Dave "The Hammer" Schultz's reputation tended to precede him. He is often looked upon as baddest man in NHL history. He set the NHL record for most PIM in a season with 472 in 1974-75. He led the NHL in PIM in his first 3 NHL seasons and 4 times in total. He epitomized the Broad Street Bullies -also known as the Philadelphia Flyers - during their reign of terror to the Stanley Cup in both 1974 and 1975.
But hey, Hammer wasn't that bad of a guy! He was just doing his job. In fact, he despises hockey violence. After retiring from hockey he wrote in his autobiography ``I love hockey, and wish reckless violence wasn't part of it.'' He also criticized the Flyers style of play and resented having to fight Bobby Clarke's battles.
Dave didn't do much fighting at all as a kid playing hockey in Saskatchewan. It wasn't until his coaches suggested he could reach the big time a lot faster with his fists rather than his finesse that Dave transformed his game to slashin' and bashin'.
But Dave also proved he was a pretty decent hockey player for those who were willing to look past his penalty antics. He scored 20 goals in 1973-74 - the first year that the Flyers won the Stanley Cup. This despite sitting in the penalty box for a league high 348 minutes. He was also an effective defensive forward.
Schultz left the Flyers in the summer of 1976. He would split the next four years bouncing between 4 teams - the L.A. Kings, Pittsbugh Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, and the AHL's Rochester Americans. It was in the AHL that Schultzie finished his playing career.
When all was said and done, the big left winger from Waldham Saskatchewan played in 535 games and scored 79 goals. He added 121 assists for 200 NHL points. His most telling statistic however is his 2294 penatly minutes. In the playoffs Hammer added 8 goals and 20 points and 412 PIM in 73 games en route to earning two Stanley Cup rings.
While Hammer understood his role and knew it was necessary, he was never really comfortable with it. But he knew if he didn't do it he'd almost certainly be out of a NHL job.
Share Your Memories Of Hockey Players From The Past
Dave Schultz
By Allyson Turner
During his nine years in the National Hockey League, Dave Schultz was one of the most feared enforcers the game has ever known.
The man they called 'The Hammer' became a regular with the Philadelphia
Flyers in the fall of 1972. Hockey had never seen anything like Schultz,
who managed to terrorize the rest of the NHL. As a rookie in 1972-73 he led
the league with 259 penalty minutes. Those totals increased in each of the
next two seasons until he set the single-season record of 472 penalty
minutes in 1974-75.
Schultz fought ferociously, pounding other teams' tough guys into
submission. Their willingness to employ goon tactics earned Schultz's Flyers the nickname 'Broad
Street Bullies.' But Schultz was more than just a fighter. He could
also score goals, and he played a key role in helping the Flyers win
Stanley Cup championships in 1974 and 1975.
Schultz was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for the 1976-77 season and
was sent to Pittsburgh the following year. With the Kings and Penguins in
1977-78, he led the NHL in penalty minutes for the fourth and final time.
His 405 penalty minutes that season made him the only player in NHL history
to break the 400-minute mark twice.
Schultz finished his career with the Buffalo Sabres in 1980. In 535 NHL games, he tallied 79 goals, 121 assists and 2,294 penalty minutes. His single-season penalty-minutes record, which has stood for 24 years, is astronomical by today's standards. He also holds the record for most penalty minutes in one playoff game, with 42 against the Toronto Maple Leafs on April 22, 1976. Going head to head with his archrival, Dave 'Tiger' Williams, Schultz picked up one minor penalty, two five-minute majors, a 10-minute misconduct and a double game misconduct.
Schultz is currently general manager and head coach of the United Hockey
League's Mohawk Valley Prowlers. He coaches with the same competitive
intensity he brought to his playing career and hopes to one day call the
shots from behind an NHL bench.
You're often described as shy and quiet off the ice. What happened on
the ice? I was certainly a shy person, who never had a street fight and I used to
call on my brother if someone was giving me a hard time. And then there I
was, with everyone thinking I was a tough guy and I was kind of enjoying
that. Plus no one was discouraging me in any way, certainly not my
teammates, my coach or the fans. So I just started to prepare for that
role. If somebody did something to one of my players, I was going to go
after them. I guess I just trained myself to do that.
