Main Page Link

Arrived directly from cyberspace? This site makes more sense starting at the MAIN PAGE

PEROID 2

PEROID 2

C5

Pandas

Fans in '74 deluged owner Abe Pollin with 12,000 team name submissions. The Washington Star shared Pollin's low-tech reveal of the winning entry. (Book Pg. 132) The NBA Capitols of 1949-51; the ABA Caps of 1969-70; the 1974 WFL Washington Capitals, who never played a game. (Book Pg. 133) Not Robert Picard’s 1978 All-Star uni; misspelled Lalonde; Not Jack Lynch on his signed card; never-worn Caps ‘Cooperalls.’ (Book Pgs. 134-138) Don’t worry if you can’t recognize the Caps players or coach. The uniform design was copied for a snack food TV commercial during the Olympics. (Book Pg. 137) GOAL Magazines: Williams, Clement, (Too Many Beers) GOAL Magazines: Charron, Maruk, Wolfe GOAL Magazines: Meehan, Marson, Gartner GOAL Magazines: Langway, Hatcher, Gould MEDIA GUIDES: 1974-1977 MEDIA GUIDES: 1978-1981 MEDIA GUIDES: 1982-1985 MEDIA GUIDES: 1986-1989 POCKET SCHEDULES: 1974-1976 POCKET SCHEDULES: 1977-1978 POCKET SCHEDULES: 1979-1982 POCKET SCHEDULES: 1983-1986 POCKET SCHEDULES: 1987-1990 TABLE HOCKEY CAPITALS TABLE HOCKEY CAPITALS PUCKS 1970's Home and 1980's Road Sweaters Dennis Maruk (in 1982) is the only Capital to ever don an All-Star game sweater in front of the home fans. (Book Pg. 71) Hall of Fame Sweaters: Gartner, Langway, Stevens

Tour of Tickets

14 rival cities were home to NHL franchises from 1974 through the 1980's. Four WHA teams joined the league in 1979. The Caps also played in five cities - Kansas City, Oakland, Cleveland, Atlanta and Denver - which lost teams, and two - Calgary and East Rutherford, NJ - which gained them.

C6

Audio - Pride

 At Left: Cover of Bob Sirois' 2009 Book

Bob, a 1970's Caps winger, amassed research claiming bias among hockey executives against French Canadians, as well as other groups.

NHL's Life of Riley

Bill, a '70's Caps teammate of Mike Marson, refused to be intimidated, either by racial slurs or by higher profile prospects in training camp.

Pride

Oct. 1974 Hockey News: Mike Marson 'First Black To Crack NHL In 15 Years' (Book Pg. 140) Marson's Rookie Line: 16 G, 12 A Mike faced bigotry from fans, opponents, and some teammates Marson was a physical presence Bill Riley played parts of 4 seasons in Washington (Book Pg. 67) Bill endured the same ugly racism as his teammate Marson Riley in 1976-77: 13 Goals, 124 PIM Riley in 1977-78: 13 Goals, 125 PIM The First European Capitals: Leif Svensson, Rolf Edberg (Book Pg. 143) Svensson and Edberg arrived from Sweden before the 1978-79 season Leif (far right) informing Rolf and their wives that until they find homes, the couples will have to live inside this Capitals’ sweater. Edberg stayed for three seasons... ...recording 23 goals in 1979-80 Svensson, a defenseman, played for two seasons... ...achieving in 1978-79 an admirable plus/minus of -3 over 74 games Like all pioneer Europeans, Leif and Rolf absorbed abuse in the NHL Bob Sirois scored 91 goals for the Caps from 1975-1980 Bob observed treatment of fellow French-Canadians (Book Pg. 139) In 2009, he wrote a book about hockey bias against Quebecers Sirois and Riley attack the Blues Aging Czech star Milan Novy (Yes, #66!) skated one season for the Caps in 1982-83, scoring 18 G, 30 A (Book Pg. 234) Super Swede Bengt Gustafsson (Book Pg. 229)... ...a magical stickhandler and talented playmaker... Gus once had a 5-goal game He played nine reliable seasons between 1979-1989... ...scoring 196 goals, 359 assists Michal Pivonka in 1986 defected from Czechoslovakia (Book Pg. 227) ...dangerous cloak & dagger stuff - Pivonka and his fiance... ...fled to Italy's U.S. Embassy, where they were granted asylum Pivonka played 12 seasons, all in DC ...totaling 181 goals, 418 assists

