With apologies to the Frank Sinatra song, “There Used to be a Ballpark,” I thought I would write some thoughts about NHL arenas which no longer exist or no longer have hockey but where I broadcast Kings’ games during my 40 years with the team. I was shocked when I started making out a list and found there are 29 of those former arenas. The only ones I have ever broadcast in that are still standing for hockey are, Madison Square Garden, New York Rangers; Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum, the N.Y. Islanders ; Rexall Place in Edmonton, the Oilers; Honda Center in Anaheim, the Ducks; Nationwide Arena in Columbus, the Blue Jackets; and Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, the Predators.
In this writing I will comment on Chicago Stadium and Olympia Stadium in Detroit.
CHICAGO STADIUM
This arena is the most nostalgic for me since I grew up in Chicago and as a youngster, around 1950, my mother used to take me and my best friend Joe March to the Stadium to watch the Blackhawks. The Hawks were not very good in those years, so we could arrive about 10 minutes before game time and sit anywhere in the house. The Stadium was built for $9.5 million (in today’s dollars that would be $129 million) in 1928. It opened on March 28, 1929, and the first Blackhawks game was played there on December 15 of that year. The Stadium was the home of the Blackhawks until the final game was played there on April 28, 1994, when the Hawks lost a playoff game to Toronto by a score of 1-0. At the time it was built it was the largest sports arena in the world.
Having seen my first NHL game in that arena, it was always a thrill for me to broadcast a game there as the L.A. Kings announcer. Here are some of the things I remember about the loudest stadium in the NHL.
- The smell of hot dogs and sausages cooking at the concession stands as you entered, as well as the smell of stale beer.
- The sound of the Barton organ, the largest theatre organ in North America. Played for years by Al Melgard, the organ had 3,363 pipes and had a volume of a military band of 2,500 pieces. When the organ started our radio broadcast booth located on the third level would actually shake.
- The atmosphere in the building during the playing and singing of the National Anthem. At the first note, the crowd would start roaring and increase the roar with each measure until by the end of the song the entire building was in a frenzy and the game hadn’t even started. For the Blackhawks it was a tremendous boost and for the opposing players it was the most intimidating situation in the entire NHL.
- The crowd noise because those old buildings were not acoustically perfect as arenas are today. The sound would bounce off brick and steel.
- The irregular size of the rink. It was 185 feet long – 15 feet short of regulation.
- The dressing rooms, both the Hawks and the visitors, were located in the basement underneath the ice and the teams had to climb 22 stairs to get to the ice surface.
- The Blackhawks theme song. As soon as the organist saw the Hawks goalie reach the playing surface he would start a stirring rendition of “Here Come the Hawks.”
- The world’s worst scoreboard. It wasn’t digital like you see today, it had dials and sweep second hands all over it, lit by different colors. It was so impossible to read that even Blackhawks players would have to give hand signals to their coach to let him know how much time was left in a penalty. For announcers all you could do was guess at the time remaining.
- The neighborhood on West Madison Street, which was one of the worst in the city. My friend, Joe, would wait for me to finish my post-game show and then drive me to the hotel. One night as we walked to his car, another car drove up slowly behind us. I was getting nervous and asked him what was going on. He informed me that it was an unmarked Chicago Police car which would follow you to your car, make sure you were inside with the windows rolled up and the engine started. Then they would go and escort other fans to their cars. The neighborhood was so bad that taxi cabs would not even venture in to the area to pick up writers who had to stay late to write their game stories. The Blackhawks PR person would have to give the writers a ride to their hotel. So where did they put the new United Center? Right across the street from the old stadium. The neighborhood has been cleaned up and is a lot better now, or so it seems.
- The great vantage point for our radio and or TV broadcasts. The stadium was built for hockey and the steep seating afforded everyone a fantastic view of the game with spectators and announcers alike right on top of the action.
The Chicago Stadium was demolished in 1995. Most everyone you ask will say that the “Madhouse on Madison” was the greatest hockey arena they ever experienced.
DETROIT OLYMPIA
Another great old hockey arena in which I had a chance to broadcast Kings’ games was the Detroit Olympia. In fact, it was built two years before the Chicago Stadium and was the model for the arena in Chicago so both arenas were similar in design and with spectacular views for hockey with the crowd and the announcers right on top of the action.
The Olympia, nicknamed “The Old Red Barn,” was located just northwest of downtown Detroit at the corner of Grand River and McGraw, and not in the greatest of neighborhoods. The Olympia opened on November 22, 1927, and for 52 years was the home of Detroit professional hockey teams, starting with the Detroit Cougars and ending with the Red Wings.
Our broadcast location was one of the best in the NHL. We had a booth in the upper deck and we were practically hanging out over the ice, unlike today in some new arenas where the press box and broadcast booths and in the highest reaches of the building.
