldn’t be what they are today. Without Harry Ornest, there wouldn’t be any St. Louis Blues today.
B.
"If we do not prepare for ourselves the role of the hammer, there will be nothing left but that of the anvil."
-- Otto von Bismarck, 1851
http://www.tomorrowsblues.net
by Tomorrows Blues on Jan 16, 2009 4:23 PM CST reply actions
My six,
Barc The Spark – No doubt here. More guts and tenacity then any player I’ve watched in 50 years. 2 Blues stand head and shoulders above the rest from the 60s and early 70s and it was Barc and Glenn Hall. Those were the two you talked about endlessly after the games. The great stacked pad save that sealed the win or the awesome rush or fight from Barc.
Bernie Federko – Has the numbers, the work effort and the fans to back up a Blues HOF nomination. Playmaker of the finest quaility.
Brett Hull – He came a long way for a Blues HOF selection. I was in the service on leave in STL the first time I saw him. Everyone made sure to remind me Hullie was the show. Had that Gretzky like ability to find seams and score at will. Goalie’s nightmare.
Scotty Bowman – To take a new team full of cast offs to the cup right out of the gate is a something. To almost win the cup is beyond imagination. Miracle On Ice kind of stuff. To do it several years in a row is just wow. That’s how close we came those early years. Plager’s book describes how Scotty motivated the Blues, freakin master of motivation.
Glenn Hall – He was the stopper that got the Blues on the map. So many times I can vision in my head someone breaking down a wing and you had no fear, Hall would stack the pads and stone the poor SOB. He left many forwards just shaking their heads. When Hall was in goal we just have this confidence ozzing out and your could see it in the players too. Huger than Rosie O’porkchops caboose.
For 6th I want Brian Sutter, Geoff Courtnall, Grant Fuhr or Joey Mullen but do realize the front office is also deserving for a Blues HOF member. Harry Ornest? He did save the Blues but man was he tight with the cash. Plager talks about how they scrimped and the pennies they worked for in his book. Ron Caron seems to jump out more for me as my 6th pick from the head office personnel. The trades and folks he brought in make him stand out.
Honorable mention – The Blues first organist. Can’t think of his name. Dude had the barn rocking every night. He set the atmosphere and made those long waits in the pisser lines bearable. I ever snuck a seat at my sister’s organ to learn how to knock out some “Saints Come Marching In”.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
Your six are pretty good...
but I’m taking out Ornest and replacing him with Sid Salomon, Jr…he is TRULY someone who you can say, “if it weren’t for him, there would be no Blues”…not only was he the Blues first owner, but he was probably the first owner to treat the players decently, in a league that was known for treating the hired help like so much serfdom.
I would also like to reserve a place for Emile Francis, maybe not in the first six, but those of us who have followed this team for a long time, know what Mr. Francis meant to the Blues in the dark days before Ornest rescued them…he kept this franchise operating when there was literally no one available to help him…he was truly the chief cook and bottlewasher for the Blues in the early to mid 80’s.
Dayum, how could I forget the Cat and Sid Solomon. Both bled Blue and kept the Blues ship sailing a true course.
For my 6th pick I’m going with Sid Solomon Jr. He put a fresh coat of paint on the ole barn, got rid of those huge freakin rats and made the Blues a social event and talk of the town. Thank you Sid.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
Keep them coming
These are great. Who knows, maybe we can actually do something with this. Have a class of six every season around the all-star game. Since I’m in my early 30s, I’m not going to have the first hand knowledge of the first generation of Blues that some will.
The only problem I have with Bowman is, frankly, somebody had to represent the Western Conference in those years. Had the Blues not gone 0 for 12 in those three series, and had Bowman stayed around longer, maybe, but for a “first class.” No.
I was going to say the Solomons, but you have to remember, the Blues are around because Chicago’s James Norris (he of the Norris Trophy and Norris Division) wanted a tenant for the Arena, which he owned at the time.
You gotta watch all of those early cup games before you toss Scotty aside. Most of those games we were close and this was against primo teams like the Bruins, Habs. The Blues lost 4 one goal games to the rested Canadians after getting the crap beat out of them in TWO 7 game series earlier.