C7

Audio - Hunter Prank

 The Hunter Became The Hunted

Dale Hunter was the man of a thousand pranks. With good humor, he tells here how teammates returned the favor after a road trip. (Book Pg. 151)

Clubs

It only looks like... Pierre Bouchard has tied                                                          a yo-yo string to the puck It only looks like... the Flame has actually                                                      singed Larry Bolonchuk It only looks like... Rick Green is proposing to Paul Mulvey It only looks like... Caps owner Abe Pollin has put on                                                       a Hawks sweater to spy on his team It only looks like... Mark Lofthouse is pledging                 allegiance before a faceoff (he's Canadian) It only looks like... Chicago's Darcy Rota is leaping into Caps goalie Bernie Wolfe while shouting, 'Tag! You're It!'    It only looks like... Stan Gilbertson also wants to play tag,  but Bobby Orr's preferred game is Keep-Away It only looks like... goalie Gary Smith is trying to perform a skate-blade appendectomy on Terry O'Reilly - oh wait, he is Maybe it was revenge for O'Reilly sitting on top of an admirably stoic Yvon Labre Mike Palmateer with a 'Groin save and a beauty!'                    (Have I purposely avoided '5-hole' jokes? Yes I have) Phil Esposito suggests Gord Smith part his hair                                     on the opposite side Thrifty Bobby Carpenter buys off the rack To his dismay, Bob Sirois discovers there are                                     no free refills in the penalty box Mike Gartner, at the moment he realizes he's locked his keys in his car. On Yvon Labre Retirement Night (Book Pg. 26), Ryan Walter and the Caps chipped in to get Yvon a pair of children The Canucks 'V' sweater disturbs Tom Rowe, but                   positively freaks out the Vancouver player Taking low-angle photography to the extreme It only looks like... Gerry Meehan is 50 feet tall The cash-poor Caps sometimes made players share sticks 'Don't forget to wake me before they drop the puck.' 'I don't care if you did miss your pre-game nap...' Little-known fact: Dennis Maruk was quite the juggler One-of-a-kind Dale Hunter is the only player in NHL history with the unique combination of 300 goals, 1,000 points, and 3,000 penalty minutes. This is likely the last time the Rangers' Normand Rochefort challenged Dale Hunter to a fight Rugged Caps defenseman Kevin Hatcher honed his boxing skills at the legendary Kronk Gym in Detroit Jim Thompson, once a fearsome enforcer, now advocates for the abolishment of fighting in hockey (Book Pg. 162) This photo gives a clue why Mike Palmateer endured 20 knee surgeries. Mike actually once arrived at a Caps game in an ambulance, straight from the hospital. (Book Pg. 165) Scary: on Halloween night, 1976 in Chicago, Capitals winger Ace Bailey (9) likely suffers a concussion, goes out for his next shift, and likely suffers another. (Book pg. 167) With today's concussion awareness and protocols, it's unlikely Doug Jarvis would have reached his NHL-record consecutive games streak (Book Pg. 167) In a 1988 playoff game at New Jersey, Pete Peeters was knocked unconscious by a slapshot to the mask. He left the ice on a stretcher. (Book Pg. 165)

C8

Politics

Bengt Gustafsson was overheard saying, 'We're going to stay here until someone explains why the building is spelled with an 'O' but our sweaters spell it with an 'A'. Presidents Reagan and Ziegler at the White House before the 1982 All-Star Game at Capital Centre (Book Pg. 170) 9/29/83: At a Rose Garden ceremony, Rod Langway & teammates, and the U.S. Olympic hockey team (Book pg. 170) Langway presents the President a team sweater. In 1987, the Capitals returned, including Dave Christian, who watched Reagan try one of his family-made sticks. 3/25/88: Nancy Reagan, First Lady and former Chicago Girls Latin School field hockey player, on 'Just Say No' night at Capital Centre (Yup, a real thing - Book Pg. 172) Rod Langway, whose nickname was 'Secretary of Defense', gives a Caps sweater to Secretary of Defense Caspar Weinberger, whose nickname was 'Cap' (Yes, really) Bobby Carpenter, Christian, and Langway pose at the U.S. Capitol for a 1985 Sporting News cover story. Yvon Labre (2nd from left) leads a Caps delegation to the Maryland state capitol.