Gene Hart, Flyers broadcaster from 1967-1995: The primary contribution Dave made to the hockey club was he
gave them an identity, which was a tremendous thing for one player to do. It was because of Schultz that they were given the nickname the 'Broad Street Bullies.' (Flyers teammate) Andre Dupont once said that opposing players didn't want to fight the Flyers because one-on-ones quickly became 18-on-1s.
How do you feel about the role you played in creating 'The Broad Street
Bullies' and giving the Flyers their identity in the 1970s? I had been doing a lot of fighting for three years in the American
Hockey League. When I got in a fight with Andre Dupont in the American
League, the papers would say, 'Schultz vs. Dupont.' Well, nobody read that
across Canada. My mother didn't read about that. But when I fought some
other guys in the National Hockey League it became big news all over the
country and in Canada. So, I had pressure to always be ready and that was
probably the toughest part.
Wayne Hillman, who has since passed away, said something to me when we
were having a beer one night. It was my rookie year and he said,
'Schultzie, I've never seen anything like ya.' And I went, 'Wow. Who can I
grab next?'
(When I would fight) my teammates used to always say, 'Here we go,
cutting down on our beer time.'
At age 22, you came to Philadelphia, a city not known as an easy place
to play. What was life like for you at that time?
Who was the toughest guy you faced?
In those days, we wouldn't socialize with each other. In fact, I had an
appearance in Detroit and when I found out he was there, I went back to
Chicago. But the people you went against the hardest, became your friends,
and Dave is certainly a friend.
How much do your records mean to you?
Do you think your record for most penalty minutes in a season will ever be broken?
If someone is close to breaking it, will you be at the game?
Is it true that Tiger Williams once bit you in the cheek during a
fight? Keith Allen would come to me after certain instances and say, 'Dave, you
have to call Mr. Campbell.' I had his personal number and I'd call him.
He'd read me the game sheets or the referee's report and I'd say, 'Well Mr.
Campbell, that's not quite how it happened.' I would explain a little bit
and he'd say, 'Okay you'll be hearing from me.' I never heard from him.
I've played with Tiger since then and I like him, he's not a bad guy. I
played in some old-timers' games in Canada and me, (Dave) Semenko and Tiger
played on one line.
'Hammer' made a lot of people nervous the night before they came to Philadelphia. They had a good team, they played hard and they were the last team and probably the only team that won two Stanley Cups back-to-back on pure intimidation.
What are your fondest memories of the Flyers' two Stanley Cup wins?
Schultzie knew what his job was and he knew what he had to do, but he
didn't like it. Everybody thought he reveled in it, but it wore on him and
it wore on his family. It's a tough way to make a living and I know that
bothered him that he had to. I guess he came to grips with the fact that if
he's gonna make a living at it, then that was his living.
If you know Schultzie, you know he's very emotional. After the
games were over, especially in the playoffs, we used to get Schultzie in a
back room and let him relax for 10 minutes before letting him talk to the press.
He'd have such outrageous statements he'd make to the press
that we just said, 'Let's give Schultzie a cool-down period before he's
allowed to talk to the press.'
After winning two championships and being a part of a legendary team,
was it extremely difficult for you when you were traded to Los
Angeles?
Would you like to coach in the NHL?
What's wrong with demanding a lot from your players?
Do you think the rise in salaries has changed the attitude of the
players?
What do you think is the problem with the Flyers today?
How is it for you to watch the Flyers from the stands today?
What do you think of the fighters in the game today?
Which fighters do you respect today?
What is your take on the purpose of fighting in hockey today?
You said at the end of your career, you didn't know what you would tell
your kids, when they were old enough to understand, what you did for a
living. When they got older, how did you approach it?
The Hockey News recently declared you the 'Father of the
Goonism' and said you pioneered the game of goon hockey. What is your
reaction when you read something like that?
Dave Schultz's NHL single season record for penalty minutes might never be broken.
(Philadelphia Flyers)
When I played junior hockey, I think I had one fight and I was very
intimidated. But I played a little chippy and didn't like it when the
opposing player, would be draping, holding and hooking. I would lash back
on that. Somehow, I got out of juniors and was drafted by the Flyers. I
went to Roanoke in the Eastern Hockey League and got into a couple of
fights my first two games. At that point, everybody started liking it and I
was soon named 'Sergeant Schultz.'