It was Scotty Bowman who convinced future Hall of Fame forward Dickie Moore to make a comeback. Moore quickly became the team leader.
Bowman became general manager in 1968 and pulled off some good trades for the note until Sid Da Turd showed up in 1971 to send the team into chaos.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
I'm surprised
Nobody has mentioned Garry Unger. I mean I don’t think he was necessarily always a game-changing player, but he certainly was someone who roused some excitement after our favorite cowboy got traded away to the Detroit “fucking” Red Wings.
I cannot tolerate the snubbing of Unger
He is in the first six. Ironman. The original Blues “Golden Boy”. Scoring machine for his era. Had the balls to wear Berenson’s “7” immediately after being acquired (unlike every pantywaste that came after Hull who refused to wear “16” for a decade until it was finally retired).
Dude got screwed by his coach in Atlanta. I can’t let his bid for the SLGT HoF go down without a fight!
Let's go Blues!!!
I just can’t get the image of goalie Billy Smith beating Unger’s azz at center ice out of my head. You get your but whooped by a goalie, even if the goalie is certifiable, it’s a major markdown in my book. I’m still looking for the pic of the fight, can’t remember where I saw it but if anyone knows please speak up.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
Great topic.
1. Brett Hull – No question. The man built the Scottrade Center, scored 86 goals in a season, and called Mike Modano “light in the loafers.” End of discussion.
2. Bernie Federko – Definitely not going into the Blues Hall of Fame as a broadcaster, but his on-ice stats speak for themselves. Now can someone please explain to him what a trapezoid is and tell him to stop yelling at me?
3. Sid Solomon, Jr. – The man who built the Blues and bought the barn. The way he approached his job, his players, and his fans made the Blues a first-class organ-I-zation. Also, he chose the name “Blues” over the previous top candidates: “Apollos” and “Mercuries”. I mean a big pantsless blue bear dressed like a Greek god would just be ridiculous…right?
4. Barclay Plager – His skill aside, he embodied the hard-working, blue-collar ethic that was the hallmark of the Blues from day one. No one took more pride in being a Blue, and Scotty Bowman called him pound-for-pound the hardest hitter in the game.
5. Ken Wilson – I’ll probably take some heat for this one. This is more of a personal pick, and maybe Wilson doesn’t belong in the “First Class”, but as someone who grew up watching hockey in the late 80s-early 90s, nearly all of my favorite hockey memories involve Ken Wilson. While not as popular with the Blues organization as Dan Kelly, to me Blues hockey just isn’t the same without Wilson behind the mic.
I don't mind Ken Wilson as much as some people...
but if you are going to put in any broadcasters, nobody goes in before Dan Kelly, IMO…he was the best hockey announcer I ever heard, in a sport that is filled with great and legendary ones…he and Gus Kyle made an amazing duo back in the day.
Wilson? You’re kidding right? Oh baby, let me lead you into the light. A cup of lima beans were more exciting to me than Ken Wilson. Maybe I’m tainted since I teethed on Dan Kelly but if you listen to other the PBP from other teams you’ll find Wilson in the middle of the pack. I’m trying to remember any of his calls but draw a blank, unlike the greats who you can vividly recall each game/play and call.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
My Six
1. Barclay Plager – He was the heart and soul of the Blues from day one. Part of the First Family of St. Louis Hockey (No offence Sutter Clan). Barclay Plager IS the heart and soul of 60’s and 70’s Blues Hockey.
2. Brett Hull – The Golden Brett, Hes the reason I got involved in hockey. It was simply amazing watching him blast those shots into the net from the other teams blueline and them not knowing the puck was in the net until horn went off. Brett was one of the reasons why we still have a team in St. Louis and not Saskatoon. Which leads me to my next entry.
3. Harry Ornest – He was like a white knight coming out of nowhere to buy the Blues when they were all but gone to Saskatoon. He came in, made the team respectable and made St. Louis Blues hockey means something again.