Musician Glenn Frey, of the Eagles, is from Detroit and a huge hockey fan. One day he told me he was going to be in Detroit when the Kings played there so I asked if he would be our guest on TV. I told him I would let the press box usher know he was coming between periods. When the period ended he still hadn’t shown up and I wondered what happened. Glenn is relatively small in stature, and soon there was a knock on the door of our booth and the usher said, ‘There’s a guy out here who says he’s with the Philadelphia Eagles and I don’t believe him.’ I convinced him to allow Glenn to join us.
For many of the years I did Kings’ hockey the Red Wings were not very good. From 1973-74 to 1982-83 they missed the playoffs nine of 10 years. One particular Kings’ player who always had success against Detroit was Marcel Dionne, much to the chagrin of Detroit fans. Marcel had started his career as a Red Wing and the Kings acquired his rights in 1975. Detroit fans thought Marcel was a traitor and came to L.A. only for the money. Every time the Kings would play in the Olympia, Detroit fans would mercilessly boo Dionne and hold up derisive signs aimed at him. One game Marcel had a hat trick which included his 300th career goal in a 7-3 Kings win and the crowd got more incensed with each goal.
At the end of the game, my broadcast partner at the time, Pete Weber, went down to ice level to interview Marcel on the ice. As the interview started, Red Wing fans started throwing glass bottles from the upper deck. When one crashed close to Pete and Marcel, Pete said on the air, ‘This is London’ as reporters did during the bombing of that city during World War II. Pete quickly decided to end the interview and he and Marcel got safely off the ice.
The Olympia had a lobby where visiting players could meet their friends and family after the game. That night no one with the Kings was allowed to go into the lobby fearing it would not be safe. The Kings bus pulled up to a back door of the locker room and got close enough so that when the bus doors opened no fans could get between the building and the door and the Kings got out in a safe manner.
In 1979 the Red Wings moved into their current home, the Joe Louis Arena, where the broadcast location is not nearly as good as it was at the Olympia. In fact, I believe they forgot to put in a press box when the building was built and it’s one of the worst in the NHL.
The Olympia fell into disrepair and shortly after the Red Wings moved, the wrecking ball demolished everything but the memories of one of the great old hockey arenas.
Hey, thank Bob for the article. I sure wish I was hearing you call a Kings game.
I noticed that the new NHL guides and record book came out with our Kings on the cover. Can anyone in the Insider world get a hold of all the records the Kings broke last year? I feel like there are more than we are aware of.
Thanks again.
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great recollections Bob!! I can read your words and hear your voice in my head… for this we fans are truly blessed.
You are one of the greatest of all time, and as I said to you during the fanfest this last season as you took the signature-virginity of my Kings sweater: players will come and go but legends never die!!!
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Great article…thanks Bob.
I remember listening to Dionne’s first game back to Detroit in 1975. It was only a radio game but I guess it got pretty bad behind the Kings bench…Pulford had some “items” thrown at him as I recall. After that Dionne would blister the Wings every time he played them.
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Great article Bob!
I always love to hear Dionne stories!!
But what about the Forum!
I miss that place!
My Pops was a bouncer there for years, before going to Hughes anyways
But the day I was born he got a Dionne jersey game pucks and stick from Dionne
It was a 2-2 tie with the nucks
Even after Pops moved on we used to get into games for free, get behind the scene action and it was awesome
I can still navigate that place like it was my home.
I was there for so many great memories, the best though was the miracle on Manchester
Bleeding forum blue and gold
Marcel
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There used to be a 2012-2013 NHL schedule.
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This was great fun to read. I grew up in Detoit & attended many games at Olympia as well as concerts. I remember waiting two nights in that bad neighborhood for tickets to see Paul McCartney in 1975 or 1976. We were so worried we would get robbed. Everything turned out all right as we were the first in line & got front row seats. Unlike today where those seats are never available to the regular fan. Thanks for the memories Bob.
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Hey Bob thanks for the article it was so very interesting to read, hope all is well and thanks so much for letting us fans know about the past.
Great reading
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Great article Bob, I really enjoyed it.
I always thought Bettman screwed up (one of his many mistakes) was making all teams have uniform rinks. There is absolutely no need for it.
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USHA#17 Reply:
October 25th, 2012 at 3:44 pm
@Pasadena Hockey,
Very true. Boston Gardens also had a unique rink. Very short. Like the Rink in Pasadena (where, once upon a time, I used to play hockey and … had once had a multiple goal game and Howe hat trick)
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I remember hearing games from that Chicago mad house. A good friend of mine is a hardcore Hawks fan from Chicago and he has a ton of great stories about the Madhouse on Madison as well as Wrigley field. I’ve always known you’ve had a soft spot for the Hawks. I can hear it in your voice when we play the Hawks. Not so much any more, but in the old days it was noticeable when you were calling a game in Chicago. You got that excitement in your voice inflextion when the Hawks scored out of habit that you typically only resevered for when the Kings scored.