In their first NHL season of 1967-68, the Flyers were a team that really
didn't have an identity. They weren't a skating team, they weren't a
checking team, in fact nobody quite knew what the Flyers were. In their second
year, they were intimidated out of their skates by the St. Louis Blues. It
was embarrassing how intimidated they were. At the end of that year,
(owner) Ed Snider basically said 'Get me big, tough guys,' of which Dave
Schultz was one.
I guess I was just so focused and plus, I had help. We had a lot of
different guys that played tough, but I certainly wasn't alone. (Andre)
Dupont was there, (Don) Saleski played pretty tough and Bob Kelly was my
right hand. There were other guys that played strong and we were led by
Clarkie (Bobby Clarke). Eddie Van Impe, (Gary) Dornhoefer, (Ross) Lonsberry
and Joe Watson all gave us great leadership. Also, (coach) Freddie (Shero)
liked a hitting game and when you consider all those things, I was just a
part of it.
Actually, at that point this was the city of losers. No team won a whole
lot of anything. At that point, and it probably still is to a certain
extent, a blue-collar town. It was culture shock for me. I had lived
in Richmond, Quebec City and Roanoke, but coming here was quite a
difference and quite a change. As far as the fans though, they took to me
very quickly.
A lot of people ask me that and it's not like there's any one guy that was
the toughest. I thought me and Terry O'Reilly went at it more than anyone
else did. As my career went on, guys kept getting bigger and stronger. As
an example, I was 6-foot-1, 195 pounds, a pretty fair sized guy and then
Clark Gillies comes along. He was 6-foot-3, 230 pounds and he didn't fight
a lot, but I fought him a couple times. All the guys that I did a fair
amount of fighting with, I had a lot of respect for.
Keith Magnuson, former Chicago Blackhawks defenseman:
Schultz was a big part of that team and he was always ready to do battle.
He didn't get the nickname 'The Hammer' for not being tough. Dave never
hurt them when he was on the ice, which was a sign of his strength.
Well, they're records, and the fact that I'm in the record books means something. I had to fight for those records.
With the rule changes, guys collect game misconducts, they get suspended and that accumulates. Of course, there's probably not as many game misconducts handed out as there were in my day, which also can affect a guy not getting penalty minutes.
I never even thought about that but yeah, I would have to be there. That guy's gonna have to have quite a year. I'd boo the referee if he gave him a penalty. It would be tough to break, and I would not like to see that happen. Take a look at the most penalized guy in the game, Tiger Williams. If I had played 15 years like him, who knows? I guess instead of talking seasons, talk NHL games.
Yes, teeth marks right in my cheek. I got a double or triple game
misconduct but he kneed me, tried to headbutt me and then he bit me. And
there was a lot of hanging on. Anyway, the fight went on for a long time.
Keith Allen, our general manager, had (NHL president) Clarence Campbell
come into the Toronto Maple Leafs dressing room. Keith says, 'Tell Mr.
Campbell what happened.' And Mr. Campbell says, 'What were you doing there
anyway?' That was all he said to me.
Tiger Williams, NHL career penalty-minutes leader:
'The Hammer' was a fierce competitor, and I never bit him in the cheek. I bit him in the nose because I was so damn mad at him at that particular moment. He's been one of the guys that I was able to meet after (retirement) and I'm glad I did. I don't know if two lawyers ever got in a room and had a toe-to-toe if they would ever talk to each other again, but with us guys, when it's over, we're just one of the boys again.
Probably the parade. In '74 it was just unbelievable. I certainly remember the
last game that year and the way the game ended. The following day the
parade. And what's crazy about living back in this area, when you meet
people, they remember exactly where they were the day of the parade. Like I
remember where I was when President Kennedy got shot. The pandemonium that broke
out in all the different areas of the city are the things that I remember.
Terry Crisp, Schultz's former teammate and current NHL analyst:
Everybody asks, 'What kind of a guy was he?' The funny part is, he's like
Jekyll and Hyde. When he was off the ice, he was just a quiet, very
reserved gentleman. But when he pulled that jersey on and hit the ice
lanes, he became one of the ultimate warriors.
