A Brief Video history of the WHA's most colorful franchise -- The Minnesota Fighting Saints.
The
roughhousing Fighting Saints caught the fancy of Minnesota hockey market, often
out-drawing the cross town North Stars. When they added Dave Keon
prior to the 1975-76 campaign, they become one of the WHA's elite
teams. In fact, the team had a winning record, 30-25-4, when it ceased
operations on February 28, 1976, due to its financial struggles.
The first time Glen Sonmor laid eyes on Mike Antonovich, he was a little disappointed.
Sonmor,
who had just been named the hockey coach at the University of
Minnesota, was all pumped up to see Antonovich, the superstar of high
school hockey in the state in 1969.
"Back then, there were boosters that helped recruit,'' said Sonmor,
who later would become coach of both the St. Paul Fighting Saints of
the World Hockey Association and the North Stars of the National Hockey
League. "They had a nice summer league at Braemar [Arena in Edina] and
these guys keep telling me, 'We've got a savior coming our way. You've
got to come and see him.''
So, Sonmor went to check out the coming savior."I
go out there, and there's this kid who's about 5-4, with long hair and
horned-rim glasses, and his breezers are down to his ankles,'' Sonmor
recalled. "I'm saying, 'This is our savior? We got trouble.' But then I
watched him skate and thought, 'Whoa, boy.' ''
At both the university and the pro level Antonovich, from little Calumet, Minn., would become Sonmor's favorite player.
So why is MinnPost, which is dedicated to serious journalism, bringing up an old coach and his ex-player? Small-town mayors can make big news Because last week, Antonovich was elected mayor of Coleraine, Minn. Among other things, the political campaigns of 2008 showed us that small-town mayors should be taken very seriously.
Make no mistake. Coleraine is small. With a population of 1,014, the Iron Range town is smaller even than Wasilla, Alaska.
Like the former mayor of Wasilla, Antonovich is a hunter and an angler, and he was never real serious about his studies.
"He is a smart guy, but school didn't exactly appeal to him,'' said Sonmor.
Given
that background, is winning the mayor's office by a vote of 340 to 289
over incumbent John Sloan just step one in a political career?
"I
don't have any political ambition,'' Antonovich, 57, told me a few days
after the election. (An interview with the mayor-elect was delayed
because shortly after the votes were counted, he headed for the nearest
tree stand for the deer hunting season. He bagged his buck.) "I'm just
an Iron Ranger, and the way I look at it, I'm already living in God's
country.''
The old hockey legend and longtime scout for the St.
Louis Blues started singing the praises of all that the countryside
around Coleraine offers.
"I look out the window and I see the country I hunt in,'' he said. "I see the lake and the golf course. God's country.''
But,
he added, not all is heavenly in God's country. The economy in the
region stinks. Parts of his community – the streets and sewers – are
tired. The old people aren't getting the services they need and are
scraping to get by financially.
"The other guy was doing a good
job,'' said Antonovich. "I can't wave a magic wand and get everything
fixed. But I can try to do some good.''
He's a little tired of both political parties In fact, Antonovich is a little weary of the politics of both parties. He believes the Range has been deserted by the DFL.
"All
you have to do is drive through the Range on [Highway] 169,'' he said.
"I don't think anyone's put tar on that road in 45 years. We're all
struggling.''
It should be noted that Antonovich, whose father was a miner, didn't really grow up in Coleraine. He's a Calumet guy.
How'd he end up in Coleraine?
"I
married a girl from Wisconsin,'' he said. "She said we could not live
in Calumet. So I took her to Coleraine and said, 'How's this?' She
said, 'This will be fine.' ''
How far's Coleraine from Calumet.
"Eight miles,'' he said.
What lessons will the new mayor bring from hockey to city hall?
"Thick skin and team work,'' said Antonovich.
And Sonmor predicts he'll bring toughness, too.
"He
doesn't back down from anything,'' said Sonmor. "He always wanted to be
a tough guy. I'd tell him, 'You're too scrawny to be a tough guy.' ''
Sonmor said he worked with Antonovich to skate with his stick high.
"He'd
be out there saying, 'If you want to get to me, you'd better be a
beaver cuz you're gonna have to eat through the stick,' '' recalled
Sonmor.
The strategy must have worked. In his days with the
Fighting Saints, who were known for leaving blood on the ice,
Antonovich spent little time in the penalty box.
"I figured out
you can't score goals from there,'' the old player/new mayor said. "I'm
not as dumb as a lot of people think I am.''
No matter what
happens, the work he does won't be second-guessed nearly so much as the
work his son does. His son, Jeff, became coach of the Coleraine high
school hockey team.
This updated classic takes a quick look at hockey's most colorful franchise; The Minnesota Fighting Saints.
