You joined the Flyers when they were an expansion team in 1967. What were those early days like?
Playing for the Boston Bruins at the time, I was golfing with a buddy when he informed me that I had just been drafted by Philadelphia. “Where?” I said. The league had just six teams then, and when they introduced us in Philadelphia, about 10 people showed up. Seven years later, though, and we had the entire city behind us. Words cannot describe the atmosphere in the Spectrum and Philadelphia when we won back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1974 and 1975—it was incredible and pulled the city together like never before.
All these years later, and you are still celebrated by locals as the “sports hero who stayed in Philadelphia.” What kept you in the City of Brotherly Love?
I remember being in the locker room before the sixth and final game of the 1975 Stanley Cup. As our coach Fred Shero drew up plays on the blackboard, I looked around at my teammates, including our captain and great leader Bobby Clarke, and felt like we would be together forever. Of course everybody moved on, but that spirit, shared by our great fans here in Philadelphia, keeps up together and keeps me here. I continue to do public relations work for the Flyers, along with speaking engagements and business and corporate appearances.
How does that spirit work for groups visiting Philadelphia?
We took a real beating in our first year. After that, our general manager Keith Allen turned the team around, building up incredible toughness and chemistry. It takes teamwork and belief to win, which I believe is a great message for business and other groups visiting Philadelphia. Loyalty is also key—you rarely see empty seats at games here—and you have to take risks. It’s in my book Journey Through Risk and Fear—if you want to succeed, you have to overcome fear and take risks.