Yes. I got traded three times in four years. As your career goes on though,
guys that played the way I did, at the end, you start looking over your
shoulder. You kind of mellow and you don't want to continue to do it as
much as you did. In any way, it was a break for me and it was good for me
to get out of Philadelphia. On the other hand, I would've preferred staying
there.
After you retired you were the commissioner for the Atlantic Coast Hockey League and then moved to coaching. What is the most important thing you teach young players?
Dave Schultz behind the bench for Mohawk Valley Prowlers of the
United Hockey League.
(Mohawk Valley Prowlers)
You always teach how to play the game and how to play as a team. More
important is to work hard and expect a lot. I teach them to play as a team,
play with discipline and always give an effort. I teach them things that we
should all do in our lives. Those are also the things I stress. It's the
closest to playing for me because I was out of the game for a long time and
I really enjoyed it. Coaching is very challenging and fun.
I'd love to move up. I'm two levels away from the NHL. Sometimes I feel
people think that I wouldn't be a very good coach because they think back
to how I played. My first year as a coach, I was quite demanding on my team
and probably a little too vocal on the bench. I understand that I was very
demanding and I don't do that as much I used to. You have to find the right
situation and be patient. Basically, I've been paying my dues and I'm
willing to pay some more, but eventually, yes, I'd like to move up.
You can't play professional hockey without intensity unless you have
unbelievable amount of skill and speed. But what I'm saying, sometimes on
the bench, I'm not near how I was, but I was quite adamant about how I felt
about certain plays. I'd get on certain players at different times. I
probably distracted them a little bit and they weren't used to it. But they
soon got used to it. I'm like a player's coach and all I want is for the
team to have success.
I don't know how it can't. I mean, it's just unbelievable the money these
guys are making. I have to work. I have two kids -- one I had to put
through college and another in college. I'd make more in one season now
than I did throughout my whole career. If I were playing today, at this
stage of my life, I'd be retired and wouldn't have to work until I'm 70
years old.
They were so close. They've got a good hockey club and Toronto's got a good
team this year. They basically shut them down but couldn't score any goals,
which is how I perceived the series. You take a guy like Eric Lindros out
of the lineup and it's gonna affect you. It's a shame they couldn't win,
but you have to give some respect to Toronto.
The new Spectrum (called the First Union Center) is so different. I only
went to one game and they lost. It's just so different and such a huge
building. The fans are pretty pumped, but most of the fans that were
die-hard Flyers fans and season ticket holders are gone.
The fighters are just bigger and stronger today. When some of these guys hit each other they might have bigger arms and might be stronger, but I don't know if their skulls are any thicker. Most people would say that my skull was probably pretty thick though, filled with cement. But anyway, these guys can get hurt. Never mind your hands. We didn't have helmets, and when I watch guys that I'm coaching, I cringe when they start hitting helmets. If I was playing today, I would have to devise a way to get the guy's helmet off because guys can really mess up their hands forever by hitting a helmet.
I don't even know who they all are but every one of them I respect. These guys have to watch themselves more closely. They can't get as carried away in that role. It seems that some of the tougher guys don't get too many points, though, and I don't know if it's because they don't play a whole lot. I, at least, played fairly regularly and I used to get at least nine or 10 goals a season.
Because of the use of video it's not as necessary. It's easy to back up and say, 'Look, I don't have to go after this guy and get him to fight.' First of all, because he can turn away with no shame. (Laugh). I mean if one of us, or at least the guys that fought a lot turned away, oh man, my career would've been over, certainly with the Flyers. The fans would say, 'What's wrong with him? Why did he turn chicken?' Now, you can skate away and say, 'Let them get the extra penalty.' That's their excuse and I'm not knocking it, but it's just different. Back then, you couldn't do that.
I didn't have to say anything. There has been enough feedback to them
and things they've read or heard about from friends and so on, that I
really didn't have to say anything.
I don't really believe that. Understanding that, yes, I had the most
penalties in a season, and I was on the Broad Street Bullies and helped
create that identity, so to speak, but we won two championships and went to
the finals the third year. And I just say, 'Wow. that's good. I can handle
that.'