Includes rare images of the epic Gord Gallant vs. Peter McNamee feud, which often left Gallant dazed and bloodied. In one sequence, a smiling McNamee openly mocks a charging Gallant before breaking his nose with a solid right.
From Joe Pelletier's Legends of Hockey Network:
Mike Walton was selected by Los Angeles Sharks in the 1972 WHA general draft, his rights were then traded to the Minnesota Fighting Saints. Minnesota managed to lure Mike over to the WHA and he was an instant hit, leading the league with 117 pts (57+60). He also led the league in playoff scoring (10 goals), making the 2nd All-Star team. The next season he had 93 pts and once again scored the most goals in the playoffs (10 goals). As most WHA clubs Minnesota ran into financial problems and eventually folded in March 1976. Mike had scored 71 pts in 58 games for Minnesota until they folded.
"Shakey" was also quite the character. Hockey Night In Canada telecaster Harry Neale loves to tell the story of how once in Minnesota the Saints were waiting for the ice at a multi-purpose athletic facility. The Saints players waited in their equipment by a large window that overlooked a large swimming pool. Much to the surprise of everyone there, Shakey somehow managed to get into the pool area and to the top of the highest diving board. He then proceeded to jump into the water, wearing his full hockey equipment (minus the skates). Because the equipment soaked up so much water, Shakey had trouble getting back to the surface!
Mike scored 448 points (201 goals + 247 assists ) in 588 NHL games. He also had 210 points (105 goals + 105 assists) in 153 WHA games. MyHockeyTV.com
In 1976, the Cleveland Crusaders ceased operations and became the "new" Minnesota Fighting Saints. In this intra-squad scrimmage, the Saints players are wearing the old Crusaders sweaters. Includes John McKenzie, Jack Carlson, Steve Carlson and Gord Gallant.
WHA goon Gordie "Machine Gun" Gallant punches out his coaches (Harry Neale and jack McCarten) prior to the 1975 Minnesota Fighting Saints/New England Whalers WHA Playoff.
"When we came in here today, we knew the Saints were going to play goon-style hockey and that's what came about," said Smith. "The Saints have a lot of goons and Gord Gallant is the worst. He tried to start a brawl and he did This is the very kind of violence we are trying to legislate against "
Ballard Smith,President, San Diego Mariners 1976
SCHENECTADY, N.Y. –National Hockey League and World Hockey Association veteran George Morrison has joined the Union College women’s hockey staff as a volunteer assistant coach, announced by first-year Head Coach Claudia Asano.
Morrison most recently coached in the Capital District as a volunteer
assistant coach with the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute’s men’s
program.
“I am thrilled that George has joined our staff,” said Asano. “He
brings a tremendous amount knowledge both from his playing career –
both pro and college - and his lifelong study of the game of hockey.
His assets will further complement our efforts both on and off the ice.”
Morrison played two seasons with the NHL’s St. Louis Blues before
splitting the remainder of his pro career with the Minnesota Fighting
Saints and the Calgary Cowboys of the WHA. Morrison retired from
professional hockey in 1977 with a career total 140 goals and 163
assists in 476 games spanning seven seasons.
A two-time WHA All-Star, Morrison’s stick is in the Hockey Hall of
Fame for scoring three goals in only 43 seconds against Vancouver.
A native of Bobcaygeon, Ontario, Morrison was a two-time
All-American at the University of Denver, helping the Pioneers to the
1969 NCAA title. Morrison won the WCHA scoring title in each of his two
seasons at Denver totalling 70 goals in 64 collegiate games.
Morrison, who previously served as a volunteer assistant coach
under Dan Fridgen at RPI in 2004-05, is president of Overtime Sports
Management Group, which concentrates on television productions and
other sports related properties.
Coach Harry Neale gets a jump and a broadcasting career and talks with his new players: Mike Walton, Rob Walton, John Garrett and Murray Heatley prior to the Minnesota Fighting Saints 1973-74 campaign.
He could have been in pictures - with Paul Newman no less.
In 1976, professional hockey player Jack Carlson received a call from his older brother Jeff informing him that they, along with their younger brother Steve, had been offered a supporting role in Slap Shot, a hockey movie starring Paul Newman.
It wasn't that the brothers were particularly great hockey players or actors. They were unique, however. Besides the fact they played on the same line together and wore long hair and heavy-framed sports glasses - while playing - the brothers were known for scoring punches, not goals. Forget about not hitting a guy wearing glasses - these guys were tough.
"Jeff was the toughest,"
Jack modestly declares.
Seemingly too unique to be true, the Carlson brothers had Hollywood written all over them. But Jack, the most successful hockey player of the three, wanted to know the facts. Like how long would they be needed? How much would they be paid?
