Mon, Sep 24: Frank Mahovlich aka "The Big M" talks to reporters about his memories of the 1972 Summit Series and the games held in Russia. For more info, please go to www.globaltoron....
I started following hockey in early 1971 as a nine year old in Calgary. Frank was my first hockey hero not long after being traded from Detroit to Montreal. He scored 14 goals in the playoffs on a memorable ride to a Stanley Cup victory.
Agreed. He was devastating in that series. Always on the ice, always dangerous, always firing off quality shots. And always on the score sheet. Without Big M Blackhawks win that series in 5.
One of my boyhood heroes.....The Big M!.....#27!......what a great, great player. Leafs were perennial losers in the six-team league until Frank came along. I believe they won the Cup in his third or fourth year! He was so great--but so underappreciated by Punch Imlach and the tight-fisted Leafs, that when the Leafs lowballed a contract offer, the Hawks were willing to pay the Leafs the unheard of sum of $1 million for Frank, and supposedly owner Harold Ballard was OK with it. Next day Leafs wisely upped their offer and #27 stayed with them. How I miss those golden days of hockey. But a player of Frank's caliber now would command $100-$150 million, easy.
@@hippy1002 I have wondered what Frank would have achieved without the Imlach albatross hanging round his neck. Most nights he was just too tired after the extreme workouts to give it his best.
Agree ! He was a star with Toronto (won the Calder Trophy in '57 -- beating out Bobby Hull) and later played for Detroit on a line with Howe and Delvecchio. When he joined the Canadiens, he was well past 30 but played some of his best hockey for the Habs.
@@justafanintexas7913 Mahovlich didn't rack up as many points as Hull did in their first season but his on-ice presence was strong and he did score 20 goals to Hull's 13. In those days, 3-1 and 3-2 hockey games were much the norm, so when you notched 20 for a season, you were considered "productive." Hull had more than double Mahovlich's assists (34) and probably should have won the Calder based on total points; but total points wasn't (and still isn't) the final determinant of the Calder or the Hart.
R. Compton - Hull also played on a U.S. based team and the NHL writers, the majority in those days who were Canadian, never gave a fair shake to those other than played in Toronto or Montreal. Toronto finished that season just ahead of Chicago. The protests over Mahovlich winning were historic for their time, not only in Chicago but all over the NHL.
@@justafanintexas7913 I remember the ruckus over Mahovlich winning the Calder. But it wasn't because the sportswriters were mostly Canadian -- they weren't. Remember that there were only two Canadian teams in the six team league. The Detroit, Chicago, Boston and New York papers had a much larger circulation and far more sportswriters than the Toronto Star and the Montreal Gazette. Also, there was only one key hockey magazine in 1957, Hockey Pictorial, published out of Montreal but with a Board of associates consisting of 4 Americans and two Canadians (Ed Fitkin of Toronto and Camil Des Roches of Montreal.) The ratio of contributing sportswriters differed from year to year but it was generally five to three in favour of the Americans. I agree that Hull should have won the Calder that year but again, the result wasn't necessarily based on total points. Clearly, the American sportswriters could have given the Chicago star the nod since they had the majority of votes, but they didn't.
Big Frank was a dynamite player. Will never forget that series. Listened to a garbled radio feed for game 8. I will never forget we all thought Canada was going to walk over the Russians. We went over our friends house and we were all fired up. The only one in the house who thought Canada was in trouble was my dad. He said they have a bunch of all stars who are out of shape and don't play together. The Russians play together year round. They run passing attacks the Canadians have never seen and you know they will be in great shape. He said we would all be shocked. Canada jumps out 2-0 early. We lambasted him and enjoyed every minute of it. Well 20 minutes later you could have heard a pin drop. If Bobby Clarke hadn't done that hatchet job slash on Kharlamov I don't think Canada wins. One thing it did prove was that Phil Esposito was a beast. By far the Canadian player on the ice. Henderson was clutch.
Why Canadians repeat the same Russians point of view about Kharlamov? What about true Russian’s team Leader Iakushev, with 7 scores(like Esposito) instead of 3 scores of Kharlamov? As far, as we know Iakushev reamained “alive” till the end of Summit?
Disagree with you on Kharlamov. Canada neutralized him (esp Rob Ellis) after game 1. From game 2 all the way to his departure in game 6 Kharlamov scored just 1 goal. The guy was MIA after getting marked.
Your dad was right. The fact can't be overlooked that the Russians played as a team year-in, year-out. The Canadians had a bunch of elite players all thrown together for this one occasion. That gave the Russians a significant advantage.
Huge thanks for posting this, Global News!!! I've loved Frank since I was in grade school. He's the reason I've been a life-long hockey fan. And he radiates such warmth & friendliness. There are images that stay with you and my first look at the Big M powerfully striding down the ice 'like a freight train across the Prairies' has stayed with me and always will. He was a SUPERB player - with Imlach not dragging on him, who knows what he could have accomplished? You represent the very best of Canada, Frank!!! 💖💖💖
There was a lady in the West Grays with seasons tickets during the 60's and 70's at the Gardens and every Leaf game she'd chant, all by herself..."C'mon Frankie-Baby...." drawing out the'e' sound. When I was a boy of 5 and a natural right-hand shot, I switched over to left because my hero, the Big 'M' shot left-handed. My uncle Dave (RIP) called him "The greatest thing that ever lived"... lol, not the greatest hockey player, or person, but the greatest thing that had ever been put on the planet! He stole my Mahovlich poster which I had over my head in my bedroom. The one from the gas station that my dad had got for me when Frank was in the deep blue home uniform. I found it 20 years later over his bar in his basement, and never forgave him. I'd been truly traumatized by it's disappearance.
Ah The Big M -- he was my favourite player on my favourite team (the Leafs) when I was growing up in southern Ontario (Chatham) -- and then, right after they won the Cup, the buggers traded him to my most hated team -- the Red Wings -- so I instantly became a Habs fan and I laid a "Babe Ruth Curse" on Toronto right there: "I hope you rotters never win another Stanley Cup!!"... and... well... so yes, it was me!
John don't you wish you had that kind of power. I also thought the big M was the greatest. I went to Mimico high school in Etobicoke in those days and Frank came to our school. Our teacher talked to him in the hall outside of our room and never brought him in to meet us. Hated that teacher. Those were great times to be a Leaf fan. I've meet Bower, Baun and Shack over the years. Brewer was also a favourite. Great skater.
@@johnh23zOk. Start again from the top. Frank had the jitters. Ok I guess. Where? What game? Why? He played full shift game 8. What are you saying? Don’t hockey players play a full shift many many times in a game? He never wanted to leave? Leave where? And when? And for what reason? Let’s work on our communication skills.
Frank was benched in the 3rd period and replaced by his brother Pete … check the game out … he played one shift in that period … Espo wanted him OUT! (good thing too - Pete set up the early goal in the 3rd period!)