4. Bernie Federko – What can I say. I came into knowing Blues hockey at the middle/end of his career. He gave it his all every night and he truly earned the right to be a hockey hall of famer and was a hero and a legend with all of the fans.
5. Glenn Hall – One of the early Blues legends along with Barc. Hall seemed to have that confidence that the legendary netminders had where you just looked at him and you knew you were in for a rough night.
6. Ron Caron – Going back to the front office, Caron was an instrumental architect in the late 80s to mid 90s resurgence. Not to mention he was a great sound bite. he was always “Putting ze meat on ze burner”
by The Crazy Diamond on Jan 16, 2009 11:52 PM CST reply actions
Maybe not in the first class...
I understand this individual doesn’t quite fit the criteria you set for biggest impact for hockey in this town, but I think this former Blue impacted the entire sport big enough for a spot.
Jacques Plante led St.Louis closest its ever been to a Cup three years in a row, and arguably revolutionized his position for the entire sport. I really don’t think his contribution should be ignored.
Agreed, guys like Federko and Caron should definitely be in first, because they stayed with the city and helped grow the sport here. Second class, if I can speculate, should be led with this guy.
my top 6, in no particular order:
- Ron Caron, he was the GM, but the man was also the biggest Blues fan. they always showed reaction shots of him. when the Blues were winning, he was jumping for joy fist pumping in the air and high fiving his cohorts. when the Blues were losing, he was red hot pissed angry.
- Harry Ornest, blah blah saved the team from moving blah blah who knows if we would’ve ever got another team
- Brian Sutter, played his entire career here, wanted to coach the team afterwards, and cried when he eventually got fired. nuff said
- Brett Hull, nothing to be said that hasn’t been said in this discussion already
- Bob Plager, had to’ve been just as scary to play against as Barc, and he’s still involved with the team to this day. he even tried coaching, but then he figured he wasn’t cut out for that. besides, you HAVE to be cool to sign some chick’s ASS!
- Scotty Bowman, even though he made the Fucking Red Wings the superpower they are today (and I hate him for that), he is still responsible for getting the Blues to their only Cup final appearances, which is saying a lot.
This is too hard, Bob Plager is my favorite Blue but how can you squeeze both Plagers into to just 6 slots for the first Blues HOF ballet? Both Plagers were feared around the league. I can remember TV interviews with the Penguins, Stars, Hawks and Flyers where the other players just shook their heads and groaned when the Plagers name came up. Other teams hated coming to STL because they knew it would be a bloody battle. The Blues didn’t have a lot of talent those first years so they made it up with stellar defense and brutal checking and fighting, You may get your win in STL but you would be limping away with a black eye and loose teeth after. The sight of a trainer slapping butterflies on players’ cuts on the benches so they wouldn’t miss a shift was common. Can I revise my list and enter the Plager Brothers as my first pick? They came as a package in a game, if you fought one, the other was right behind leading with a right cross.
Life is relevant. You can put your hands on a hot stove and a fraction of a second seems like hours. Yet you can put your hands on a hot woman and hours seem to turn into seconds.
Five B's and a G
1. Brian Sutter – Personified overachievement
2. Brett Hull – Best pure sniper ever in the Bluenote
3. Barc Plager – Heart-and-soul incarnate
4. Bernie Federko – HOF’er, best pivot in St. Loo
5. Glenn Hall – Saved more than Jesus
6. Brendan Shanahan – He had it all, hands, toughness, Janney’s wife, etc. etc.
"Camus can do, but Sartre is smartre".....Jay Sherman
Hey, I almost forgot, do we still get to say “Fuck Detroit” here? Or is it required? I’m just askin’.
"Camus can do, but Sartre is smartre".....Jay Sherman
It’s kind of like Office Space regarding the pieces of flare. It is required that you at least say “fuck detroit” at least once per game, but you know, you should [i]really express[/i] yourself. =p
FUCK DETROIT IN EYEBALLS
"Go to sleep bitch! Die motherfucker die! Times up bitch close your eyes!" ~Eminem
"Turned into a monster I'm a motherfucker!!!" ~ Static X
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