His brother Jeff would find out. In the meantime, while Jeff was checking things out, Jack got a call from the Edmonton Oilers of the World Hockey Association (WHA). Jack's team, the Minnesota Fighting Saints had suddenly folded late in the 1976-77 season. He was one of about a 10 players picked up by other teams in the league. Jack decided to join the Oilers and forego a shot in movies.
Dave Hanson replaced Jack and the trio were dubbed the Hanson brothers in the 1977 movie.
Saturday Night magazine described the three as "lovable goons."
Jack ended up finishing the season with the Oilers but was dealt to the New England Whalers during the off-season. There, he got a chance to play with Steve again, as well as with Gordie Howe and his sons Mark and Marty.
During the 1978-79 season Jack moved to the NHL's Minnesota North Stars - a dream come true for the Minnesota native - and in 1980-81 got a chance to play against the New York Islanders in the Stanley Cup final.
Standing 6'3" and weighing 215 lb., Jack was among the biggest and toughest players in the NHL at the time, fighting all the opposing heavyweights.
"When the Philadelphia Flyers won the Stanley Cup in the mid '70s everyone was trying to pattern their team after them. You know, we'll win the Stanley Cup through intimidation."
"That's the era that I came in. For me it was survival of the fittest. Either you're gonna hit or be hit - and believe me I got hit a few times," says Jack.
In 1981, while playing for the St. Louis Blues against the Boston Bruins, Jack helped amass the most penalty minutes ever recorded in a game by two teams.
Though he says he "enjoyed" his tough-guy role, he adds, "Looking back it was a pretty lonely life. The score was 6 to 1, you're losing, and all of sudden the coach taps you on the back ...
"I wish I wasn't that type of a player. I had some talent. I had some skills. But I wasn't gonna be on a team scoring goals or setting up plays. I knew what my role was and so did everyone else," Jack explains.
"I kind of compared it to being the fastest gun in the west. All the young guys want to establish their reputations. You had to fight everybody. It's just a given."
Jack hung up the skates for good in 1987. However, he continued what he describes as his "destructive lifestyle" - drinking and womanizing. "It was a lifestyle that I was knee deep in," Jack admits.
In 1993 his wife told him she had had enough.
"We had a nine month old daughter and she said, 'Jack, you gotta go. We can't live this way.' I was 38 years old, had a good job and lots of friends, but I didn't know where to turn," recalls Jack.
He remembers the night that started him off in a new direction. "I was staying at a friend's place and looking for something to watch on TV and here I click on the Billy Graham Crusade." He spotted old friend and teammate Bill Butters speaking about how Christ had changed his life.
Butters, also from Minnesota, was Jack's roommate with the Fighting Saints and Whalers and played with him on the North Stars. The rugged defenceman was also one of Jack's drinking buddies. "We became best friends," says Jack.
Jack had already known of Butters' decision to accept Christ as his Saviour.
"Billy and I used to be inseparable. When he became a Christian I figured no more dirty jokes and drinking and things like that. I didn't even want to with be him.
"But, I tell you what, when I hit rock bottom he was the first guy that I called because I saw him on TV." Jack called the number at the bottom of the screen and talked to Butters the next day. "I said, 'Bill I need your help.' He said, 'Jack come in tomorrow.' "
Butters explained God's plan of forgiveness and salvation with him.
"Billy gives the example of a goaltender getting a penalty. Everybody that knows hockey knows that the goalie is not going to go to the penalty box. They've got to substitute another player for him. That's exactly what God has done for us. He sacrificed His Son for our sins and so whoever believes in Him will have eternal life.
"As we talked together he led me to entrust my life to Jesus Christ."
Though Jack says he no longer drinks, has "never been happier," and calls himself a "new creation in Christ," he still considers himself a work in progress.
"I still make mistakes and I fall down, but I don't stay down very long. I know now that God is with me. I know if I get down on my knees and ask for help He'll change me; He'll change my heart."
Jack meets regularly with Butters, former WHA coach Glen Sonmor, and former NHL goalie Rob Stauffer, among others, to study the Bible. He also helps Butters run hockey camps for Hockey Ministries International in Minneapolis.
"I see nine, 10, 11-year-old little boys carrying a Bible around and telling others what they're thankful for. It just brings tears to my eyes. I get sad because I wish I would have been brought up in that kind of environment."
Besides making numerous public appearances as the Hanson brothers, Jack's brothers also costarred in the sequel Slap Shot II, recently released on DVD.
Although Jack has missed out on a few healthy paycheques as a result of his decision 25 years ago, as a Christian, he's content.
"It's Jesus Christ, not money, houses or cars, that makes a person happy and pure. I'm just very fortunate."