White House Video



C9

Exhibitions

The Capitals and Kansas City Scouts played four exhibitions in Japan following the 1975-76 regular season. (Book Pg. 54) KC's Robin Burns shared these photos with author Steve Currier. Here, one of Blair Stewart's two game 3 fights, while a linesman restrains Harvey Bennett. Ron Lalonde (22) picks a dance partner, as former Cap Denis Dupere (15) looks on. Gerry Meehan scored twice in game 2. Rick Bragnalo (18) does his impression of Tokyo's Bullet Train. Mike Lampman, future Cap Craig Patrick - and mesh above the boards. Lampman (21) scored twice in game 3. Mike again, bearing down on Scouts netminder Denis Herron. KC's Guy Charron signed as a free agent with the Caps after the series. Jack Lynch (2) stands guard alongside crouching goalie Bernie Wolfe. Gerry Meehan wins a game 4 draw. Washington won three of four games against the Scouts in Sapporo and Tokyo to capture the Coca-Cola Bottler's Cup. Above, visual evidence that the Coca-Cola Cup arrived safely in Landover. This 1976 staff photo reveals the trophy displayed in all its glory, atop the filing cabinet, beside the whiteout and paper clips. (Book Pg. 57) 1975 vs. K.C. Scouts 1976 vs. Toronto Maple Leafs In 1976, two touring Soviet squads face off at Capital Centre (Book Pg. 179) The Soviet Wings and Red Army played a 7-7 tie in front of 8,213 Capital Centre spectators, including Caps coach Tom McVie and his players. Some whispered that the tie was pre-arranged. The Caps played eight preseason games     in the 1970s against WHA opponents.          On Sept. 29, 1976, Washington bested Cincinnati 3-2 in Dayton, OH. Judging from Guy Charron (15) and the Stingers' Greg Carroll, the rink may have been tilted. 1976 vs. WHA Indianapolis Racers Sept. 28, 1977: Caps goalie Gary Smith absorbs a stick to the mask, then a 5-4 OT loss to the WHA New England Whalers. Russian goalie Vladimir Myshkin and Capitals winger Mike Gartner put their heads together, as Moscow Dynamo and the Caps battle to a draw. (Book Pg. 179) The guide for a 1980 tourney in Sweden (Book Pg. 176) featured Swedish Caps Gustafsson (16), Edberg (10), Svensson (4) The Capitals played exhibitions against the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team in 1979, 1983, and 1987 (Book Pg. 178) 1979 vs. Canada Olympic Team in Calgary (Book Pg. 178) 1984 vs. N.Y. Rangers in Cleveland Former Capitals reunited for the first 'alumni game' in 1989, pitting Team Red against Team White at Capital Centre. Here, Bob Sirois (with bucket) attempts to cool off a fleeing Gary Rissling, as Bob Girard looks on. (Book Pg. 70) Ron Lalonde (front) is having fun at the scrimmage, but Willy Brossart (rear) appears to be having flashbacks to 1974. The alumni game 'official' scoresheet recorded penalties to Gary Rissling for 'needing rest', Bill Clement for 'missing an open net', and Yvon Labre for 'delay of game on a penalty shot'. Bob Sirois was named #1 Star... by Bob Sirois. '89 pre-season: games in Sweden & Russia Mementos from the four-game USSR 'Friendship Tour.' (Book Pg. 180) Program for the 1989 game against SKA Leningrad; Washington won, 5-4 From the game program: a Russian-language Capitals lineup. The Caps beat Spartak Moscow, 8-7 in OT Even though Michal Pivonka sent the Spartak goalie, Spartak defenseman, AND the puck into the net, he only received credit for one goal Dynamo Moscow beat the Capitals, 7-2, their only setback inside the Soviet Union USA cable network aired the Capitals-Dynamo game; here, Ron McLean interviews captain Rod Langway