Anyway, thanks for the stories and looking forward to your next book (hint hint).
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Great stuff Bob, as a 31 yr old, this stuff is all before my time, but I greatly enjoy it/
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Wonderful idea for a column, Bob – thanks for the lifeline while we wait for the players and owners to settle up and hit the ice. Looking forward to your comments on the Big Igloo in Pittsburgh, Kiel Arena in St. Louis and of course. the soon-to-be-extinct Nassau County Coliseum…..
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Thanks, Bob! Hope you are able to comment on the Spectrum, Le Colisee, the Hartford Civic Center, and that tiny rink in Buffalo!
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Great stories. The only thing better than reading them would be hearing Bob telling them.
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Thanks, Bob as always a great entertaining story.
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AWESOME entertaining story Bob. Keep them coming please. I always wanted to know how they old buildings were back in those days.
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the game Bob described at the Olympia in Detroit…
[I believe it was in January] 1979 – Marcel Dionne scores four goals at Detroit in a 7-3 Kings win in the first game that Dionne, Dave Taylor and Charlie Simmer skated on a line together to form the famous “Triple Crown Line” The second of Dionne’s four goals was the 300th of his career (Kings all-time scoring). The losing goalie for the Red Wings was none other than Rogie Vachon. Simmer was called up from Springfield by the Kings two days earlier. This was the first line in NHL history where each player scored 100 points or more in the same season (1980-81). Dionne got two consecutive goals in the second period, which moved the Kings ahead 6-2 after Dionne had tied the score 1-1 with his first goal. Detroit’s Greg Carroll scored first for the Red Wings before Dionne tied it. Rookie Willie Huber then scored again for Detroit, but Steve Jensen, Taylor and Tommy Williams, taking advantage of a porous Detroit defense, scored on Vachon in a 1:48 span for a 4-2 lead after the first period. The Triple Crown line combined to score 5-1=6 with Dionne scoring 4-0=4, Taylor scoring 1-0=1 and Simmer scoring 0-1=1.
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Bob describes Buffalo’s ‘perfect storm’….
1982 – Marcel Dionne played in his 324th consecutive game, a club record. Unfortunately for the Kings, Dionne and Los Angeles fell to the Buffalo Sabres, 6-4, a game that cost head Coach Parker MacDonald his job, as he was fired following the game. Dionne was held scoreless in the game with Mike Murphy, Douglas Smith, Dan Bonar and Greg Terrion scoring for the Kings, who led 2-1 and saw a 3-3 tie evaporate in the third period. Then-New Haven Nighthawks head coach Don Perry was named head coach the next day. In addition, the Buffalo area was hit by a severe snow storm on that day…Bob Miller in his book Tales from the Los Angeles Kings, describes this event:
Buffalo, New York, is known for sudden snowstorms, and one hit the area on Jan. 10, 1982. The Kings hotel was only about a quarter-mile from the Auditorium. Some players decided to walk to the game, but halfway through they were hit with a horrendous storm.
The snow was so bad that even though over 15,000 tickets had been sold, only 2,079 brave souls made it to the game – the smallest crowd in Sabres’ history. The visibility was so bad that some people had to abandon their cars on a bridge behind the arena and be led off the bridge holding ropes. The wind chill was 50 below zero. During the game, the Sabres announced that fans whom were stranded were welcome to spend the night in the Auditorium and the Sabres offices. The next morning a picture in the Buffalo newspaper showed a fan sleeping overnight in the penalty box.
After the game, Kings players and team personnel were told that the four-wheel-drive vehicles would take them back to the hotel. There was only one vehicle, and it was taking four people at a time. The short roundtrip was taking 45 minutes. When I got there, I found about 30 people in the line ahead of me, so I decided to walk. I used my broadcast headphones as earmuffs and started in the general direction of the hotel. Halfway to the hotel in a blinding snowstorm, I thought I wasn’t going to make it. I was walking in the street and decided I’d better get on the sidewalk in case a snowplow came along. If that happened I figured they wouldn’t find me until the next May.
When I finally made it to the hotel, I discovered a quarter-size area of skin on my face that looked like the beginning of frostbite, but at least I made it back to the bar for “last call.”
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I remember watching some of those broadcasts when I was a kid. Great memories,Bob. Thank you.
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I’d like to hear about the “old” Montreal Forum. Even though the building is still there, I understand that it’s no longer used for sporting events. Had the opportunity to attend a game there in the late 1970s. It was like walking on hallowed ground.
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Bob that was great stuff. I attended IIT down on 35th and State and we always used to joke that the neighborhood by United Center was a step up from going to school so we must be safer. Thankfully they are cleaning up those neighborhoods and a lot of those old projects are no longer there.
Looking forward to the rest of this series!
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