WHA Hockey.TV: A Tribute to the Legends of the World Hockey Association by Mark Willand

FSN Feature: New England Whalers vs. Fighting Saints Brawl

Harry Neale, Mike Walton, John Garrett and and the 1973-74 Minnesota Fighting Saints

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.

Jack Carlson -- Two Fights Vs. Peter Driscoll

From:  Living Light New Online:

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."

Audio: Whalers-Saints "Brawl in the Mall"

Quotes:  (As told to Liam Mcguire)

Coach Neale: " It was early in the second period (1:10) and we had nothing going. I put out the BBC Line, (Bill Butters, Curt Brackebury and Jack Carlson) and they, well,  they got something going. Butters was regularly a defenseman but on this      occasion I used him up front. It took Larry Pleau about two years to forgive me but he finally did."                                           

Larry Pleau:  Butters gave it to me pretty good to start it and then it's pretty  much everyman for himself."
 

Nick Fotiu: "It was one wild brawl, one of the wildest I had been in or would be in no question about it. One thing though that scared me more than anything else. If I could have, during that second fight with Jack Carlson, I would have killed         him. I was that mad. We had gone through the door at the Minnesota players bench and I was fighting him in there and I wanted to kill him, seriously."

 

 

Harry Neale: "our players were ecstatic after the game figuring they had intimidated the Whalers and we ended up  winning the series in six games so I guess they were right. I'll give Fotiu credit. He was by far their toughest guy and he fought everybody."

                                       

Curt Brackenbury Minnesota Fighting Saints

Curt Brackenbury ()with Nick Fotiu, still sporting two black eyes from his infamous bout with Jack Carlson in the 1975 playoffs).  In the clip below he fights Pierre Roy of the Quebec Nordiques.

Curt Brackenbury: Still making a difference Writer: Chris Lomon, Editor: Wendy McCreary  NHl Alumni Association After signing a contract with the Chicago Cougars of the fledgling World Hockey Association in 1973-74, Brackenbury, who also saw action in 13 games with the IHL’s Des Moines Capitals, appeared in just four games with the club. The next year, however, proved to be an important step for Brackenbury, one that had the hard-nosed competitor playing with the Hampton Gulls (SHL) and the Minnesota Fighting Saints (WHA). In 46 games with the Gulls, Brackenbury scored 19 goals and finished the year with 43 points and 212 penalty minutes. The bruising forward went pointless with Minnesota in seven contests, recording 22 penalty minutes. By this point in his career, Brackenbury began to make people take notice. Although he could chip in with timely goals, it was his determined ways that made him a valuable asset. It was during his time with the WHA’s Quebec Nordiques that Brackenbury solidified himself as a complete player. His penchant for putting the puck in the net at opportune times was backed by a commitment to both ends of the rink. In 1976-77, Brackenbury contributed 16 goals and 29 points, while accumulating 146 penalty minutes. Aside from his individual efforts, the team also performed strongly, defeating Bobby Hull and the Winnipeg Jets in a compelling seven-game series for the league championship. “It was definitely one of the greatest highlights in my career,” said Brackenbury, who got his first big-league experience in 1979-80, when the Nordiques joined the NHL. “It was a hard-fought series which made it all the more rewarding.”

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