C10

Media

The Capitals' first TV home (1974-77). Warner Wolf, analyst on 1974-75 Caps telecasts. (Book Pg. 192) Early media partners Channel 20 graphic Yvon Labre (R) in his TV-20 blazer, owner Abe Pollin, GM David Poile Home Team Sports graphic Mike Fornes called games on HTS and channel 20 (Book Pg. 186) Fornes' partner was Al Koken, a part of Caps TV for 35 yrs. (Book Pg. 187) However, Fornes’ color man for the first HTS cable broadcast in 1984 was none other than Gordie Howe. Martin Wyatt, WRC-4 (1979) The awkward silence when Al Koken asks Rod Langway who has the sexier mustache Ch. 4 sports icon George Michael with Caps goalie Bob Mason. Marv Brooks, voice of Capital Centre, also did Telscreen interviews. (Here with Ron Lalonde - Book Pg. 183) Marv with Hartland Monahan. Robert Fachet/Washington Post, Russ White/Washington Star-News. (Caps beat writers - Book Pg. 182) Larry King interviews Abe Pollin between periods of a 1984 Caps playoff game. (Book Pg. 183) Ron Weber called Caps games on radio for 23 years (Book Pg. 184) Weber's notebooks; he was known for voluminous statistical research Ron, showing one of the 18 ways he can kill a man with a microphone. Listening to a replay, Weber joked, 'That guy sure does get excited' Ron broadcast from a desk in the stands at Capital Centre. Click the CLASSIC AUDIO link at the bottom of this page to hear radio game highlights.

Weber



C11

Audio - Centre

 How The Capital Centre Came To Be
Abe Pollin owned the NBA Bullets, wanted a new home for them, then needed a hockey team, too, as he explained to Ron Weber in a 1976 interview. (Book Pg. 193)

Capital Centre

The Caps' Landover home from 1974-97. (Book Pg. 193) Construction magnate Abe Pollin, with a rendering of his proposed arena. Pollin wanted a Washington-area gym for his then-Baltimore Bullets NBA team. No other groups stepped forward, so Pollin decided to build and own the arena himself. The saddleback (potato chip) roof, seen from above. When Pollin couldn't come to terms on a District location, he chose parkland just outside the Beltway. With no bus or rail, cars poured into 4 parking areas - Liberty Bell, Capital, Eagle, Stars and Stripes. One concourse serviced the entire arena. Innovations included 'sky suites'... ...Electronic ticketing... ...and a four-sided 'Telscreen.' (Book Pg. 195) Even players - like Bengt Gustafsson, after scoring - would sneak peeks at the breakthrough video replays. Detractors said the interior was too dark. A black puck batted in the air was tough to track against the Centre's dark background. (Book Pg. 201) A recurring issue: mushy ice. (Book Pg. 198) Capital Centre seated 18,130 for hockey, and was the primary reason Washington had a team. Hockey made the Centre economically viable. Top: Scoreboard; Bottom: Shot Clock. Capital Centre hosted one NHL All-Star Game, in 1982. The team hosted a charity event for Juvenile Diabetes. An '83-'84 patch noted the Centre's 10th anniversary. Home penalty box official Bill Brooks and Bobby Carpenter appear to need cheering up. (Book Pg. 198) Brooks (above, pouring) kept a supply of Diet Coke prepared for Dale Hunter's frequent sin bin visits. Capital Centre in miniature. Late in 1997, the Caps & Wiz moved to downtown DC. 12/15/02: The implosion of Capital Centre makes way for a shopping center.

C11 Implosion



C12

Save The Caps $

Marketing materials touted Capitals tickets as ‘Group Therapy’ in 1974 (Book Pg. 202) and ‘Unadulterated Euphoria’ in 1975. (Pg. 48) WRC aired a summer, 1982 fundraiser, featuring George Michael as MC, and Abe Pollin hawking season tickets. (Book Pg. 207) Top: Michael's celebrity interviews include Redskins coach George Allen. Bottom: A crowd at Capital Centre watches the proceedings.

Audio - Save The Caps

 General Manager Talks Tickets
David Poile contrasts frequent Caps sellouts by the late '80's with the precarious financial outlook when Poile was hired as G.M. in 1982.
(Book Pg. 212)

lulu





c